Early Life and Education

Pelin Çift was born on November 26, 1978, in İzmir, Turkey. She completed her secondary education at Notre Dame de Sion French High School in Istanbul. She received her undergraduate degree in Public Administration from the Faculty of Economics at Istanbul University. She later earned a master's degree in Radio and Television Journalism from the Faculty of Communication at Galatasaray University. Her master's thesis was titled The Effects of the Structural Characteristics of Private Television Channels on News Formation: A Political Economy Analysis.

Professional Career

Pelin Çift began her television career in 1997 as a weather presenter at the Turkish news channel NTV. Shortly thereafter, she transitioned to news presenting. In 2001, she left NTV and continued her graduate studies at Galatasaray University. During this period, she was accepted to Sorbonne University but chose to remain in Turkiye due to the founding of SkyTürk television channel.

Between 2003 and 2004, she worked at SkyTürk. From 2004 to 2009, she served as a news and program presenter at CNN Türk. In 2009, she joined Habertürk TV, where she hosted discussion programs such as Gündem and Öteki Gündem. In 2013, she co-hosted the quiz show Bir Milyon Kimin? with Hakan Hatipoğlu, which aired on Show TV.

Since 2015, she has been preparing and hosting the program Pelin Çift ile Gündem Ötesi on TRT 1. The program features interviews with subject-matter experts on topics such as history, culture, science, and the history of religions. Additionally, since 2019, she has been hosting the historical quiz show 3’te 3 Tarih on the same channel.

Television Channels

• NTV (1997–2001): Weather and news presenting
• SkyTürk (2003–2004): News presenting
• CNN Türk (2004–2009): Program and news presenting
• Habertürk TV (2009–2014): Host of Gündem, Öteki Gündem, and Medya Kritik
• Show TV (2013): Co-host of the quiz show Bir Milyon Kimin?
• TRT 1 (2015–present): Host of Pelin Çift ile Gündem Ötesi and 3’te 3 Tarih

Authorship and Publications

In addition to her broadcasting work, Pelin Çift has co-authored several books, often in collaboration with scholars, focusing on historical and cultural subjects.

Published Works

• The Hidden History of Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya'nın Gizli Tarihi), 2016 – with Erhan Altunay
• The Mysterious History of Jerusalem (Kudüs'ün Gizemli Tarihi), 2016 – with Ömer Faruk Harman
• Secrets of the Brain (Beynin Sırları), 2017 – with Sinan Canan
• Learning About the Ottomans (Osmanlı’yı Öğreniyorum), 2017, 2019
• Masters of Justice (Adalet Ustaları), 2017 – with Ahmet Şimşirgil
• The Hidden History of Istanbul (İstanbul’un Gizli Tarihi), 2018 – with Erhan Altunay
• History is Calling Us (Tarih Bizi Çağırıyor), 2018 – with Tufan Gündüz

Personal Life

Pelin Çift married Okan Akbaş in 2009. The couple has one child. She speaks both French and English.