In 1559, while sailing with her family in the Adriatic Sea to visit her father, engaged as a diplomat in Buda, they were attacked by Barbary pirates and taken prisoner together with the other passengers.
While the mother managed to save or redeem herself and her daughters, her two brothers were taken to Constantinople, where they underwent the process of castration and were made to convert to Islam with the names of Cafer and Gazanfer.
She converted to Islam with name Fatma Hatun, married the protégé of her brothers, Ali Ağa, general of the janissaries, and was introduced inside the harem.
She did her job flawlessly, so much so that the bailo praised her with Venetian Senate, describing her skill at intrigue and her attention to all things regarding Venice, in addition to her ability to maintain the favor of the sultan's mother and consorts.
She worked in parallel with Chiara "Chirana" Hatun, a Venetian spy sent to the harem from Venice who had been Nurbanu Sultan's personal Kalfa.