August 08, 1936, originally from Menemen. Cinema actor, theater actor. His father's name is Muharrem Bedrettin (abbreviated Bedri İlhan in daily life) and his mother's name is Perihan İlhan. His father's hometown is Sivas Gürün. She is the sister of poet Attila İlhan. He also has an older brother named Cengiz. While his father was working as a lawyer, he was suddenly appointed as a district governor, after which he completed most of his primary and secondary education in Izmir and other cities where his father's work took him.

When she moved to Sındırgı district of Balıkesir, she started her high school education at Balıkesir High School in Balıkesir and then graduated from Kandilli Girls High School in Istanbul, where she studied as a boarding student. Afterwards, she graduated from the theater department of the Istanbul Municipal Conservatory and the painting department of the State Academy of Fine Arts.

During her studies at the Academy, she and her friends at the academy prepared a play called "Academy Theater". When she attracted attention with her leading role in the play "Antigone" staged by the Academy's Theater Club, film offers began. Her first movie was "The Camellia Woman". In 1957, she played the lead role in her first movie, "Kamelyalı Kadın".

In the same year, 1957, he acted in his first professional play with Münir Özkul and Uğur Başaran in the play "Dear Shadow" at Küçük Sahne Theater. After working here for 3 years, he took part in Oda Theater. Then he moved to the Kent Actors theater.

Çolpan İlhan, who starred in nearly 200 movies, broke away from cinema in the late 70s and concentrated on fashion illustrations.

In 1998, he was awarded the title of State Artist by the Ministry of Culture.

In 1997, he founded the "Sadri Alışık Cultural Center", which distributes Sadri Alışık Cinema and Theater Awards every year. Today, it serves as a training center as well as exhibiting theater plays.

Çolpan İlhan met Sadri Alışık, her life partner of thirty-eight years, in the movie Yalnızlar Rıhtımı in 1959. She and Alışık became close during the long dock scenes of this movie.

Çolpan İlhan was engaged three times before Sadri Alışık. Director Metin Erksan, actor Fikret Hakan and Münir Özkul. But she decided to marry Sadri Alışık.

Çolpan İlhan married movie actor Sadri Alışık on August 20, 1959. They remained married until Sadri Alışık passed away in 1995. She has a son named Kerem Alışık, who is an actor. In an interview, Çolpan İlhan mentioned that she was still in touch with her former daughter-in-law Sibel Turnagöl and that she sewed her stage costumes.