She lived four years in Damascus, Syria (then a part of Ottoman Empire), where her father was assigned to due to his occupation.

[3] The family returned home and settled in Büyükada, where she completed her secondary education at Köprülü Fuat Pasha School.

[1] In 1924, she won a state scholarship to study in the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, Italy, where she was in the workshop of Ermenegildo Luppi (1877–1937).

Some of her sculptures are the busts of famous people such as poet Ahmet Haşim (1884?–1933), playwright and poet Abdülhak Hamit Tarhan (1852–1937), the first Muslim movie actress Bedia Muvahhit (1897–1994), general and statesman Ali Fuat Cebesoy (1882–1968), First Lady Mevhibe İnönü (1897–1992) and politician Hasan Ali Yücel (1897–1961).

[2][3] In 1938, she won the first prize in two competitions for sculptures about Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881–1938), founder of modern Turkey, and İsmet İnönü (1884–1973), general and statesman.