Overview (2)

Mini Bio (1)

Sibel Kekilli is a German actress of Turkish origin. With her debut in Fatih Akin's movie "Head On" she gained major public attention. The film won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival 2004 and her acting performance received several national and international prizes, among them the highly prestigious German film award Lola for Best Actress.



Since then Kekilli played in several national and international productions like "Eve Dönüs" ("Home coming"), awarded Best Actress at the Antalya Film Festival, aside with Josef Bierbichler and Hanna Schygulla in "Winter Journey" ("Winterreise) or the leading role Umay in Feo Aladags "When We Leave" ("Die Fremde") in 2010 which lead to Best Actress Award at the Tribeca Film Festival and once again the Lola award among others.



Apart from other movie roles, as the very successful comedy "What a man" (2011) directed by Matthias Schweighöfer, she has been investigating in the highly regarded German series "Tatort" since 2010.



She has also become widely known as part of the main cast for her role as Shae in the HBO award-winning series "Game of Thrones" (Season 1 until Season 4).

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Andres DeFranco

Trivia (14)



The publicity of the Golden Bear award for her debut Head-On (2004) shed some light on her past, when the Yellow Press discovered that she had acted in several porn videos under the role name Dilara.

In her acceptance speech at the 2004 Bambi Awards, she protested against the intense German media coverage of her past as a porn actress. She reproached the tabloids "Bild" and "Kölner Express" for "media rape".





Was discovered by a casting agent for Head-On (2004) at a Cologne shopping mall.

Resides in Hamburg, Germany.



After graduation, she worked not only as an employee in the administration of her hometown Heilbronn, but also as a waitress and shop assistant.



Is of Turkish descent.



Is a supporter of the organisation Terre de Femmes. A organisation that fights for equal rights for women and helps them live an independent life.



Has a binovular (fraternal) twin sister.



Member of the 'International Competition' jury at the 8th Odessa International Film Festival in 2017.



German actress who won two Lola Awards for her performances in Head-On and When We Leave.



She was discovered in 2002 by a German casting director whom she met while shopping at a mall in Cologne.



She was raised by Turkish immigrant parents in Heilbronn, Germany.



She held various odd jobs--including a municipal waste department employee and a nightclub manager--before breaking into the film industry.



She and fellow actor Sean Bean both appeared in the American fantasy television series Game of Thrones.



Personal Quotes (7)

It's not my passion to wake up at 6:00 in the morning to do my exercises. Sometimes I really hate it. I'm lazy.



If you move to Canada, after a few years you call yourself Canadian. In Germany, it's difficult to belong.



I'd like to say it is only average people who revel in the mistakes of others.



I have to make sure I don't eat too much chocolate. You can't imagine how hard that is for a German to not eat chocolate.



Acting for me is like a ping-pong game. That's the secret of acting. When you have a really good actor, I always want to be as good as he is or she is.



The pressure in Hollywood is bigger to look good than in Germany. In Germany, we are more forgiving. Having a personal coach in Germany is not nearly as common as in Hollywood. In Hollywood, I think everyone has a personal trainer.



I wasn't a competitor. I would play outside with my friends, but not really anything like ballet or soccer. I tried to play soccer, and it went badly.

