née
The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
actress
An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...
,
screenwriter
A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...
and
columnist
A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (periodical), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the ...
. She is known for hit sitcom series,
Avrupa Yakası
''Avrupa Yakası'' (''European Side'') is a Turkish sitcom, produced by Sinan Çetin and written by Gülse Birsel. The series was shot at Plato Film studios and its first episode was broadcast on ATV (Turkey), ATV on 11 February 2004.
Although the ...
Istanbul
Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
as the third child of Gültekin and Semiha Şener. Her great grandmother is of Circassian descent from
Varto
Varto (; or , ''Varto'') is a town in Muş Province, Turkey. It is the seat of Varto District. Her name was chosen from the first syllables of the names of her mother and father. Her elder brother Bozkurt is fifteen years her senior, while her elder sister Dilek is thirteen years older than her. Her older brother is an ophthalmologist and a former national volleyball player. She finished her secondary education at Beyoğlu Anadolu High School. She was thinking of acting as a profession until the end of high school. However, with the wish of her family, she first studied at
Boğaziçi University
Boğaziçi University (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Boğaziçi Üniversitesi''), also known as Bosphorus University, is a Public university, public research university in Istanbul, Turkey, historically tied to a former American educational insti ...
, Department of Economics. Between 1994 and 1996, she completed her MFA at
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
.
Career
During her second year attending university, Gülse Birsel started working for ''Aktüel'' magazine. Upon her return to Turkey in 1996, she started working at ATV, writing the foreign news bulletins for three months. A year later she was appointed editor-in-chief of ''
Esquire
Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...
Turkey'' magazine. From December 1997 to 2003, she was editor-in-chief of ''
Harper's Bazaar
''Harper's Bazaar'' (stylized as ''Harper's BAZAAR'') is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. Bazaar has been published in New York City since November 2, 1867, originally as a weekly publication entitled ''Harper's Bazar''."Corporat ...
Turkey''. She worked as a columnist in ''
Sabah
Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...
'' newspaper from 2002 to 2012. During this period, she also worked as general coordinator in '' FHM'', ''Gezi'', ''Harper's Bazaar'' and ''House Beautiful''. In March 6, 2002, she made her television debut on ATV's ''g.a.g.''. In March 2003, she published the scenario for ''g.a.g.'' together with the articles she had previously written in a book titled ''Gayet Ciddiyim''. Until February 11, 2004, she served as the presenter and writer of ''g.a.g.''.
In March 2003, together with Levent Özdilek, she played in a leading role in ATV's series ''Eyvah! Eski Kocam'', but the show was canceled after the second episode. In February 2004, she started working as both an actress and scenarist for ATV's series ''
Avrupa Yakası
''Avrupa Yakası'' (''European Side'') is a Turkish sitcom, produced by Sinan Çetin and written by Gülse Birsel. The series was shot at Plato Film studios and its first episode was broadcast on ATV (Turkey), ATV on 11 February 2004.
Although the ...
Ata Demirer
Ali Ata Demirer (born 6 July 1972) is a Turkish filmmaker, stand-up comedian, actor, and musician.
He is known for his live comedy sketches "Korsan TV" as well as for writing and starring in a string of Turkish box-office hits including '' E ...
. In May 2004, her second book ''Hâlâ Ciddiyim'' was published. She made her cinematic debut in 2005, with the movie '' Hırsız Var!''. Her third book, ''Yolculuk Nereye Hemşerim?'', was released in August 2005. In April 2008, she carried the
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...
torch in Istanbul. In 2009, she appeared in her first cinematic role in the movie ''7 Kocalı Hürmüz''.
''Avrupa Yakası'' ended in June 2009. Birsel's fourth book ''Velev ki Ciddiyim!'' was released in December 2009, followed by her fifth book ''Yazlık'' in June 2011. In January 2012, she began working as an actress and scenarist on
Kanal D
Kanal D (English: Channel D) is a nationwide television channel in Turkey that is part of Demirören Group. It was founded by Ayhan Şahenk and Aydın Doğan in 1993.
The network has also run an international channel, Euro D, since 1996, whic ...
Hürriyet
''Hürriyet'' (, ''Liberty'') is a major List of newspapers in Turkey, Turkish newspaper, founded in 1948. it had the highest circulation of any newspaper in Turkey at around 319,000. ''Hürriyet'' combines entertainment with news coverage and ...
''. In 2015, she became one of the judges on TV8's contest ''Komedi Türkiye''. Her sixth book, ''Memleketi Ben Kurtaracağım!'' was released in November 2015.
Her first feature film, '' Aile Arasında'', in which she served as both scenarist and actress was released in December 2017. In February 2018, she started working as a scenarist and lead actress on Star TV's comedy series ''Jet Sosyete''. In October 2019, Birsel announced her resignation from her post as a columnist for ''Hürriyet'' newspaper.
Birsel wrote and starred in ''Yılbaşı'', which released on Disney+ in December 2022.
Personal life
In August 1999, Gülse Birsel married columnist and TV programmer Murat Birsel in
Cannes
Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...
, France. The two met through Ayşe Arman. Birsel, who has said that she is not suitable for motherhood, has no children. Birsel and her husband live in Nişantaşı. In August 2014, her mother Semiha Şener passed away.