Tuğba Ekinci

Tuğba Ekinci — Biography

Tuğba Ekinci, a Turkish singer and screen actress whose paternal family hails from Ganja in Azerbaijan, is the daughter of a nurse and a civil engineer trained at Istanbul Technical University, and finished school at Semiha Şakir High School. Her entry into show business came at 22: while shooting Mavi Düşler in Bodrum, director Osman Sınav noticed her and gave her what became her first television role. She then spent time hosting the game show Çarkıfelek on Osman Yağmurdereli's suggestion, and went on to work on Kral TV as a VJ. She took part in a 1994 beauty pageant, clearing the eliminations to reach the top twenty, but had to withdraw when her father refused permission. Meeting Şahin Özer and Erol Köse steered her toward singing; she trained privately in voice with Özcan Şenyaylar and reached the final of the competition show Buzda Dans. Her discography includes the 2005 album O Şimdi Asker and 2008's Condom, plus later singles like Boynuz, Yanma Demezler, 100 Derece, Hadi Kızım, Para Babası, Türkiye'nin Aslanları and 2023's Kahpe Kader. After a five-year marriage to basketball player Fatih Özbilen, a court convicted her in 2013 of fabricating a crime for falsely reporting her car stolen to claim on an insurance policy, and sentenced her to 25 days in prison.