Şebnem Dönmez

Şebnem Dönmez — Biography

Şebnem Dönmez was born on 17 May 1974 in Salzgitter, Germany, to a car mechanic; the middle of three siblings, she moved back to Turkey with her family at six months old. Originally a model, she made her television debut in the early 1990s on a motorsports programme, was educated at Şehremini Anatolian High School in Istanbul, and holds both German and Turkish citizenship.

She became widely known through Sabah Şekerleri, a morning show she co-hosted with Murat Başoğlu from 1996 that is credited with launching the genre; the two went on to co-present the game show Görevimiz Tehlike in 1997, and she hosted Cumartesi Gecesi Ateşi as a showgirl in 1998. Television roles in Aslı ile Kerem (2002) and Ölümsüz Aşk (2003) cemented her acting career, while her film work began the same year with the independent picture Kolay Para and with Mumya Firarda.

After standout performances in Neredesin Firuze (2004) and Hacivat Karagöz Neden Öldürüldü?, she married their director, Ezel Akay, in 2005; the marriage lasted two years. In 2007 she won praise for her role in the play Oyunun Oyunu at BKM, served as Turkey's Live Earth representative and press spokesperson at Al Gore's Istanbul event, and played Melda Yalgın in Kuzey Güney and later Sude in Medcezir. She took the role of Mehveş in the series Zemheri and Ceyda Aydın in the film Vali, with Gelgit, Son Yaz, Çakallarla Dans 5 (2018), Kadınlara Mahsus (2023) and Rüzgara Bırak (2025) among her other credits.