Romalı Perihan

Romalı Perihan — Biography

A Turkish soprano who was also a socialite, painter, model, columnist and actress, Romalı Perihan was born Perihan Benli in Rome on 18 March 1942 and grew up in Italy. Her marriage to the Iranian nobleman Bijan, Prince of Esfandiari-Bakhtiari, made her a princess by marriage and the sister-in-law of Queen Soraya. Italian media nicknamed her "La Bella Turca" and "La Turca Romana"; before turning to singing at seventeen, she briefly studied at the Silvio D'Amico National Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Active in multilingual cinema between 1960 and 1982, she is remembered as the only Turkish actress to appear in a film by Federico Fellini, and she also worked with directors such as Antonio Margheriti, Sergei Bondarchuk, Yılmaz Güney and Zeki Alasya. Her stage name is said to have been coined by singer Zeki Müren to distinguish her from other performers who shared the name Perihan. She served as honorary president of the Şair Ozan ve Yazarlar Kültür Derneği (Cultural Association of Poets, Ashiks and Writers) and, fluent in five languages, was regarded as a prominent figure of European high society.

She died in Istanbul on 5 May 2016 at the age of 74; following funeral prayers at Bebek Mosque, she was laid to rest at Ayazağa Cemetery.