Ella Halikas

Halikas grew up in Walnut Creek, a town in the San Francisco Bay Area.^[1][2] She is Greek American and was raised in the Greek Orthodox faith.^[3][4] She is a cousin of goalball player Eliana Mason.^[4] Halikas studied at Washington State University before transferring to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, where she graduated in 2019.^[1]

In 2020, Halikas lost her job as a waitress at a restaurant in San Francisco due to the COVID-19 pandemic and moved to Los Angeles to pursue modelling and social media influencing.^[1] She was scouted by a modeling agent on Instagram, based in San Francisco.^[1] Halikas was featured in commercials for JCPenney and Snapchat.^[1] Halikas later signed with Ford Models as a model and content creator.^[5] In 2021, Halikas was featured in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.^[6][2][7] She was photographed by Yu Tsai in Atlantic City, New Jersey for the magazine spread.^[6][8] In July 2021, she walked the runway at Miami Swim Week for Berry Beachy Swimwear, Cupshe, and VDM The Label.^[9][10] She had previously walked in Miami Swim Week in 2020.^[10]

Halikas is a public speaker and activist for body positivity and confidence.^[3][11][12] She uses her TikTok and Instagram accounts to promote body positivity.^[13][14] She partnered with the Canadian company Pebbles & Palms to launch a plus-size swimwear line.^[15]

In March 2023, Halikas was featured in Robbie Tripp's music video for his song Basic Bro.^[3][16]

In 2022, Halikas and plus-size model Alexa Jay were reportedly barred entry from The Highlight Room, an exclusive club Los Angeles.^[17][18] They posted about their experience on TikTok, claiming that they were denied entry because of their weight.^[19] The video received over one million views.^[20]