Emel Müftüoğlu

Emel Müftüoğlu — Biography

Emel Müftüoğlu, born 14 October 1961 in Izmir under the maiden name Merdivenci, is a Turkish pop singer, songwriter, actress and television presenter. She launched her music career by winning a talent contest in 1985, first recording as a duo with Erdal Çelik before going solo in 1989. Her 1990 record Karlar Düşer brought her recognition, and 1992's Faka Bastın sold even better, with its title track's video directed by filmmaker Sinan Çetin. In 1995 the single Hovarda, built around songs given to her by Sezen Aksu, became one of the era's best-selling releases and carried Turkey into the final of a European video-clip contest. She followed these with albums such as Ruhun Duymaz, Bana Özel, Mucize and Arabesk over the following decade.

Alongside her singing, she acted in a television series in 1991 and in the film Bay E in 1995, appeared in further series during the 2000s and 2010s, and hosted several television programmes for many years. In January 2026 she was detained as part of a drug investigation and barred from leaving the country; by July she had also become a subject of tabloid attention after losing 22 kilograms over the preceding year.