Nurseli İdiz was born in Istanbul in 1960. She graduated from the Theater Department of Ankara State Conservatory and from the Department of Art History at Hacettepe University. She started working as an actress at the Ankara Art Theatre in 1981. She has acted in many plays at the Ankara State Theatre and the Istanbul State Theatre as well as the Istanbul Municipality Theatre. İdiz has received several awards including the Best Actress Award in the 7th Ankara Film Festival (1995), the Best Supporting Actress Award in the 7th Sadri Alışık Awards (2002), and the Best Actress Award in the 16th Siyad Turkish Cinema Awards (1994).