Biography
Name: Emre Kıvılcım
Date of Birth: September 2, 1990
Place of Birth: Malatya, Turkey
Height: 5 ft 9 in (1.82 m)
Marital Status: Married (to actress Yulduz Rajabova)
Instagram: @emre.kvlcm
Early Life
Turkish actor Emre Kıvılcım was born on September 2, 1990, in Malatya, Turkey. He spent his early childhood there before his family moved to Istanbul when he was ten. He went on to study chemical engineering and later completed a master’s degree in occupational safety, working in that field for a few years afterward. Acting had been on his mind since childhood, though, and he eventually gave up engineering to pursue it. In 2013, he placed third in the Altın Kamera acting competition, which won him a scholarship at the Sadri Alışık Cultural Center in Istanbul, a well-known acting school founded in memory of the Turkish film star of the same name.
Career
Kıvılcım made his on-screen debut in 2014 in the television film Zeytinyağlı Yiyemem Aman, broadcast on the Turkish channel Kanal 7. That same year brought the role that shaped his early career: Selim Emiroğlu in the family drama Elif, which he played for about three years. The show found an unusually large following outside Turkey, breaking ratings records across Asia and Latin America, and that international audience later led to a brand deal: Kıvılcım became the face of the Turkish clothing retailer LC Waikiki in Indonesia.
After Elif, he took on roles including Genco Yaman in the Fox Turkey series Adı: Zehra (2018) and Harun Faruk in the Netflix film Leyla Everlasting (2020). His biggest change of pace came with Mendirman Jaloliddin (2021), a Turkish-Uzbek historical drama known in Turkey as Bozkır Arslanı Celaleddin, where he took the title role of Jaloliddin Manguberdi, a 13th-century ruler who fought against the Mongol invasions. More recently, he played Mehmet Karlı in the drama Veda Mektubu (2023) and Ömer in the period drama Kara Ağaç Destanı (2024), broadcast on Turkey’s TRT network, which ran two seasons before wrapping up in December 2024.
Personal Life
Kıvılcım met Uzbek actress Yulduz Rajabova on the set of Mendirman Jaloliddin, where she played Kutlubike opposite his title role. The two became a couple during filming before getting engaged on February 15, 2026, and marrying just two days later in a small family ceremony. A larger wedding celebration followed that spring in Rajabova’s native Uzbekistan. Rajabova, born in Tashkent in 1987, is an established actress and theater performer trained at the Uzbekistan State Institute of Arts and Culture.
Interesting Facts
- Before acting, Kıvılcım worked as a chemical engineer and holds a master’s degree in occupational safety.
- He is said to have a twin brother who lives in Sydney, Australia.
- He trained in horseback riding, sword-fighting, and martial arts — skills that suit his historical drama roles.
- His scholarship to study acting came from placing third in the 2013 Altın Kamera competition.
- He met his wife, Yulduz Rajabova, while playing her on-screen love interest in Mendirman Jaloliddin — their real-life wedding years later echoed that on-screen romance.
- His Instagram account, @emre.kvlcm, has drawn nearly a million followers.
Photo Gallery
