Bennu Yıldırımlar

Bennu Yıldırımlar — Biography

Bennu Yıldırımlar was born on 22 November 1969 in Istanbul to a family of Cretan and Macedonian immigrant background. After Erenköy Girls High School, she studied theatre at Istanbul University State Conservatory, also spending two years on Ancient Greek Language and Literature, graduating in 1990, then took drama courses at the Westminster Adult Education Institute in London. A member of the Istanbul City Theatres since 1988, she made her stage debut in Aristophanes' The Birds. On television she first drew notice as Elif in Süper Baba, but became widely known for playing Fikret Tekin in Yaprak Dökümü; she went on to play Nermin in Umutsuz Ev Kadınları, Servet in Gönül İşleri and Hatice in Kadın, and appeared in Nuri Bilge Ceylan's film Ahlat Ağacı. Her awards include the Promising New Actress prize at the 1994 Ankara Film Festival, the 1998 İsmet Küntay and the 2000 Sadri Alışık best actress awards. Married to actor Bülent Emin Yarar since 1995, Yıldırımlar joined the 2025 series Kuruluş Orhan as Malhun Hatun.