Gülsen Tuncer

Gülsen Tuncer (20 October 1945 - 17 September 2026) was a Turkish theatre, film and television actress, voice artist, songwriter and teacher. She was best known to mass audiences as Arsen Hanım in Aşk-ı Memnu and was active in Turkish arts for nearly sixty years.

Born in Adana on 20 October 1945, she completed secondary schooling in Istanbul and graduated from the Istanbul Municipal Conservatory theatre department. She also studied acting with Ayla and Beklan Algan, singing with Selma Berk, and fencing, and was active in student federation work.

She debuted professionally in 1968 in Zilli Zarife and later performed with many leading companies, from Kenter Theatre to Sadri Alışık stages. As a student she co-founded Grup 6 Theatre. Her stage repertoire ranged from Chekhov and Brecht to contemporary Turkish plays.

From the 1970s she directed and hosted more than 300 political mass shows, pioneering scripted sequences and slide projection in Turkish agit-prop. She worked with democratic women's organisations and helped prepare the first Ümraniye Women's Congress.

Her film work spanned the late 1970s through the 2000s, including Derya Gülü, Afife Jale, Fatmagül'ün Suçu Ne, Bir Tren Yolculuğu, Soğuktu ve Yağmur Çiseliyordu and Suna. She won supporting-actress prizes at Ankara, the Golden Orange and Sadri Alışık festivals, and later received SIYAD and other honour awards.

Television made her a household name. As Arsen Ziyagil in Aşk-ı Memnu she became Arsen Hala to millions. Other TV credits included Çalıkuşu, Üvey Baba, Bugünün Saraylısı and period dramas.

She taught stage aesthetics and acting at ITU Conservatory, TURSAK and the Sadri Alışık Cultural Centre, served on artists' union boards, advised festivals, and sat on juries including the Istanbul Film Festival and Golden Orange short film contests.

Tuncer was married to filmmaker Engin Ayça. She remained publicly engaged into 2026, giving interviews about reading, theatre and a life spent in the arts.

She died in Istanbul on 17 September 2026 from cancer. Turkish outlets reported advanced brain cancer. She was 80. The arts community and Aşk-ı Memnu fans paid tribute to Arsen Hala and to her longer career on stage and in film.

Her legacy joins popular television memory with decades of theatre labour, film craft, teaching and civic cultural work. Awards and festival honour citations mark the professional respect she earned beyond a single iconic role.