Meral Zeren

Meral Zeren — Biography

Born Çiğdem Gümüş, Meral Zeren left school at thirteen to perform as a singer on stage, where her performances caught the attention of directors Atıf Yılmaz and Memduh Ün; after adding years to her age, she entered film in 1971 with several releases, the best known being Natuk Baytan's Battal Gazi Destanı. Through the first half of the 1970s she kept pace with Yeşilçam's rapid production schedule, appearing in Kanlı Para, Yanaşma, Bitirim Kardeşler, Dert Bende, Enayi, Hanzo and Nereye Bakıyor Bu Adamlar, sharing the screen with popular stars of the era such as Kemal Sunal, Cüneyt Arkın and Barış Manço. During this period she also trained in Turkish classical music under Selami Şahin and returned to singing, performing alongside Zeki Müren and Ajda Pekkan at nightclub venues. After her last major film, Banker Bilo, in 1980, she moved into musicals and theatre in the 1980s, made a screen comeback with the series Duvardaki Kan in 1985, and continued acting in television films and series from the 1990s into the mid-2000s. In 2012 she received a lifetime honor award at the 49th Golden Orange Film Festival.