Perran Kutman

Perran Kutman — Biography

Born Perran Kanat on 30 November 1949 in the Aksaray district of Istanbul, she studied acting at her family's urging and graduated from the theatre department of the Istanbul Municipal Conservatory. She began her professional stage career in 1967 with the Ulvi Uraz Theatre, later working with companies led by Nisa Serezli and Sezer Sezin and with the Miyatro group; her last stage play before a long hiatus was Artiz Mektebi in 1987.

Moving into cinema in the early 1970s, Kutman appeared in Yeşilçam classics such as Köyden İndim Şehire (1974), Salak Milyoner, the Hababam Sınıfı series and Ne Olacak Şimdi. Her comic character Sabahat in Gırgıriye (1981) and its sequels cemented her reputation as a comedy actress. On television she won enormous popular affection with the beloved series Perihan Abla, which began on TRT in 1986, and she later starred in Şehnaz Tango, Üzgünüm Leyla and Hayat Bilgisi.

Her achievements were recognised with a Golden Orange Life Achievement Award in 2011 and an Istanbul Film Festival Cinema Honorary Award in 2016. In 2026 she returned to the stage after 46 years in Müjdat Gezen's musical adaptation of Gırgıriye.