Lisa

1997–present

Lisa News: Blackpink Rapper Branches Out with Debut Solo Album and More

Lisa, the rapper from the massively successful K-pop group Blackpink, is seemingly everywhere these days. The 27-year-old is part of the star-studded cast of The White Lotus Season 3 and is launching her solo music career in earnest with the release of her debut album and a high-profile performance at the 97^th Oscars.

Alter Ego arrives February 28, and its lead track “Born Again,” features Doja Cat and Raye. The three artists will perform the song together at the Academy Awards on March 2. The night’s other musical acts are Wicked stars and award nominees Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, Queen Latifah, and the Los Angeles Masters Chorale.

Lisa, whose real name is Lalisa Manobal, has shared little about Alter Ego beyond its 15-song track list and sneak peeks on Instagram. Four songs on the record, including “Born Again,” have already been released as singles. Alter Ego marks her first major project since becoming a free agent as a solo artist in fall 2023.

The rest of this year is shaping up to be equally busy for the Thailand-born triple threat. She’s one of the primary performers at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April. And come July, the Blackpink 2025 World Tour kicks off in South Korea. It’s one of 10 stops for the concert series.

Musical artist Lisa is a member of Blackpink, the most successful female K-pop group in history. The Thai native moved to South Korea at age 14 to train with the cultural juggernaut YG Entertainment. After five years of training, Blackpink debuted in 2016 and has since released two albums, including the No. 1 release Born Pink, and set multiple records. More recently, Lisa has focused on her solo music career and acting. Her debut solo album, Alter Ego, is releasing in late February 2025, and she has a role on The White Lotus Season 3.

FULL NAME: Lalisa Manobal
BORN: March 27, 1997
BIRTHPLACE: Buriram, Thailand
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Aries

Lalisa Manobal, better known by her stage name Lisa, was born in Buriram, Thailand, on March 27, 1997. Originally named Pranpriya Manobal, she changed her first name as a young teenager.

The only child was raised by her mother, Chitthip Brüschweiler, and her stepfather, renowned chef Marco Brüschweiler. Details about Lisa’s biological father are scarce, but she’s incredibly close with her mom and Marco, who she considers to be her father. “My dad is Swiss, and he really values having a family day. We’d go to a mall together. And at least once or twice a year, we went traveling abroad together. I miss that so much,” Lisa told Rolling Stone in 2022. The family moved to Bangkok when Lisa was a young.

Beyond her native Thai language, Lisa learned English in middle school. “They had an English program where you learn every subject in English,” she explained to Rolling Stone. She became fluent in Korean as a teenager and can also speak conversational Chinese and Japanese.

By that point, she was well on her way to becoming a star. Her interest in performing was piqued at a young age. “My auntie had a music group, so they had mic stands and I always played with them. I would lower it until it was the same height as me. Then I would just dance and sing to myself,” Lisa shared in the Netflix documentary Blackpink: Light Up the Sky. “That was how my mom knew I loved dancing. So she signed me up for a course when I was in kindergarten. That was how it all began.”

Her parents supported her aspirations to become a pop star, especially her mom. “I competed in all these dance competitions. My dad would just say, ‘Oh, you won? Nice!’ And that was that—it’s a dad thing,” she told Rolling Stone. “My mom was my audience at home, when I danced to the dance CDs she bought.” Chitthip had dreamed of becoming an actor herself, so she enrolled Lisa in acting classes in addition to her dance training. However, “I hated acting,” Lisa admitted. “I was a baby, trying to memorize lines, but I didn’t know how to read! How could I memorize lines?” Still, it prepared her for her biggest opportunity yet.

In 2010, when she was 13, Lisa auditioned for YG Entertainment, a South Korean entertainment company. After not hearing back immediately, Lisa’s mom took her to a Thai fortune teller who suggested she change her name. The teenager chose Lalisa, which means “one who is praised.” Soon after, she was asked to join YG’s K-pop trainee system in Seoul, South Korea. She was the company’s first international recruit and the only one selected out of 4,000 people who auditioned in Thailand.

Lisa moved to South Korea alone at age 14 without knowing how to speak Korean. She told Billboard it was an isolating experience. “They wanted me to focus on speaking Korean more, so they told all the girls who trained with me: ‘No English with Lalisa,’” she said.

Her five years in the trainee program included rigorous dancing, singing, and language lessons. Ultimately, Lisa became one of four women—alongside Jisoo, Jennie, and Rosé—selected to form a new K-pop girl group called Blackpink. “I didn’t think I would make it. I was on the verge of letting go,” she told #legend magazine. “I had to keep fighting. I had to give it my all. [I thought,] ‘I don’t care how long the training will take. Bring it on! I don’t care about that anymore!’”

Jennie, Rosé, Lisa, and Jisoo make up Blackpink, the most successful female K-pop group in history.

Blackpink launched as a group in August 2016 with the EP Square One. Lisa is the group’s rapper and lead dancer. They found early success with the 2016 single “Boombayah” followed by 2018’s “Ddu-Du Ddu Du,” which became the highest-charting song from a female K-pop group on the Billboard Hot 100 in history at that time. Their EP Square Up was also released in 2018 and reach No. 40 on the Billboard 200 chart—the highest to chart by an all-female K-pop group. They broke that record with their two subsequent albums. The Album arrived in October 2020 and immediately ranked second the Billboard 200. Born Pink then clinched the No. 1 spot after its September 2022 release.

