Ekland was born Britt-Marie Eklund in Stockholm, Sweden to Maj Britt, a secretary, and Sven Eklund, who ran an upmarket clothing store in Stockholm and was captain of the Swedish national curling team, four-time national champion and one-time president of the World Curling Federation. Ekland's mother died of Alzheimer's disease in the 1980s, which had a profound effect on her.
Ekland grew up with three younger brothers, and has said that she was overweight for much of her childhood: "I was very heavy. God, I was brutal-looking. I always tried to be funny to make up for the fact that I was fat and ugly". As a teenager, Ekland left school to travel with a theatre company and was spotted in a coffee shop in Italy by a talent agent who sent her to London to audition for films.
