1952–1973: Early life Bülent Ersoy was born in 1952 in
Istanbul. Ersoy began her career as a male singer, in the genre of
Turkish classical music, and became an actor early on. Her grandparents played classical Turkish music and she first took private lessons and then studied at Istanbul Municipal Conservatory. Already one of
Turkey's most popular singers and actors, she gained international notoriety in April 1981 after having
sex reassignment surgery in London by a British plastic surgeon. She kept the name "
Bülent" even though it is a typically masculine name.
Stage prohibition and restriction period After the operation, Ersoy found herself in opposition to
1980 Turkish coup d'état of
Kenan Evren. In a crackdown on "social deviance," Ersoy's public performances were banned along with those of other
transgender people. To circumvent the ban, she petitioned the Turkish courts to legally recognize her as a woman. The petition was rejected in January 1982. Days later, she attempted suicide. In 1983, she left Turkey in protest of the Evren regime's repressive policies and continued her career in
West Germany. Along with her musical career, she made several Turkish movies there. Later on in the decade in 1989 Evren left office and many of his policies were reversed.
2011–12: Aşktan Sabıkalı and
Adnan Şenses, 2012 In late 2010, Ersoy announced that she had listened to nearly 1,500 songs in the last 2 years and found it difficult to choose the best songs for the album. Her new album
Aşktan Sabıkalı (Love Convict), was released on 3 October 2011. The album includes a song written by Can Tanrıyar called "Alışmak İstemiyorum" (I Don't Want to Get Used to It), and a classic by
Orhan Gencebay: "Bir Teselli Ver", (Give Me Solace). There also is a song by
Gülşen titled "Aşktan Sabıkalı", after which the album is named. Another piece in the album is a duet sung with
Tarkan, titled "Bir Ben Bir Allah Biliyor" (Only I and Allah know), which was popular as it was performed by two of Turkey's leading artists. On 22 December, Ersoy released a music video for the song, nearly three months after it was first played on the radio.
2013 onwards In her appearances on
TRT in 2013, Ersoy was keen to stress that her pop-arabesque songs were only a 'vice' to earn an income and classical music, which she received her University education in, is where her true allegiance and support lies. Although her last album was released in 2011, her last album where she sang classical and
Alaturka (Turkish style) songs was in
Alaturka 2000, after which she hasn't produced any material covering Alaturka or Classical material. In late 2015, Ersoy stated in a press conference how Orhan Gencebay had mentioned to her that no one prominent had been producing Alaturka for the last couple of years. She stated that it was their mutual plan to 'get together' and think about what to for an album in this area. In early 2016, Ersoy said that she had listened to hundreds of songs and wasn't satisfied with what was brought to her (this being songs in the Pop/Arabesque genre). Although it is unclear as to when her next production will be, Ersoy seems to have returned from her semi-retired status and is producing new material. She announced that she would publish a new song written by Tarkan, named "Ümit Hırsızı", which was released in March 2019. ==Controversies==