Serpil Tamur

Serpil Tamur — Biography

More than sixty years of stage experience lie behind Serpil Tamur, a Turkish actress and director who has played some of Turkish television's most recognizable mother figures. Wide audiences know her as Nazife Anne in the Kurtlar Vadisi series and as Azize Saraçoğlu, known as Haminne, in Bir Zamanlar Çukurova. In December 2025 she shared an honorary award at the Esenler Film Festival with Altan Erkekli.

The foundation of her career is the state theater. She graduated from the Ankara State Conservatory in 1963, joined the State Theatres the same year, and after sixteen years in Ankara moved to the Istanbul State Theatre in 1979. She has acted in more than forty plays, among them Ayakta Durmak İstiyorum, Koca Sinan, Kuvayi Milliye Destanı, Cadı Kazanı, Damdaki Kemancı and Kanlı Düğün. As a director she staged Hüzzam (1984), Sekiz Kadın (1996), Kaktüs Çiçeği (2001), İki Çarpı İki (2009) and Kadın Sığınağı (2010). She retired in 2009 but kept acting and directing at the Istanbul State Theatre.

On screen she appeared in Aşk Filmlerinin Unutulmaz Yönetmeni (1990), Tanrı Misafiri (1993), Nehir (2005) and Zeliha'nın Gözleri (2007), among others. She taught acting at two universities and served on the selection committees of the Sadri Alışık and Afife theater awards.