Accordingly, Blackpink has built a huge international fan base. Since 2016, the group has had over 40 billion official on-demand global streams. They also have had nine Billboard Hot 100 hits, including “Ice Cream” with Selena Gomez, “Pink Venom,” and “Shut Down.” The quartet finished their year-long Born Pink world tour in September 2023.

As Blackpink flourished, so did each of its members. For Lisa, this meant starting her own YouTube channel, Lilifilm, in 2018 to share her choreography and notable dance skills as well as experimenting with her own music. “I want to keep doing what I do within Blackpink. But personally, I have so many things I want to try,” Lisa told Rolling Stone in 2022. “I love photography, I want to try acting, and more.” Each member’s solo interests were top of mind entering Blackpink’s contract renewal discussions with YG Entertainment in 2023. Blackpink ultimately chose re-sign with the label, but Lisa and her bandmates individually became free agents, offering the opportunity for each member to focus on solo work.

Even before Blackpink announced another tour in February 2025, Lisa confirmed to Elle the group still had a future. “Of course we’re continuing, for sure,” she said. “We’re so proud of Blackpink, and I love Blackpink. It is not just because of our fans, it’s for ourselves.” The international tour begins in early July 2025 with stops in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York City.

Lisa became a free agent for her solo music career in fall 2023. Her debut album is due out at the end of February 2025.

Lisa’s solo music began in September 2021 with the release of her first single “Lalisa.” The song had 73.6 million views within the first 24 hours of its release. “Money,” another early track, reached No. 36 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It was also the first K-pop song to reach over a billion streams on Spotify.

Going out on her own was nerve-wracking for Lisa. “At first, I was scared and nervous because I never really come out here to do my own stuff,” she told Billboard. “And now I’m having fun. When [my singles] came out, the reaction from the fans, it’s healing me. It’s like, ‘Oh, my God. Yeah—I did a great job!’”

After becoming a free agent in the fall of 2023, Lisa announced her own artist management company called Lloud the following year. “I feel like Lloud is like my safe zone that always focuses on Lisa, supports Lisa,” she told Billboard. “I was just thinking about what I want to achieve this year, [taking it] year by year. So this year, what I wanted to do is work on new music and focus on that.”

As a solo artist with more creative freedom, she continues to spread her wings artistically. In June 2024, she released her first single in three years called “Rockstar” in collaboration with RCA Records. Her solo debut album, Alter Ego, is due out on February 28, 2025, before she returns to the Coachella stage in April, this time independently of Blackpink.

On The White Lotus Season 3, Lalisa Manobal portrays a hotel employee named Mook.

After taking control of her solo music career, Lisa embarked on another creative pursuit: acting. She had taken acting lessons while growing up but chose not to pursue it professionally until recently. Then in February 2024, news broke that she was joining the cast for the third season of HBO’s hit anthology series The White Lotus. Season 3 is set in Thailand. “I’m super excited and nervous, because it’s my first acting project. So I was happy for a second, and then I was like, ‘Oh, wait, wait, how am I going to deliver this?’” she told Elle.

Casting the K-pop star wasn’t just a stunt for show creator Mike White, who also writes and directs the series. “Honestly, I was resistant because I don’t think we need more attention on the show,” he told Time. “But she did a great audition, and I think she’s a great actress. I’m really happy we cast her because she’s a real source of pride for the Thai people. It’s almost like she’s a pop star and also Princess Diana!”

Lisa portrays a luxury hotel employee on The White Lotus Season 3, which began airing in mid-February 2025.

Lisa is rumored to be in a relationship with Frédéric Arnault, a billionaire heir to the French luxury goods company LVMH. Arnault attended a Blackpink concert in November 2022 and met with the group backstage. Neither has confirmed their relationship status, but they have been spotted together on multiple occasions since May 2023. The two made their first official public appearance together at a TAG Heuer event in May 2024, though they kept things professional.

The K-pop star also seemingly confirmed her relationship with Arnault in her song “Moonlit Floor,” which was released in October 2024. The lyrics describe a tryst in Paris as Lisa serenades a “green-eyed French boy.”

• I feel like I’m born to be onstage.
• To be honest, I’m not the type who’s really good at expressing my feelings. Lately, I feel more confident of what I think, and say it out loud.
• Fashion and I are inseparable. It’s important to me because fashion—along with music—is my way of expressing myself. I get inspired by the various styles, and I’ve learned to be confident [in my choices].

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Emily Shiffer

Freelance Writer

Emily Shiffer has worked as a writer for over 10 years, covering everything from health and wellness to entertainment and celebrities. She previously was on staff at SUCCESS, Men's Health, and Prevention magazines. Her freelance writing has been featured in Women's Health, Runner's World, PEOPLE, and more. Emily is a graduate of Northwestern University, where she majored in magazine journalism at the Medill School of Journalism and minored in musicology. Currently residing in Charleston, South Carolina, Emily enjoys instructing barre, surfing, and long walks on the beach with her miniature Dachshund, Gertrude.