Gülse Birsel

Gülse Birsel — Biography

Gülse Birsel was born on 11 March 1971 in Istanbul; her maiden name is Şener. After finishing Beyoğlu Anadolu High School she graduated from the Economics Department of Boğaziçi University, having worked as a reporter for Aktüel magazine while still a student. Between 1994 and 1996 she pursued a master's degree in film at Columbia University in New York. Back in Turkey she joined ATV, served as editor-in-chief of the Turkish editions of Esquire and Harper's Bazaar, wrote columns for Sabah and later Hürriyet, and published six books.

Her television career took off with the programme g.a.g., which she wrote and presented. Her real breakthrough came with Avrupa Yakası, launched in 2004: she penned the series and played Aslı. She went on to portray Deniz in Yalan Dünya and Gizem in Jet Sosyete. On the big screen she appeared in Hırsız Var! and 7 Kocalı Hürmüz; Aile Arasında (2017) marked her first feature-film screenplay, and she both acted in and wrote Yılbaşı Gecesi. Her work has been honoured with Golden Butterfly awards.

She married journalist Murat Birsel in 1999. She also scripted 2 Aile Arasında, the sequel to Aile Arasında made nine years later, which opened in cinemas on 4 December 2026.