BLACKPINK’s Lisa is looking back at the name change that came just before her life changed completely.
In a new Vanity Fair cover story, the 29-year-old singer, dancer and actress spoke about growing up in Thailand, moving to South Korea as a teenager and building a career that now stretches from BLACKPINK to acting, solo music and a Las Vegas residency.
Before she became known globally as Lisa, she was Pranpriya Manobal. Vanity Fair reported that she legally changed her first name to Lalisa when she was 13 going on 14, after she and her mother visited a fortune teller while waiting to hear back from YG Entertainment.
The fortune teller suggested a more auspicious name, and soon after the change, Lisa received a callback from YG.
Lisa Changed Her Name After Visiting a Fortune Teller
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Vanity Fair reported that Lisa and her mother, Chitthip Brüschweiler, went to see a fortune teller after Lisa auditioned for YG Entertainment, the South Korean company behind BLACKPINK. She had not yet heard back from the agency and asked about her future.
“The fortune teller stuff, you mean?” Lisa said when the subject came up in the interview. She explained that in Thailand, going to see a fortune teller can be a normal, fun thing to do. When the fortune teller suggested changing her name to something luckier, Lisa said she was ready to try anything.
She changed her first name to Lalisa, which Vanity Fair said translates from Thai to “one who is praised.” She later shortened it into the stage name that now follows her around the world.
She Started Over in South Korea at 14
Lisa moved to South Korea in 2011 to begin training with YG. Vanity Fair reported that she became the first nonethnic Korean trainee in the company’s program, a major step for a teenager who barely spoke Korean at the time.
“I had to start from zero, but I felt like I really wanted to do this,” she told the magazine.
That move eventually led her to BLACKPINK, where she joined Jennie, Jisoo and Rosé. Vanity Fair described the group as one of the best-selling girl groups of all time, the most subscribed-to musical group on YouTube and the most followed and most streamed all-female group on Spotify.
Lisa Said Rosé Became Like a “Twin Sister”
Lisa said Jennie helped guide her early on because Jennie was already at YG and spoke English. She also remembered finding a way to connect with Jisoo even though they did not easily share a language at first.
Her closest early bond was with Rosé, who arrived later and shared the experience of having family abroad. “We became like twin sisters,” Lisa told Vanity Fair.
Lisa said she wants to enjoy BLACKPINK’s next tour more than she was able to enjoy the group’s earlier rise. Looking back at the speed of their success, she said it was not exactly sad, but she sometimes thinks she should have taken in the moment more.
She Still Keeps Her Personal Life Off Limits
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There is one subject Lisa does not want to discuss in interviews: her personal life. Vanity Fair reported that her publicist warned the writer twice not to ask about it, and Lisa did not address relationship speculation directly.
Instead, she talked about privacy and obsessive fans. Lisa said fans have become more respectful since she opened up about how little privacy she has, but she also admitted that fame can still become overwhelming.
“Sometimes it’s just a little too much, and sometimes I just want to be normal,” she said.
Lisa Is Expanding Beyond BLACKPINK
Lisa made her acting debut in the third season of HBO’s The White Lotus, filmed Tygo, a spin-off in the Extraction franchise, and is preparing for a limited Las Vegas residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace.
People reported that the residency makes Lisa the first K-pop artist to launch a Las Vegas residency, with shows scheduled for two weekends in November.
Vanity Fair also reported that Lisa has been working on new music now that she is back in the U.S. and that the early idea is for the album to support the Vegas run. She launched her company, Lloud, in 2024, and the magazine reported that her music is now released through Lloud in partnership with RCA Records, giving her ownership of her recordings.
Asked whether she is Lisa or Lalisa, she gave the magazine a simple answer: “I’m happy whenever they call me. Lisa or Lalisa, it’s still me.”