• Hande Erçel is a Turkish actress, model and Instagram star born in 1993, best known for playing the main character Hayat Uzun in the romantic comedy series "Ask Laftan Aniamaz"
• She studied at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University and made her debut TV series appearance in 2014 with the historical romantic drama “Çalikusu”
• Hande has won three of the five Pantene Golden Butterfly Awards for which she's been nominated, and one Turkey Youth Award in 2017
• She has 23 million followers on Instagram and is currently in a relationship with Turkish actor Kerem Bürsin
• She has an estimated net worth of over $3.5 million.
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Who is Hande Erçel?
Hande Erçel was born in Bandırma, Turkey, on 24 November 1993 – her zodiac sign is Capricorn, and she holds Turkish nationality. She’s an actress, model and an Instagram star, who’s been credited with appearing in nine TV series and a single movie, perhaps known best for her portrayal of the main character Hayat Uzun, in the critically acclaimed romantic comedy series “Ask Laftan Aniamaz”. It also starred Burak Deniz and Ozcan Tekdemir, and follows the country girl Hayat, who has fallen in love with her boss Murat. The series aired in 2016 and 2017, and won three of the nine awards for which it was nominated.
Early life and education
Hande was raised alongside her sister Gamze Erçel in Bandırma, by their parents Kaya (father) and Aylin Erçel (mother), who prefer to be left out of media, thus nothing about them is known.
Hande became interested in acting while still attending a local high school, however, she was urged by her parents to focus on her education, and make it a priority to obtain a college degree; during her four years of high school, Hande practiced her acting skills with the school’s drama club, and appeared in various school plays, while mostly portraying lead characters.
She matriculated in 2012, and then enrolled at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, from which she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in 2016.
Career as an actress
Hande made her debut TV series appearance in 2014, when she played the supporting character Zahide, in 17 episodes of the historical romantic drama “Çalikusu”.
It starred Fahriye Evcen Özçivit, Burak Özçivit and Erol Aydin, and follows Feride, an orphan girl who has been sent to a boarding school, and has fallen in love with her cousin Kamran. The series won one of the two awards for which it was nominated. The same year saw Hande play the supporting character Meryem, in the comedy “Çilgin Dersane Üniversitede”, as well as Selen, in the drama “Hayat Agaci”.
In 2015 and 2016, she starred as Selin Yilmaz, in the romantic comedy drama “Günesin Kizlari”, which also starred Emre Kinay and Evrim Alasya, and follows the 35-year-old woman Gunes who has been abandoned by her husband, and has thus decided to remarry; the series won two of the 11 awards for which it was nominated. In 2017 and 2018, we saw Hande play the lead characters Hazal and Naz in the drama “Siyah Inci”.
It also starred Tolgahan Sayisman and Berk Hakman, and follows Hazal who’s engaged to the fisherman Kenan, but has been forced to marry the businessman Vural instead; the series was nominated for two awards.
In 2019, Hande played another lead character, Müjde Akay, in the action crime drama “Halka”, which follows two men of different backgrounds, who have joined forces to stop a conspiracy. In the same year, Hande played Azize Günay in the drama “Azize”, which was cancelled after having aired only six episodes, because of poor ratings.
Most recently, in 2020 and 2021, Hande played the main character Eda Yildiz, in the hit romantic comedy “You Knock on My Door”. It also starred Kerem Bürsin and Evrim Dogan, and follows Eda and Serkan who are pretending to be engaged.
Hande’s currently shooting for the upcoming historical romantic movie “Drunk on Love”, which will mark her debut film appearance. It will follow the life of the 13th century Persian poet Rumi, and his best friend Shams Tabrizi.
Other credits
In 2011, Hande made a guest appearance in an episode of the talk-show “O Ses Türkiye”, and in 2015, she appeared in the episode “Bölüm 89” of the talk-show “Beyaz Show”.
In 2017, Hande was featured in the music video “Canın Sağ Olsun” by Demir Yağmur.
In 2020, she sang the song “Kanatlarim Var Ruhumda” in an episode of the series “You Knock on My Door”.
Awards and nominations
Hande has won three of the five Pantene Golden Butterfly Awards for which she’s been nominated: she won two in 2015, for Rising Star and Best TV Series, and another in 2017, for Best TV Comedy Actress.
She has also been nominated for five Turkey Youth Awards, winning one in 2017: a Golden Star for Best TV Actress.
Hande’s the most popular Turkish actress on Instagram, as she’s followed by more than 23 million people, while she’s uploaded over 500 pictures, the majority of which have been taken during her everyday life.
She launched her Twitter account in March 2012, and it’s today followed by nearly 600,000 people, while she’s tweeted over 1,000 times; Hande’s also quite active on Facebook, and is followed by close to 450,000 people.
Her TikTok account’s followed by close to 10,000 people, while she’s amassed over 80,000 likes of all her videos combined.
Love life and boyfriend
Hande’s quite open when it comes to talking about her love life, and there are four men whom she’s dated and whom the public knows about.
Back in 2015, Hande was in a relationship with Burak Serdar Şanal, a Turkish actor with over 10 credits to his name. They were together for around half a year, when they broke up for unknown reasons, however, it’s believed by many that it was because Hande fell in love with Ekin Mert Daymaz, as they began dating not long after her split from Burak.
Ekin is a Turkish actor, who has appeared in 13 movies and TV series, while he’s perhaps known best for his portrayal of Savas, in the 2016 comedy series “Hayat Sevince Güzel.
He and Hande were together for close to three years, and there were rumors circulating the internet, claiming that they were planning to marry, but these were never been confirmed.
Following their split, Hande spent several months dating Murat Dalkılıç, a Turkish singer-songwriter, actor and film producer.
Since July 2020, she has been in a relationship with the Turkish actor Kerem Bürsin, alongside whom she starred in the series “You Knock on My Door”.
Hobbies and other interests
Hande enjoys spending her spare time in nature, and her Instagram is filled with pictures taken at various natural locations. She also likes to travel, and her acting and modelling career has taken her to various European and Asian countries, as well as to a couple of US states.
Hande’s a huge lover of animals, with cats being her favorites; her pet cat can be seen featured in some of her Instagram pictures.
She’s a fashionista, and is trying to keep up with all the latest fashion trends, which makes Hande a shopaholic, as she goes shopping for clothes multiple times every week.
She’s physically active, and has a couple of training sessions at the gym every week; she’s also following a strict diet, as it’s important for her career to keep her figure slim.
Hande likes to watch Hollywood movies in her spare time, and her favorite actors and actresses are Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, while a couple of her favorite movies are “Titanic”, “Meet Joe Black” and “Mr. and Mrs Smith”.
Age, height and net worth
Hande’s age is 27. She has long brown hair and brown eyes, her height is 5ft 6ins (1.68m) and she weighs around 120lbs (55kgs).
As of August 2021, her net worth has been estimated at over $3.5 million.
