Turkish television is in mourning. Ece İrtem — the 35-year-old actress whose portrayal of Işıl in the record-breaking drama Kızılcık Şerbeti (known internationally as Cranberry Sherbet) made her a household name — has died at her Istanbul home. According to a statement from her lawyer, the cause was a suspected heart attack. The cruel detail that has stunned fans: she passed away just one day after her 35th birthday, which she had celebrated publicly with her followers.
What Happened
İrtem was found unresponsive at her home on the morning of June 15, 2026, with her mother present. Her attorney, Uğur Gökkoyun, later confirmed she died around midday. Preliminary medical assessments point to a heart attack, though an official investigation is still under way and the final cause will be confirmed only after the autopsy report is released.
⚖️ For the record: After unverified claims about the circumstances of her death spread on social media, İrtem's lawyer issued an official statement to set the record straight — affirming the preliminary heart-attack finding and asking the public to wait for the formal autopsy results before drawing conclusions.
"Based on initial findings, we believe she died of a heart attack — but the investigation continues."
— Uğur Gökkoyun, attorney for Ece İrtemA Birthday, Then a Farewell
What makes the loss especially painful is the timing. Born on June 14, 1991, in Sivas, İrtem had just turned 35. Only a day earlier she had shared her birthday with fans online — smiling, full of life. Hours later she was gone. For her followers, the contrast between that joyful post and the news that followed has been almost impossible to absorb.
Who Was Ece İrtem? From the Opera Stage to Prime Time
Before the cameras, there was music. İrtem trained in opera and vocal performance at Yaşar University, graduating in 2014 — third in her class — after working alongside respected sopranos, tenors and conductors. She then refined her craft as an actress at Istanbul's Sadri Alışık Cultural Center, and launched her television career the same year.
Over the next decade she became a familiar, reliably excellent presence across Turkish drama. But it was her late-2025 arrival in Kızılcık Şerbeti as Işıl — a role she joined on January 17, 2025 — that pushed her into the spotlight of one of the country's most-watched series, a show built around the clash between secular and conservative families.
An Industry in Grief
Because İrtem had only recently joined Kızılcık Şerbeti, her death lands hard on a daily series where her character was still an active part of the unfolding story. Co-stars, fans and Turkish media have flooded social platforms with tributes, remembering a performer described by colleagues as disciplined, warm and genuinely gifted — an actress whose musical training gave her a distinctive presence on screen.
A Life in Brief
Frequently Asked Questions
Remembering Ece İrtem
A singer who became an actress, a rising star taken far too soon, and a birthday that turned into a goodbye. As Türkiye says farewell, the official cause of death awaits the autopsy report — and her work, from the opera stage to Kızılcık Şerbeti, remains.
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