Rafet El Roman

Rafet El Roman — Biography

Born Rafet Yaşdut in Edirne on 25 August 1968, Rafet El Roman lived with his grandmother in the village of Ömerbey, near Uzunköprü, until age seven, when his parents, who had emigrated to Germany as guest workers in 1970, sent for him. He began writing lyrics and compositions at sixteen, gave his first stage performances in 1988, and was voted best young talent in Germany by a regional radio station in 1992; he legally adopted the stage surname El Roman, inspired by a Spanish folk hero, after a four-year legal process in Germany. Returning to Turkey in 1995, he released his debut album Gençliğin Gözyaşları, which sold over a million copies, and went on to break sales records with later releases such as Sürgün and Kalbimin Sultanı, earning honours including the Golden Butterfly award. In 1999 he moved into cinema, co-starring with Kemal Sunal in Sinan Çetin's film Propaganda. He married model Tuğba Altıntop in 1996, divorcing in 2003 with two daughters from the marriage, later had a son from another relationship, and married again in Germany in 2014. In 2026 he returned to headlines after restoring his childhood home with plans to turn it into a museum.