Ümit Yusuf Aktan was born to Mualla Karabay as the only child of his family in Nazilli, Aydın on 21 January 1949. He studied at Galatasaray High School for nine years as a boarding student. After completing the secondary education, he intended to study Political Science. However, he enrolled in the Faculty of Journalism at the newly founded Marmara University in Istanbul due to his father's insistence.[1]
In 1974, Aktan made his first marriage to Nigar Akanay, a ballet dancer at the State Ballet of Istanbul. His second marriage in 1978 to Ayşe Onarır, a news and programme presenter at the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT), lasted only six months.[2] His next marriage was to Neslihan Aktan.[3] Little is known about this marriage.[4] From this marriage, he had a 1981-born son Enkidu,[3][4] named after a legendary figure in ancient Mesopotamian mythology.[5] On 3 November 1991, Aktan married Selin Dilmen (born 1969), a stage, television and cinema actress, who had made a brief marriage before in 1989.[6] From this marriage, they had a daughter Dilara born in 1995.[4][6] The couple divorced in 1999.[6] In 2007, in a simple but surprise wedding ceremony in Bodrum, Muğla Province, he made his last marriage to Sema Küçükşahin (born 1959), with whom he had a long time relationship.[4]
He spent his summer holidays at his summer residence in Turgutreis neighborhood of Bodrum, southwestern Turkey.[1]
Aktan died on 7 August 2025, at the age of 76, in the hospital, where he was treated for heart disease.[7][8] He was buried at Ortakent Cemetery following the religious service in Kerem Aydınlar Mosque in Ortakent village of Bodrum, attended by former sportspeople and journalists.[8] He was survived by his spouse Sema.[4]