Love Island All Stars' Ekin-Su's journey from Turkish soap star to UK reality TV icon
If you have any reality TV knowledge whatsoever, you have heard of Ekin-Su. She took part in the 2022 series of Love Island, and has since taken part in many other TV shows, and was known for being both dramatic, hilarious, and relatable - and the Essex girl is now back on our screens once more!
She's the 2022 bombshell that brought both entertainment and drama into the Love Island villa, and after Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu won the show with ex-boyfriend Davide Sanclimenti, she's gone on to have one of the most successful careers in Islanders history.
Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu is an actress of Turkish origin who was a contestant on series eight of ITV2 show Love Island in 2022. Ekin-Su entered the villa on day three alongside fellow bombshell Afia Tonkmor, with the beauty going on to win the show alongside Davide Sanclimenti.
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Before Love Island, Ekin-Su was already famous and had starred as a serial killer in Turkish soap opera Kuzey Yildizi. She divulged that her most notable role so far had been in a Turkish soap opera in which she played a serial killer, she said: "I’ve played really weird characters."
Since her appearance on Love Island, Ekin-Su has seemingly gone from strength to strength. The TV icon was born in 1994 to Turkish parents in Islington, London, but she moved to Loughton, Essex at the age of 10.
Davide and Ekin-Su have broken up since leaving the villa, but that hasn't stopped her popularity among the British public. She also appeared on the 2023 series of Dancing On Ice, and entered the Celebrity Big Brother house in 2024 alongside the likes of Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh.
She even wrote her own book last year, titled: "Be Your Own Best Friend: And other lessons from a life in and out of the limelight". In this honest and uplifting guide to life, Ekin-Su reveals the hard-won lessons that have made her the person she is today.
In January 2025, she has returned to Love Island for the second series of All Stars, entering the villa during the launch show on last night (January 13) as the first bombshell. She appeared at the villa at the end of last night's episode in a stunning white and silver outfit, and was met with applause from the other islanders.
Love Island announced her return with a post captioned: "Crawling so they could run... Ekin-Su returns for another terrace kiss". This refers to the iconic moment where she crawled on the villa terrace to steal a secret kiss from bombshell Jay Younger while coupled up with Davide, which ultimately went viral on social media.