Born in 1818 or in 1820 in Ioannina, she was the daughter of the chieftain and hero of the Greek revolution, Markos Botsaris. When the Greek Revolution broke out, Ekaterini was in Ioannina. She and other women were captured by the authorities and transferred to a distant land of the Ottoman Empire, within the European territory. During her time in captivity she was put under the protection of upper class Ottoman women. In fact, it seems that one of them tried to adopt her. In the end however, after the prisoner exchange, Ekaterini returned to her family and later she went to the newly created Greek state.