K-Pop Star Lisa From BlackPink Is On The Cover Of Vanity Fair's Hollywood Issue - And People Have Questions

Vanity Fair’s Hollywood Issue of 2024 has just been unveiled and a lot of people are asking the same thing: Who is Lisa – or rather, who is Lalisa Monobal?

Social media has been in a tizzy over the inclusion of the young starlet, best known as one-fourth of K-Pop’s BlackPink, sharing space alongside major players in the acting game, such as Nicole Kidman and Jonathan Bailey. So, who exactly is Lisa and why is she on the cover of Vanity Fair's Hollywood Issue?

Lisa of BlackPink fame was born Pranpriya Monobal in Buriram, Thailand on March 27, 1997, as noted by the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

As shared in Billboard, that would legally change her name to Lalisa at the behest of a fortune teller following a tryout for YG Entertainment, one of the largest entertainment and management agencies in South Korea. Less than a week after she adopted the moniker, she was called into YG to become a trainee for a future K-Pop project.

In 2016, Lisa debuted as one of four members of BlackPink, becoming the first non-Korean artist to be invited to join a group. Since that time, BlackPink has dominated charts around the world with Lisa becoming one of the most recognizable faces of the collective. According to the Wall Street Journal, she has also appeared in numerous fashion campaigns and magazines the world over, including French luxury brand Celine and Harper’s Bazaar.

On Wednesday, Vanity Fair began to promote their 2024 Hollywood Issue on social media.

Among the pack of this year’s notable bunch include Academy Award winners Nicole Kidman and Dev Petel, young talents Zendaya and Sydney Sweeney, Hollywood upstarts Glen Powell and Ncuti Gatwa, and British actors Jonathan Bailey and Josh O’Connor.

To everyone’s surprise, Lisa is also included, being the only musician in the group of stars (Zendaya once had a singing career but is more notable as an actress nowadays). To date, she has yet to act in a mainstream project, but that will be changing with her upcoming appearance in Season 3 of The White Lotus. Billboard reports that she will portray Mook, a resort manager who greets guests as they arrive in Thailand.

Though it’s understood that Lisa is a big name in the music world, social media users have questioned Vanity Fair’s reasons for including the singer in an issue dedicated to big-screen actors.

“Why is Lisa here?” X/Twitter user Maryamr2003 posed on the social media app. “No hate, but she’s not an actress – [not] yet [anyway], because [The White Lotus] is not even out.”

“I would understand if it was [focused on] celebrities,” X user janitorIevi stated, “but why is Lisa in a 'Hollywood Issue'? She isn’t even an actress, right?”

Some have even brought up Lisa’s supposed relationship with Frédéric Arnault, the former TAG Heuer CEO and son of LVMH luxury Bernard Arnault, as being the reason behind Lisa appearing on the special Vanity Fair cover. The two have never confirmed their coupling, but the Daily Mail notes they've been photographed together over the last two years.

“Not hating on Lisa, but what acting credentials [does] she [have] that could land her among these actors,” questions X user whydryn. “[The] world hasn’t seen her acting debut in The White Lotus. At this point, we might [as well believe] that her rich boyfriend bought her way to this cover.”

Being a fan of The White Lotus’ first two seasons raised interest in Lisa about possibly appearing on the popular HBO series. Still, when she received the call from showrunner Mike White to audition, she was incredibly nervous.

“It was my first [audition], so I didn’t really know if I would be able to get the role,” the singer told Vanity Fair. “I did take [acting] lessons a few times, but my schedule isn’t very flexible, so I stopped at some point.”

“On set, everyone was so professional, she continued. “They understood that it was my first time acting, so they tried to help me and give me advice, like ‘Oh, you shouldn’t stress. You’re going to be fine.’’

Despite her nerves occasionally getting the best of her, Lisa (who will be credited as "Lalisa Monobal" on The White Lotus) says that’s often a sign that she’s doing the right thing.

“Like if my heart, my body, and my mind all tell me that I have to do this, I’ll just go for it,” she told VF. “I’m also lucky that my family, my close friend, and the people that I work with are so supportive. They’ve always supported my decisions. Even when they don’t really agree and they’re super worried, they still support me and take the risk with me, so I never feel like I’m taking it alone.”

As Monobal starts this new chapter in her career, she assures her fans that her heart is still as connected to music and BlackPink as it ever was.

“I know that my fans have been really patient. They’ve been waiting, so I wanted to give them something that they’ve been waiting for,” Lisa explained. “So, right now I’m trying to create more music, more and more songs, so I can have more chances to see them.”