Her father, Nusret, was a member of a Moroccan family that settled in Turkey during the Ottoman Empire, her mother Fermet is white.
In 1960, Esmeray dropped out of her last year of Emirgan Secondary School to join the Istanbul community theatre, and performed on stage for the first time in a children's play.
She then moved on to cinematic productions, and the same year starred in Sev Kardeşim and Zilli Nazife, also making a guest appearance in Unutama Beni.
Esmeray started singing as an amateur in a choir produced by Neriman Altındağ Tüfekçi.
She was the wife of Şemi Diriker (alias "Erol Tanır"), a Turkish composer.