Burcu Esmersoy (born 2 October 1976) is a Turkish anchorwoman, journalist, model, occasional actress, and former beauty pageant contestant who represented her nation at Miss International in Japan. She received a Golden Butterfly for Best Female Presenter. Burcu Esmersoy is one of Turkey's leading female reality show hosts and highest-paid television personalities. Amongst the Turkish television shows hosted by Esmersoy are Ver Fırına, Survivor, Popstar, Nedir Ne Değildir, Late Summer Night with Burcu Esmersoy, Komedi Türkiye, En Güzel Bölüm, Elin Oğlu, and Dancing with the Stars. As an actress, she starred in Romantik Komedi (2010), Dedektif Memoli (2011), as Aylin Youlin in Çocuklar Duymasın (2012), and as special guest star Melda in Bir Erkek Bir Kadın (2013), Turkish adaptation of the French-language Canadian comedy television series Un gars, une fille. Burcu Esmersoy has been the face of a variety of advertising campaigns. Since her debut, she has also appeared in numerous magazine covers, articles, and editorials across Turkey. Early life and education Esmersoy was born in Istanbul to parents of Circassian descent whose parents were from Egypt. In an interview in 2020, Esmersoy revealed that she had been physically abused and beaten by her father in her childhood, who would hit her with a hose. Her parents divorced as her father's affair with another woman came to light. Following her mother's second marriage, Esmersoy and her sister were forced to refer to their mother as 'aunt' instead of 'mom' and became distanced from her as they moved in with their paternal grandparents. After finishing her secondary studies at Beşiktaş Lisesi, a prestigious high school located on the European side of Istanbul, she enrolled in the Tourism Management Department of the Faculty of Business Management at Istanbul University. Following her graduation, she went on to study Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management at Tisch Center, New York University School of Professional Studies. In addition to her full-time studies, Burcu Esmersoy took part in Barbara Poitier's performing art workshops at Istanbul Bilgi University. She is also an alumna of Dialog Anlatım İletişim. Besides Turkish, Burcu Esmersoy speaks average English and Italian. Career In 1997, she was placed third runner-up at the Miss Turkey beauty pageant. The same year she represented Turkey at Miss International in Tokyo, Japan where she won the "Miss Friendship" title. She began her broadcasting career in a children's programme aired on Kanal D and joined CNN Türk's Sports News