Ziynet was born in Cyprus on April 29, 1975 to Turkish Cypriot parents. Her father had been living in the United Kingdom since 1963 and had met her mother when he was on vacation to his native Northern Cyprus. They had three children, and Ziynet was the only daughter. Because of the Cyprus conflict, the family moved back to the United Kingdom. She currently has both a British and Cypriot citizenship. At the age of six, she moved back to Cyprus to finish her early education. In 1994, she moved to Istanbul to study music at Istanbul Technical University. She graduated this university in 1999.