Suna Selen

Suna Selen — Biography

Suna Selen was born on 1 July 1939 in Istanbul, daughter of lawyer Hüsamettin Selen; her mother, Nimet Selen, was novelist Fatma Aliye Hanım's daughter and historian Ahmed Cevdet Pasha's granddaughter. She finished school at Beşiktaş Atatürk Lisesi, joined the Beşiktaş Municipal Conservatory's theatre department, studied law under family pressure, joined the Dormen Theatre, and studied at the Istanbul Academy of Fine Arts.

She returned to the stage in the 1959-60 season in a work by Alejandro Casona; a comedy adapted from Alber Husson soon made her name, and Sizi Seviyorum Madam brought the İlhan İskender Best Actress award. She spent much of her career at the Istanbul State Theatre, performing at the Diyarbakır and İzmit theatres too.

Over sixty-plus years she appeared in a hundred-odd films and series -- a witch role in a Turkish fairy tale drew notice at the 1971 Antalya Golden Orange Festival, Cazibe Hanımın Gündüz Düşleri won Best Supporting Actress at the 1993 Ankara International Film Festival, and Gönderilmemiş Mektuplar brought Best Actress at the 2003 Istanbul Film Festival. Other credits include Devrimden Sonra, Kusursuzlar, Şahmaran, Mucize 2: Aşk, Mektup, Su da Yanar and Ölürayak.

Married in turn to painter Cem Kabaağaç, actor Münir Özkul and playwright Güner Sümer, she had a child by each; in 2016 she won the first Nadide Küntay Lifetime Achievement Award from the İsmet Küntay Theatre Awards.