Lisa From Blackpink: The Most Famous Person in the World Is in ‘The White Lotus’

The actress playing Mook in The White Lotus Season 3 is one of the most famous people in the world. And many people watching the show, it seems, have no idea.

That might sound like an exaggeration, but it’s not. The biggest star on Max’s hit show isn’t a Hollywood veteran, a nepo baby, or a model—it’s Lalisa Manobal, a 27-year-old K-pop sensation from Blackpink, the South Korean girl group that has taken the world by storm.

For viewers unfamiliar with the K-pop world, Manobal’s fame might be hard to grasp. In the show, Manobal plays Mook, a sweet and flirtatious resort employee who becomes entangled in a romantic friendship with a security guard named Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong). Outside the show, however, Manobal is a global icon in her own right, whose influence stretches far beyond the screen.

She has a whopping 105 million followers on Instagram, and her songs with Blackpink have racked up billions of streams on Spotify. At the end of last year, Vanity Fair included her on its annual Hollywood Issue cover, where she featured alongside the likes of Zendaya, Nicole Kidman, Glen Powell, Zoe Saldaña, and Sydney Sweeney.

Earlier this month, she was a featured performer at the Academy Awards, singing in a James Bond tribute alongside Doja Cat and Raye. The star is also rumored to be dating the son of a French billionaire, an heir to the Arnault family fortune.

Yet the dissonance between her international fame and awareness among many Americans is stark; as some of her White Lotus colleagues noted, they were completely unaware of just how huge she is until they arrived in Thailand and witnessed the fan pandemonium firsthand.

So for White Lotus audiences who may not be clued into the Lisa phenomenon, here’s what you should know about the global superstar.

Moving From Thailand to South Korea

Manobal first entered the music industry at the age of 14. After auditioning for YG Entertainment, one of South Korea’s biggest music labels, Manobal signed with the company, moving from her homeland of Thailand to South Korea, where she spent the next few years as a pop star trainee.

For those unaware, K-pop trainee programs are intense, like military levels of intense. The artists live together in dorms provided by their companies, and they often practice for over 15 hours a day. These practices typically involve grueling dance sessions, singing lessons, and long hours in the recording studio. Trainees often spend years working towards their debut, but there is no guarantee of ever making it, as most of them are let go by the company before they even get close to a debut.

Despite the immense pressure, Manobal remembers always trying to stay positive, hopeful that she would get her big break one day.

“It’s just the way I am,” Manobal said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, reflecting on her ability to push through even the most grueling training days. “I was [even] like this when I was little.”

Blackpink

After five years of training, Manobal finally made her debut in 2016 as “Lisa,” the principal dancer and rapper for the girl group Blackpink, whose other members are Jennie Kim, Jisoo, and Rosé.

Blackpink’s debut single album, Square One, was an immediate hit in South Korea, turning the members into pop sensations almost overnight. The album’s sound is a distinct mix of hip-hop and hyper-pop. Two of the most popular singles of the album were “Whistle” and “Boombayah,” which have over 920M and 1.7B views on their music videos, respectively.

Since the release of Square One, Blackpink, whose fans call themselves “Blinks,” has gained worldwide popularity. They have gone on two world tours and became the first South Korean girl group to ever perform at Coachella in 2019.

Currently, Blackpink has over 15 million monthly listeners on Spotify; their YouTube channel sits at 96.1M subscribers; and Manobal’s Instagram (@lalalalisa_m) alone has 105M followers.

The White Lotus

When Mike White, the creator of The White Lotus, began to cast for Season 3 of the show, which takes place in Thailand, they reached out to Manobal to see if she would be interested in auditioning for the role of Mook.

As a fan of the show, Manobal jumped at the opportunity, eventually flying out to Phuket for her callback, where she impressed White and the casting directors with her acting and natural charm.

In an interview with Time Magazine, White recalls initially feeling hesitant to cast such a globally known pop star.

“Honestly, I was resistant because I don’t think we need more attention on the show,” White said. “But she did a great audition, and I think she’s a great actress.”

In Feb. 2024, filming began in Thailand for season 3, lasting over six months. And according to executive producer David Bernard, it was always easy to tell when Manobal was on set.

“Being a foreigner, it’s hard to really express, unless you experience it, how much Thai people love Lisa and how much she means to the culture,” Bernard said to the Wall Street Journal. “It’s a Princess Diana kind of energy.”

Manobal’s Mook is, in many ways, entirely different from the singer herself. As an ambassador for Céline, photographs of Manobal often show the singer wearing some of the hottest designer looks around. But in the show, she is practically unrecognizable as Mook, who mainly appears in a beige hotel uniform, with her hair in a low bun and minimal makeup.

Despite their different styles, Manobal claims that Mook is much more like her than people think. “[She’s] flirtier and [more] lady-like—I’m more like a tomboy,” Manobal told Variety.

Since the season’s release on Feb. 16, Manobal has received praise for her portrayal of Mook. Although Mook is a relatively minor character in The White Lotus ensemble, her storyline with Gaitok is beloved by fans, who fear for the innocent and naïve characters' survival amidst the debauchery, drama, and chaos of the vacationers.

Solo Debut: Alter Ego

Only two days after episode one of White Lotus dropped, Manobal released her first full-length studio album, Alter Ego, featuring guest appearances from Doja Cat, Raye, Rosalía, Future, Megan Thee Stallion, and Tyla.

As of yesterday, two singles off the album, “Moonlit Floor” and “Chill” are among the top songs on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Pop Song rankings, officially making her the first K-pop act ever to have multiple songs on a single chart.

Rumored Billionaire Boyfriend

Since 2022, there have been rumors that Manobal is dating Frédéric Arnault, the son of French tycoon Bernard Arnault, the head of LVMH, a luxury goods conglomerate that basically owns every designer brand you can think of, from Bulgari to Céline to many others.

Pictures first emerged of the two when Arnault attended one of Blackpink’s concerts. Since then, the pair have appeared together at several events. Most recently, photographs showed Arnualt at The White Lotus Season 3 premiere in Bangkok.

Although they have never confirmed their relationship, their numerous appearances together lend credence to the dating rumors.

In January of this year, the Arnault family appeared at Donald J. Trump’s inauguration. Some theorize this appearance was a strategic move on the Arnault family’s part to avoid any Trump tariffs on their luxury brands.

Does this mean Manobal will make an apperarnce at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago? Only time will tell.

Blackpink World Tour

In the summer, Manobal will embark on another world tour with Blackpink, which will kick off in South Korea in July. From there, the group will travel to Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, New York, Paris, Milan, and Barcelona. And finally, Blackpink will end their tour at London’s Wembley Stadium, where they will become the first K-pop group ever to perform at the venue.

If you’re interested in seeing Manobal perform live, try to get a ticket to one of the venues. But in the meantime, people can catch her on The White Lotus every Sunday on Max until Apr. 6—and hope that her sweet character survives.