Duru Yücel

At 9 I've realised acting is the thing I want to devote my life to, and at 10 I studied acting at the municipality's theatre for a year which led to my first experience on stage, playing two diametrically opposed characters in the same play.

Years later, as a grown-up, I had three years of theatre, acting and art training at one of the most reputable acting schools in Türkiye - The Studio Players in Istanbul - where I performed multiple times with the ensemble. I also acted in various TV series, commercials, a short film and worked with international film festivals hosting esteemed guests such as the late Golden Globes President Lorenzo Soria. From 2021 onwards, I began wearing other hats as a judge and jury member for festivals such as FilmQuest and the World Monologue Film Festival. As of 2025, I also began doing voice-over acting.

My debut as lead actress is an international co-production, English-language feature film called "We Put The World To Sleep". 

One of my "dream roles" has always been a character with a cognitive disability or who is neurodivergent and/or someone with a physical disability {e.g.: Rain Man (1988), Nell (1994), I Am Sam (2001), A Beautiful Mind (2001), The Theory of Everything (2014)}.

I have a demo album of ten classical jazz songs in English which has received praise from various music authorities and music aficionados alike. I write poetry in both Turkish and English. Traveling, spending time in nature, swimming, learning about the ways of the world and the causes I might have the privilege to support, the topics of literature, painting, architecture, health, psychology, spirituality, science and history are among my interests.