Actress Ece Irtem, 35, was reported to have died at her home on 17 January 2025 at around 12.00, her manager Nalan Yıldırım shared on social media alongside a statement issued by the actress’s lawyer.
The lawyer’s statement said Irtem was at home with her mother when she lost her life at about noon and that an initial assessment suggested the death may have been caused by a heart attack. The lawyer added the investigation is continuing and that the exact cause of death will be determined after an autopsy; officials will inform the public again once the autopsy report is released.
The timing of the report drew immediate attention: Irtem had joined the cast of the television series Kızılcık Şerbeti on 17 January 2025 and was announced in the role of Işıl the same day she was reported to have died. Colleagues and viewers who knew her from other dramas reacted quickly on social platforms.
Irtem was 35 and was born on 14 June 1991 in Sivas. She graduated from Yaşar University’s Opera and Stage Arts Department in 2014 and studied acting at Sadri Alışık Kültür Merkezi between 2014 and 2015. She was known for roles in Yeni Gelin, Payitaht Abdülhamid, Kertenkele, Paramparça and Şeref Meselesi.
A friend and colleague summed up the shock in a brief message: "Çok üzüldüm çok, mekanın cennet olsun arkadaşım."
The lawyer’s notice named the time and place of death and framed the initial medical reading as preliminary. That detail — a first assessment of a possible cardiac arrest — is the central unresolved fact. The statement makes clear the distinction between an immediate, on-scene conclusion and the formal medical finding that will follow a forensic autopsy.
Local investigators have opened a routine inquiry and the autopsy has been cited as the step that will establish the definitive cause of death. The lawyer’s statement specified that the autopsy report will be the basis for any final determination and that the family and public will be updated after its completion.
Irtem had posted photos from her birthday the night before, a small detail that colleagues noted as they reacted to the news; beyond that, available details are limited to the lawyer’s account of the scene, the timing and the planned forensic review.
This report affects fans and viewers now because it concerns a recent addition to a primetime cast and because the immediate explanation offered — a possible heart attack — remains provisional. The single next step that will resolve the outstanding question is the autopsy: authorities and the lawyer say it will clarify whether the death resulted from cardiac arrest or another cause, and they have promised to make that finding public once the report is issued.
