Tilbe Saran was born in Istanbul. After attending St. Benoît French High School, she graduated from the Theatre Department of the Istanbul Municipal Conservatory and later from the Department of Art History at Istanbul University. She began her professional theatre career at Kenter Theatre in 1984, while still a student. In 1986, she received her first award for her role in the play Hangisi Karısı at Dormen Theatre. From 1989 to 1995, she performed as part of the ensemble at the Istanbul City Theatres.

In 1995, she co-founded Aksanat Production Theatre alongside Cüneyt Türel and Işıl Kasapoğlu. Between 1995 and 2004, she played leading roles in seven productions that had their Turkish premieres at the company’s venue in Beyoğlu, Istanbul. During this period, she also appeared in two productions by Kenter Theatre.

In 2005, she began working with Aysa Production Theatre. As part of the Season of Turkey in France, she performed in Sedef Ecer’s Sur le Seuil – Eşikte, staged in Paris in 2009 and 2010. The play was subsequently presented in Türkiye as a staged reading at the 17th International Istanbul Theatre Festival.

In 2011, she directed Düğün, a production in which she was involved at every stage of the creative process, from the development of the text to its staging. In May of the same year, at Trinity College Dublin, she performed a solo show in which she read excerpts from Sevim Burak’s Yanık Saraylar in English while portraying the characters.

Saran has been active in theatre since 1984, alongside roles in film and television series, voice-over work, presenting and poetry readings. From September 2014, she served a three-year term as General Secretary of the Actors’ Union of Türkiye. She has also taught at Akademi Istanbul, Maltepe University and Kadir Has University, where she is currently a lecturer.