Zeynep Değirmencioğlu

Zeynep Değirmencioğlu — Biography

Zeynep Değirmencioğlu was born in Istanbul on 12 September 1954; her father was screenwriter Hamdi Değirmencioğlu, and she is a cousin of Ömer Dönmez, another child performer of the era, nicknamed "Ömercik". She stepped in front of cameras at one or two years old for the film Papatya, then showed up as a child performer in pictures like Duvaklı Göl and Funda before the 1960 Ayşecik series brought her real fame, after which she was known far more by that nickname than by her own name; interest in her films spread beyond Turkey into neighboring countries too.

Her acting career spanned 1956 to 1974, over twenty-five films in all, during which she moved from child roles into young-woman parts, including Ayşecik ve Sihirli Cüceler Rüyalar Ülkesinde, Sinderella Kül Kedisi (both 1971) and Hayat mı Bu (1972). She married Serkan Acar (1948-2013), a footballer who later held an administrative post at Fenerbahçe SK, and stepped away from acting once she completed Macera Yolu in 1974; in 2010 she filed for divorce from Acar over irreconcilable differences, yet English Wikipedia calls her his widow. Working in Istanbul real estate since 1990, mother to two sons, Erkan and Volkan, she opened a kebab restaurant under her surname in Fenerbahçe in 2012 and says she has never missed the film industry.