Cansu Dere

Cansu Dere — Biography

Cansu Dere is a Turkish actress and presenter who moved from the beauty-pageant stage to become a familiar leading lady of Turkish television. She is best remembered for Eyşan in Ezel, Nevra Elmas in Şahsiyet and Asya Yılmaz in Sadakatsiz. In 2026 she returned to the big screen in a lead role in Portekiz Aşkı, shot in Lisbon as the first joint Turkish-Portuguese feature.

Her career began in fashion and on-screen hosting. She grew up in İzmir and started studying archaeology, but after placing third at Miss Turkey in 2000 she turned to modelling and left her degree unfinished. She was due to represent Turkey at Miss Universe 2000 but withdrew because the pageant was held in Cyprus. She then walked in runway shows, represented Turkey at Paris fashion events and hosted programmes on Kanal D, Show TV and NTV. Her acting phase opened in 2004 with Metro Palas; Sıla (2006-2008) brought her a wide audience. The film Son Osmanlı Yandım Ali, in which she played Defne, drew more than a million viewers, and Ezel (2009-2011) consolidated the rise. In a third phase she played the Iranian Firuze in Muhteşem Yüzyıl and Zeynep in Anne; her co-lead in Şahsiyet, Haluk Bilginer, won the International Emmy for Best Actor for the series. Ferhat ile Şirin ended after six episodes, while Sadakatsiz, an adaptation of the British Doctor Foster, ran 60 episodes until 2022.

In cinema she played the photographer Oya in Acı Aşk, the police officer Songül in Behzat Ç. Seni Kalbime Gömdüm and Zeynep, a pharmacist in a small town, in El Yazısı.