Meryem Sarah Uzerli (; born 12 August 1983) is a German Turkish model and actress best known for her starring role as Hürrem Sultan in '' Muhteşem Yüzyıl'' (2011-2013), Kovan (2018) and RU (2024). She is the recipient of two Golden Butterfly Awards.
Early life
Uzerli was born on 12 August 1983, to Hüseyin, from
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
and Ursula, an actress from
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. She was raised in
Kassel
Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...
,
West Germany
West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
. She has two older brothers and an older sister, Canan, who is a jazz musician. Her maternal great-grandmother was a Croatian. Due to her father's nationality, she has both Turkish-German citizenship. She made her acting debut with minor parts in German productions. She later made minor appearances in the television series '' Notruf Hafenkante'' (2010) and '' Ein Fall für zwei'' (2010). Uzerli is also known for her roles in German films like ''Journey of No Return'' (2010) and ''Jetzt aber Ballett'' (2010). At the end of 2010, she was chosen by Meral Okay for her first leading role in the Turkish TV series '' Muhteşem Yüzyıl'' (2011–2013). In addition to her acting career, Uzerli has appeared in many advertising films and is the face of numerous brands. In 2012, she was chosen as the Woman of the Year by '' GQ Turkey''. Due to her role as Hurrem Sultan, she has won 23 awards and became one of the most famous actresses in Turkey.
Uzerli's native language is German. She is also fluent in Turkish and English.
Career
2011–13: ''Muhteşem Yüzyıl''
Uzerli's most known breakout role is as Hürrem Sultan in the historical television drama series '' Muhteşem Yüzyıl'', directed by the Taylan Brothers. In 2010, after an eight-month search to find the best actress for this role, she was chosen by Meral Okay, the series' screenwriter, and Timur Savcı, the series' producer. About her selection, she said: "Until one day the phone rang, I was invited for a casting in Turkey, and then immediately I started living in Istanbul almost full time." She lived in a hotel for two years during the shooting of ''Muhteşem Yüzyıl''. She shared the leading role with Halit Ergenç, Okan Yalabık and Nebahat Çehre. She won the Golden Butterfly Award for Best Actress for this part in 2012. In 2013, she left the series due to health concerns, reportedly a burnout. From episode 103 and onwards, Vahide Perçin was cast in to play an older version of Hürrem.
2014–present: ''Gecenin Kraliçesi'' and ''Annemin Yarası''
At the end of 2014, Uzerli signed a contract with O3, the Turkish production company of
MBC Group
MBC Group (), formerly known as Middle East Broadcasting Center (), is a Saudi media conglomerate based in the Riyadh region. Launched in London in 1991, the company moved its headquarters to Dubai in 2002 and to Riyadh in 2022. It is majority ...
. As of December 2014, she was still living in Berlin, but planning to move to Istanbul. In December 2014, Star TV released a video and a photo of Uzerli introducing her as one of its stars in 2015. In October 2015, she was again introduced among the TV's stars for 2016. About her future, she says: "I am trying to build on my international success within any industry where actors are respected as artists, and where I can find great scripts that allow me to delve into a story that leaves the here and now behind." In March 2015, it was finalized that Uzerli would share the leading role with Murat Yıldırım in her new TV series. The series' name was later announced as ''Gecenin Kraliçesi''. It is directed by ''Muhteşem Yüzyıl'' directors, the Taylan Brothers. Some of the scenes for this series were filmed 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 shooting later continued in
Rize
Rize (; ; ; ka, რიზე}; ) is a coastal city in the eastern part of the Black Sea Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Rize Province and Rize District.Star TV in January 2016.
In addition to her career in television, Uzerli also appeared in a cinema movie in 2016, titled '' Annemin Yarası''. The film was released in March 2016. Her co-stars include Ozan Güven, Okan Yalabık, and Belçim Bilgin. Between 2016 and 2017, she appeared in a guest role on ''Eşkiya Dünyaya Hükümdar Olmaz''. In 2017, she continued her movie career by appearing in ''Cingöz Recai'' opposite Kenan İmirzalıoğlu, although the film was not a box office success. Later in the same year, she shared the leading role with Özcan Deniz and Aslı Enver in the movie ''Öteki Taraf''. In 2019, Uzerli auditioned for a role in the third season of the
Netflix
Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
original series ''
Dark
Darkness is the condition resulting from a lack of illumination, or an absence of visible light.
Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low luminance because the hue-sensitive photoreceptor cells on the retina are ...
''. She also appeared as the lead role in the movie ''Kovan'', the proceeds of which were donated to Haluk Levent's Ahbap foundation.
As a model, she is the face of Blue Diamond and Maison Novague. She was also the face of Russian brand Faberlic. She has appeared on the cover of FabUk and has done photoshoots and videos for Louis Vuitton and Vogue. She has a photography page on Instagram.
Uzerli will be seen playing Reyan in the upcoming Gain series Ru which will be released on 24 May 2024.
Personal life
On 10 February 2014, she gave birth to a girl, Lara Jemima. A second daughter, Lily, was born on 8 January 2021.