Meryem Uzerli was born in Kassel, and has German-Turkish nationality. Her mother is German and her father is Turkish. Her great-grandmother is from Croatia. She embraces and unites both diverse cultures, demonstrated by her two residences - in Berlin and Istanbul. At just 17 years - and thus as the youngest student - she enrolled at the Acting Studio Frese and attended it until she was 20 years old. She settled in Hamburg's Schauspiel Studio Frese and studied acting and theater. The real breakthrough for Meryem came in 2010 with her role as Hürrem Sultan in one of the most successful Turkish series "Muhtesem Yüzyil" (The Magnificient Century).She has also played in Germany in many TV series, and films, and knows English very well. In "The Magnificent Century" her portrayal of Hürrem Sultan had such an influence that she is remembered for that role. Meral Okay-Sahin-Yilmaz wrote a character of Hürrem and had to choose from all of the actresses in Turkey's agencies, and through process of elimination actresses were selected. Uzerli was the most suitable of them. She was called to Istanbul and took on the role of Hürrem. In 2011 Uzerli won two awards for a best actress for a role of Hürrem Sultan and a TV Stars Special Award. In 2012 she was awarded Best Actress in Drama category for the role of Hürrem Sultan.