Gülsim Ali

Gülsim Ali — Biography

Gülsim Ali (Gülsim İlhan Ali) is a Bulgarian-born Turkish actress and model with dual citizenship. She reached a wide audience as Aslıhan Hatun in Diriliş: Ertuğrul and then as Dilek Akgün in Gönül Dağı, and is known for moving between historical dramas and family comedies.

Her family belongs to the Turkish minority in Bulgaria, and she speaks Turkish, Bulgarian and English. She came to prominence as a model before acting: in 2009 she won the Ford Models contest in Bulgaria and represented her country at the international final in Brazil. She appeared on screen in 2012 as Ayşe in atv's Son Yaz: Balkanlar 1912 and took parts in Son Çıkış and Seddülbahir 32 Saat. In Star TV's Hanım Köylü she played İlkgün opposite Yusuf Çim. Her real breakthrough was Aslıhan Hatun in the third and fourth seasons of Diriliş: Ertuğrul (2016-2018). She then played Ayşegül in Yüzleşme, Gülcemal in Payitaht Abdülhamid and, from 2020 to 2022, Dilek in Gönül Dağı, a character she also played in the series' Kurban film.

In 2022 she played Hilal in the film Kurtuluş Hattı, and in 2023 Sıla Korkmaz, known as Nadia Ivanov, in Al Sancak, where she partnered Uğur Güneş for the third time. In 2025 she joined the cast of Bereketli Topraklar and appeared in the film Geçmişin Kokusu. In 2026 she drew attention with her appearance at Cannes, and in interviews she spoke about the exclusionary remarks she heard as a child and about body-image pressures in the industry.