Tuğba Ekinci

Tuğba Ekinci — Biography

Tuğba Ekinci is a Turkish pop singer and actress of Azerbaijani descent, her father's family originally hailing from Ganja. A graduate of Semiha Şakir High School, she was discovered at 22 by director Osman Sınav while he was filming the series Mavi Düşler in Bodrum, which became her first television role; she went on to work as a hostess on the game show Çarkıfelek on Osman Yağmurdereli's advice and as a VJ on Kral TV. In 1994 she entered a beauty pageant and made it through to the final 20 contestants, but had to withdraw after her father refused to give his permission.

Meeting Erol Köse and Şahin Özer launched her singing career; she took private voice lessons from Özcan Şenyaylar and later reached the final of the competition Buzda Dans ("Dancing on Ice"). She released the albums O Şimdi Asker in 2005 and Condom in 2008, followed by singles such as Boynuz, 100 Derece, Para Babası and Kahpe Kader (2023). Ekinci was married to basketball player Fatih Özbilen for five years, and in 2013 a court convicted her of fabricating a crime after she falsely claimed her car had been stolen to collect on an insurance policy, resulting in a 25-day prison sentence.