Famous People

Ruhi Sarıalp

Turkish track athlete (1924–2001)

1924 — 2001

Mikail Žgank

Slovenian--Greek-Turkish judoka

1994 — present

Samiha Ayverdi

Turkish writer (1905–1993)

1905 — 1993

Artin Penik

Turkish-Armenian who burned himself in protest of ASALA terrorist attacks on Turks

1921 — 1982

Sabiha Sertel

Turkish journalist (1895–1968)

1895 — 1968

Sabiha Bengütaş

Turkish sculptor (1904–1992)

1904 — 1992

Sabiha Gökçen

first Turkish female combat pilot (1913–2001)

1913 — 2001

Nejla Işık

Turkish environmental activist and community leader

1980 — present

Talat Tuncalp

Turkish cyclist (1917–2017)

1917 — 2017

Talat Bulut

Turkish actor (born 1956)

1956 — present

Talat Paşa

Turkish Ottoman politician (1874–1921)

1874 — 1921

Sevan Nişanyan

Turkish lexicographer and writer of Armenian ancestry (born 1956)

1956 — present

Vahram Papazyan

Turkish actor of Armenian ancestry (1888–1968)

1888 — 1968

Nilay Kartaltepe

Turkish basketball player (born 1979)

1979 — present

Funda Arar

Turkish singer (born 1975)

1975 — present

Raif Denktaş

Leader of Turkish Cypriots and founding President of TRNC (1924-2012)

1924 — 2012

Aras Kaya

Turkish athlete (born 1994)

1994 — present

Aras Özbiliz

Turkish association football player (born 1990)

1990 — present

Aras Bulut İynemli

Turkish actor (born 1990)

1990 — present

Garo Paylan

Turkish statesperson (born 1972)

1972 — present

Beril Böcekler

Turkish swimmer (born 2004)

2004 — present

Beril Dedeoğlu

Turkish academic and statesperson (1961–2019)

1961 — 2019

Sherron Mills

Turkish-American basketball player (1971–2016)

1971 — 2016

Numan Acar

Turkish actor (born 1973)

1974 — present

Kiah Stokes

Turkish-American basketball player (born 1993)

1993 — present

Bige Önal

Turkish actor and fashion model (born 1990)

1990 — present

Sarkis Zabunyan

Turkish-French artist (born 1938)

1938 — present

Elvan Abeylegesse

Ethiopian-born Turkish long-distance runner (born 1982)

1982 — present

Selda Bağcan

Turkish musician and singer (born 1948)

1948 — present

Gaye Gaye Erkan

Turkish economist (born 1979)

1979 — present

Janet Akyüz Mattei

Turkish astronomer (1943–2004)

1943 — 2004

Muhammad Gülen

Turkish preacher and imam (1941–2024)

1941 — 2024

Deniz Öncü

Turkish motorcycle racer (born 2003)

2003 — present

Deniz Gül

Turkish association football player (born 2004)

2004 — present

Özkan Yıldırım

Turkish-German association football player (born 1993)

Özkan Sümer

Turkish association football player (1940–2020)

Özkan Uğur

Turkish musician (1953–2023)

Ümit Karan

Turkish association football player (born 1976)

Ümit Özdağ

Turkish statesperson and writer (born 1961)

Ümit Korkmaz

Turkish-Austrian association football player (born 1985)

Ümit Özat

Turkish association football player and manager (born 1976)

Ümit Davala

Turkish association football player (born 1973)

Güner Kaplan

Turkish-Swedish statesperson (born 1971)

İlkin Aydın

Turkish volleyball player (born 2000)

İlke Özyüksel

Turkish pentathlete (born 1997)

Uğurcan Çakır

Turkish association football player (born 1996)

Saygın Soysal

Turkish actor (born 1982)

Rıdvan Dilmen

Turkish association football player and manager (born 1962)