Perihan Özkurt/ birth name Perihan Benli was born on March 18, 1942, in Rome, Italy and died on May 5, 2016.

She was best known as Romalı Perihan, formerly Perihan, Princess of Esfandiari-Bakhtiari.

She was an internationally known Turkish soprano, socialite, painter, model, columnist, and actress who married to the late Iranian nobleman Bijan, Prince of Esfandiari-Bakhtiari in Italy.

She was the sister-in-law of Her Majesty The Queen Soraya.

Romalı Perihan was once nicknamed “La Bella Turca” and “La Turca Romana” by the Italian media and was often referred to as Princess Romalı Perihan or Princess Soprano.

Prior to seeking a career as a singer at the age of seventeen, she briefly attended the Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D’Amico.

Romalı Perihan became one of the leading figures in European high society.

She was fluent in Italian and Turkish, Romalı Perihan speaks five languages.

She was the Honorary President of the Cultural Foundation of Poets Ashiks and Writers (Turkish: Şair Ozan ve Yazarlar Kültür Derneği).

Romalı Perihan acted in multilingual cinema chiefly from 1960 to 1982, doing several films in Italian with renowned director Federico Fellini, for whom she was a favourite subject.

Romalı Perihan was also known as the only Turkish to appear in a Fellini film.

Romalı Perihan also acted in films that was directed by such well-known artists as Antonio Margheriti, Dino De Laurentiis, Remzi Aydın Jöntürk, Roberto Bianchi Montero, Sergei Bondarchuk, Yılmaz Güney, and Zeki Alasya.

Romalı Perihan passed away at 74 yrs old.