Katerina Stikoudi

Aikaterini "Katerina" Stikoudi (Αικατερίνη "Κατερίνα" Στικούδη; born 16 April 1985) is a Greek singer, actress, tv host, model, businesswoman, former champion swimmer and beauty pageant titleholder.

Aikaterini Stikoudi was born on 16 April 1985, in Thessaloniki, to Nikos Stikoudis, a greengrocer, and Dina Stikoudi (née Drapsa), an elementary school teacher.

She has an older brother, named Telemachos.

From the early age of 8 she started her swimming career when her parents gave her the opportunity to register in PAOK swimming academy.

In her adolescence, she signed with PAOK Swimming Team as a professional athlete.

After first gaining fame in 2001 by finishing fifth in the national swimming championship as PAOK swimming athlete she pursued a career in modeling, television, cinema and theatre.

In 2001, at the age of 16, she finished fifth at the national championship.

At the age of 17, Stikoudi started her modeling career in her hometown, Thessaloniki, signed with her first model agency having some photoshoots and model television appearances alongside her final school years.

In 2003, after graduating from school, she entered in college.

This year she moved to Larissa where she started studying Medical Laboratories and Dentistry on Technological Educational Institute of Thessaly.

Alongside her college life as a helping doctor she started studying Arts and Theatre on Art Theatre of Christos Dimitriadis also in Larissa.

After she completed three semesters on both of her studies she quitted to take part on National Beauty Pageant of Greece.

In 2005 she won the title of Miss Hellas 2005, on National Annual Beauty Pageant of Greece, followed by her participation on Miss World 2005 representing Greece.

On the following year, Stikoudi followed a career as a hostess and actress hosting the talk shows La Sousourela (2005), Proinos Kafes (2006), Mega Star from 2008 to 2011, Guinness World Record Show (2009), My Style Rocks (2020) and Just the 2 Of Us (2021).

She also appeared in television series as Erotas (2005), Daddy's Girls (2007), If I were rich (2019) and movies as Soula Ela Xana (2009), The treasure (2017), We did it all together! (2018), The Black Bachelor 4 (2021).

In early 2005, Stikoudi decided to sign up with Nation Annual Beauty Pageant of Greece, the most important and popular Beauty Contest on the country, holding by ANT1 Television Network.

On April 18, after she passed the first steps of the competition, she took part on the semi-finals night.

The next day she was on the Finals of the show where, at the end of the night, completed as the runner-up of the year with the title of Miss Hellas 2005.

The following days she moved to Athens and signed with model agency Cristi's Models, having her first covers on Telerama, OK!

Greece and others.

On December 10 she represented Greece at the Miss World 2005 televised by E! NBC in Sanya, China, where she finished in top 20 countries.

By the end of the year Stikoudi made her acting television debut on ANT1 Daytime soap opera Erotas, where she portrayed Violetta from 2005 to 2006.

Moreover she signed with STAR Channel for the upcoming morning television talk show La Sousourela as the hostess of the show next to the journalist Themis Mallis.

She hosted the show until July 2006 when she signed with ANT1 for entering the morning television show Proinos Kafes.

There she was the hostess of beauty and fashion column for two seasons, taking also part on the whole of the show next to the hostess Eleonora Meleti.

In 2006, she also was the hostess of Model of the Year Beauty Contest and Peloponnesian Beauty Pageant in Greece.

In 2007 she entered the cast of comedy series Daddy's Girls as Celia Roda and she also hosted the Peloponnesian Beauty Pageant for an other year.

In 2008 she posed almost naked for the Greek men's magazine Nitro, for the cover of August, and she also made a guest appearance on the telenovela Lola portraying herself.

In August 2008, Stikoudi signed with biggest Greek television network Mega Channel, known as MEGA, as the new host of the most long-running talk show in Greek television Mega Star.

In 2009, Stikoudi cooperated with dj-LAVA, as a singer, in his single Tora.

After then she started her solo career as a pop and rap singer.

Alongside the hosting of Mega Star, in 2009 she made a guest appearance on the family comedy hit My Beloved Neighbours and also made her film debut with an uncredited role in romance Soula Ela Xana.

In the same period DJ Lava proposed her to sing together his new rap-influenced song Tora (Now).

After she accepting the proposal, the sing became a big hit in Greece, being at the top of the charts for weeks.

On June 24, 2009 she and DJ Lava won the award of "The Sexiest Video Clip of the Year", for their song Tora (Now), on MAD Video Music Awards.

In 2011 she released her first music album I Mousiki mou (My Music).

On October 11, she made her first appearance on the show on the premiere of the 20th season.

There she was presenting all the news about the music industry in Greece and worldwide and hosting singers and celebrities of the country, every Saturday afternoon.

Her successful presence on the show made her continue hosting the show till May 2011, when Mega Channel decided to cancel the show after 22 years because of economic reasons.

The next ten years she released four more albums I yefsi tis zois mou (2013), Cliche (2015), Soundtrack (2018) and Grande (2021).