Who is Ekin-Su Culculoglu? Celebrity Big Brother contestant slammed by fans who claim reality TV veteran has been on every show

As Ekin-Su Culculoglu made her entrance into the Celebrity Big Brother house on Monday, the contestant attracted a lot of attention over social media, with several netizens claiming that the reality TV veteran has been on every show.

The British-Turkish model, actress, and TV personality's new status as a housemate at Celebrity Big Brother comes not long after her elimination from the reality show, The Traitors US. CulCuloglu was eliminated in the fourth episode of the show on January 18.

Earlier in January, Ekin-Su also took to Instagram to share the news of having parted ways with Davide Sanclimenti, her boyfriend of 18 months from Love Island. The actress also stated how break-ups were never easy, “for any couple,” requesting her fans to respect their privacy.

---

Ekin-Su Culculoglu started her career with beauty pageants

Ekin-Su Culculoglu with ex-boyfriend, Davide at the Premiere of "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" (Image via Getty/John Phillips)

Ekin-Su Culculoglu was born on August 21, 1994, to Turkish parents in Islington, London. Culculoglu moved to Loughton, Essex when she was 10 and has grown up partially in Essex and partially in Istanbul.

Ekin-Su started competing in beauty pageants when she was 16 and represented Ireland in the Miss Asia Pacific World pageant in 2011. Soon after, Ekin-Su was drawn to performing arts and enrolled herself at the University of Central Lancashire.

Five years after graduating, Ekin-Su was cast in a Turkish TV series - Kuzey Yildizi IIk Ask in 2020. In the series, Ekin-Su played the character of Isil – a photographer from London who saves the life of Kuzey. In another Turkish soap opera, Ekin-Su played the serial killer role.

In June 2022, Ekin-Su joined the reality dating show Love Island on ITV2, where she entered as a “bombshell” and ended up winning the show with boyfriend Davide Sanclimenti. The couple also starred in a short-lived travel show called Homecomings.

In September 2022, Ekin-Su Culculoglu was offered the contract to become the brand ambassador of Oh Polly – a fashion retail, BPerfect – a makeup brand. The following month, Ekin-Su was announced as a contestant on Dancing On Ice’s fifteenth series in 2023.

In October 2023, Ekin-Su Culculoglu appeared on The Wheel as a celebrity expert for beauty. This January, the actress was cast in The Traitor US, where she was eliminated in the fourth episode.

---

Netizens slam Ekin-Su Culculoglu for “trying too hard to be a celebrity”

While some CBB watchers are looking forward to what Ekin-Su Culculoglu brings to the Celebrity Big Brother house, others took to X to criticize her for “trying too hard to be a celebrity.”

Here are some X reactions about the same:

Talking to the Daily Mail about her numerous TV appearances before entering the Big Brother house, Ekin-Su stated that every different show has “helped her develop as a person.” Culculoglu further stated:

“I grew in Love Island, I grew in Traitors US and I know with Big Brother that I’m definitely going to develop and come out a better version of myself and a version that I don’t even know exists right now.”

Ekin-Su also pointed out that she couldn’t wait to see what the show held in store for her.