This is what the Turkish for Beginners cast is doing today

It was a long time ago: The ARD early evening series Turkish for Beginners flickered across screens from 2006 to 2008 and thrilled millions. The show poked fun at multicultural clichés and instantly became a cult classic. Almost twenty years have passed since it was first broadcast. What actually happened to the actors in the series? We have investigated.

This is what the Turkish for Beginners stars are doing today

Josefine Preuß – the cheeky teenager

Josefine Preuß (38) is not even 40 years old and can already look back on 25 years in the film and TV business. The actress with the unmistakably red hair appeared in the hit show Schloss Einstein from 2000 and thus became known primarily to a young audience. Little by little, she secured further roles before she made her breakthrough as 16-year-old Lena Schneider in Turkish for Beginners. Since then, Preuß has been one of the best-known German actresses and has already appeared in dozens of productions. The actress does not reveal anything about her private life; it is not known whether she is taken.

Anna Stieblich – the crazy mom

Anna Stieblich (59) played the role of Dr. Doris Schneider-Öztürk, who drove her daughter Lena mad as a chaotic psychologist. Before Turkish for Beginners, the Bremen native had already appeared in numerous television productions, including crime series such as Polizeiruf 110 and Tatort. To this day, she is active as a series actress and regularly appears on theater stages throughout Germany. Her husband is also active in the film business: director Didi Danquart, for example, has directed several Tatort episodes.

Elyas M’Barek – the macho with the soft core

Elyas M’Barek (42) is now an integral part of the media world, but nobody knew him before Turkish for Beginners. He won the hearts of viewers as the young macho Cem, who initially had obvious difficulties getting used to his stepfamily. After that, things went steeply uphill for M’Barek: He stayed true to acting and was able to establish himself as a film star. He landed a surprise success with Fack ju Göhte. Since 2022 he has been together with US actress Jessica Riso (Blue Bloods) and lives in New York.

Adnan Maral – family man and police officer

Adnan Maral (56) played the role of Detective Inspector Metin Öztürk in the series. As a widower, he falls in love with the psychologist Doris and starts a German-Turkish patchwork family with her. Maral is still active as an actor and has appeared in countless TV series. Among other things, he has appeared in various Tatort episodes. In his private life, things are going brilliantly for the actor: he is in a relationship with actress Franziska Maral (46) and has three children with her.

Pegah Ferydoni – the ever-good soul

Pegah Ferydoni (41) played the role of Cem’s sister Yağmur. In the series, she is a devout Muslim who is very attached to the old traditions, but later falls in love with Cem’s friend Costa. Ferydoni celebrated her breakthrough in the ARD series and has remained loyal to acting to this day. The Iranian-born actress is really big in the business: she has appeared in numerous TV productions and recently even shot international series projects such as A Murder at the End of the World. Not much is known about the private life of the successful actress. She is married to the actor Florian Anderer (43) and is the mother of one child, whose father she keeps secret.

Arnel Tači – the secret favourite

Arnel Taci (38) has been gaining experience in the acting business since the early 2000s (including Paule and Julia), but his breakthrough came in Turkish for Beginners. He took on the role of the stuttering Greek Costa Papavassilou, Cem’s best friend. His role demanded a lot from him, but fans celebrated his brave performance. Costa quickly became a secret fan favorite and stayed with the series until the end. The Bosnian-born actor still acts and has appeared in numerous film and TV productions over the years. However, little is known about his private life.

How can I watch Turkish for Beginners?

If you feel like watching the cult series again, you have the chance on several streaming services: All episodes can be streamed on Netflix and RTL+.