Sumru Yavrucuk

Sumru Yavrucuk — Biography

Sumru Yavrucuk was born in 1961 in Ankara, the daughter of the well-known sports figure Sami Yavrucuk; she was named after a poem by Tevfik Fikret. After finishing high school in Istanbul she began training in voice and theatre at the Istanbul Municipal Conservatory, then transferred to the Ankara State Conservatory, completing the drama program in three years and finishing first in her class. She joined the Istanbul State Theatre company in 1982 and won the Avni Dilligil Best Actress Award three times for plays such as Gılgameş, Yedi Kocalı Hürmüz and Macbeth. In 1986 she staged Kurban with hearing-impaired performers, followed by Susuz Yaz, winning Best Director prizes at international mime festivals for both; the work helped bring drama classes into Turkey's schools for the deaf.

After retiring from the state theatre she wrote and directed solo shows: Yalnız Kadın brought her a first Afife Award in 1996, and playing a trans character in Kimsenin Ölmediği Bir Günün Ertesiydi brought a second in 2013; from 2015 she staged Shirley Valentine. She made her screen debut in 1988 with Önce Canan, and became known as Feride in Yabancı Damat (2004-2007) and Meryem Aksoy in Fatmagül'ün Suçu Ne? (2010), later playing Songül in No:309 (2016) and Zerrin in Baraj (2020). In film, Seni Seviyorum Rosa (1992) won her the Golden Orange and Golden Boll awards; she married Erdinç Ünlü in 2003 and divorced him in 2005.