 Celal died on June 15, 2013, but it was announced two days later by her family.She is survived by her daughter Zeynep Ergun, who was the chair of the English Language and Literature Department at İstanbul University.In 1977 Celal was honored for her novel "Üç Yirmi Dört Saat" with the Turkish Sedat Simavi Literature Award along with Fazıl Hüsnü Dağlarca.