The K-pop star who stole the show in The White Lotus… despite only being onscreen for 10 minutes: Blackpink singer Lalisa Manobal sends fans wild with ‘amazing’ performance in HBO series

An acting credit on The White Lotus almost certainly translates to global recognition, with the HBO series having turned Meghann Fahy, Jennifer Coolidge, and Leo Woodall into household names. 

But Lalisa Manobal is an anomaly; the Thai popstar, who was part of the K-pop sensation Blackpink, was already a mega star when Mike White grudgingly cast her on his award-winning show. 

Lalisa, who is better known by as Lisa, has over 105 million Instagram followers – making her this season’s most famous castmate by a mile. 

However, it was Lisa’s celebrity status that actually turned White off – with the 54-year-old American filmmaker telling The Hollywood Reporter she was like ‘Taylor Swift meets Princess Diana’ and he was worried the singer would distract from the series. 

He was also opposed to casting a K-pop singer on his satirical comedy show after White discovered ‘there was a Blackpink girl’ on Sam Levinson’s widely-panned HBO series The Idol that was cancelled after one season. 

Despite a knockout audition, White was still opposed to giving her the role of Thidapon ‘Mook’ Sornsin because he felt the production didn’t ‘need’ the attention she would bring. 

Fast-forward a year, and The White Lotus fans are outraged that Lisa’s character only had ’10 minutes of screentime’ – with a character arc that flatlined towards the end of the series –  despite the singer making a stellar acting debut.  

‘So they didn’t use Lisa for anything at all this season, huh?’ one fan wrote on X/Twitter, after the finale was aired on Monday, April 7. 

Another said: ‘Her character has been significantly underutilised this season. It’s a little disappointing considering how interesting her storyline has been in the past.’ 

 A third added: ‘Her storyline was just vibes and reaction shots.’ 

‘I honestly think because she is such a huge star she didn’t need a complex character for this show [to be honest] she did what she needed to do,’ a fourth X user noted, while speculating that her ‘role’ was essentially to promote The White Lotus season three. 

There’s no denying, however, that her stint on the show has turned the focus on Lisa’s acting chops, with several X users praising her ‘amazing’ performance in the wake of the final episode being released last night. 

One person wrote: ‘I have to say I don’t listen to a whole lot of KPOP, but Lisa (Lalisa Manobal) in The White Lotus has been nothing short of impressive with her acting skills, but going forward consider me her fan and she’s insanely gorgeous.’

‘Lisa’s acting in The White Lotus is so good,’ another said. 

A third comment read: ‘Lisa’s acting is surprisingly natural! For her debut in acting, she’s quite impressive and not awkward or cringe, considering it’s an American series.’ 

Lisa’s performance as Mook on the show about a luxury holiday resort – and the shady characters that check in to The White Lotus – also impressed her castmates. 

Sex Education star Aimee Lou Wood, who played fan-favourite character Chelsea, told The Hollywood Reporter: ‘I was impressed by her. It’s a big first scene and she’s so lovely and open. 

‘She and Tayme (who played Gaitok), like their storyline, is one of my favorite of the season.’ 

With The White Lotus under her belt, the triple threat performer – who can sing, dance, and act – is now eyeing Hollywood. 

The singer told Variety she hoped to, one day, play a ‘badass’ in an action flick after launching her career on the hottest franchise series on TV right now. 

The White Lotus is only the latest feather in Lisa’s cap; she released her first solo album and announced her world tour in the same month that she made her debut on the show.  

Lisa, of K-pop sensation Blackpink – which has more than 40 billion on-demand streams as of November 2024 – has been slowly but surely rising to the top.

Real name Lalisa Manobal, who is originally from Thailand was only 13 when she beat thousands of other aspiring idols in auditions for Seoul-based label Young Entertainment’s (YG) notoriously gruelling trainee scheme.

At the time, she spoke no Korean but ultimately became the company’s first ever musician hopeful that wasn’t of the country’s descent.

Since then, she has evolved into a confident performer, who is renowned for her dancing skills, exceptional rapping skills and charismatic stage persona.

In the lyrics of one of her latest hit singles – Rockstar – she confidently sings: ‘Been on a mission, boy, they call me catch-and-kill; I’m stealin’ diamonds, make them chase me for the thrill… That’s my life, life, baby, I’m a rockstar.’

The tune – which earned her the coveted Best K-Pop prize at the MTV VMAs in September – is a teaser of her upcoming album, Alter Ego, to be released by her own label, Lloud and RCA Records. She has also recently released a song with Raye and Doja Cat.

Announcing her own company in February last year in an Instagram post – which featured a sleek black and white photoshoot that showcased the entertainer in a glamorous suit and tie – Lisa, introduced her ‘platform to showcase my vision in music and entertainment’.

‘Join me on this exciting journey to push through new boundaries together,’ she added.

The venture – followed by fellow bandmate Jennie Kim’s launch of her agency ODD ATELIER and Kim Ji-soo’s launching Blissoo – appears to be the latest in a move to establish Lisa as a solo performer in the wake of the group’s split from YG as individual artists. 

Her third bandmate, Rosé (real name Roseanne Park) also signed with THEBLACKLABEL and Atlantic Records ahead of releasing her debut solo project, Rosie last year. 

Both Jennie and Jisoo also have albums under their own labels coming out – and are also signed with Columbia Records and Warner Records respectively.

While they remain under their long-time label YG as Blackpink, Lisa, Jennie, Rose and Jisoo now have the opportunity to establish more of their own endeavours, Rolling Stone reported.

And the fab four are set to make a united comeback this year – as they have announced a world tour in 2025. 

Describing her training days in the group’s 2020 Netflix documentary, Blackpink: Light Up the Sky, Lisa admitted it was lonely and challenging to be away from her family in Thailand.

‘I had to keep fighting. I had to give it my all,’ she said. ‘I didn’t care about how long it would take. I said, ‘Bring it on! I don’t care anymore!”

Speaking to Rolling Stone in 2022 Lisa opened up about the experience – including the monthly performance evaluations which are famously cutthroat.

‘There would be times when I’d say, ‘I just want to go back to school’,’ she recalled. 

‘Our debut plans kept being pushed back and back, and I couldn’t see the end of this. When was this going to end? Like, when?! Do we have to get tested every single month?’

‘When I told her, ‘I want to quit,’ my mom would say, ‘Think about your situation. How many kids want to be in your place? If you give up and come home, do you think you can have a normal life? You’re just going to try again. You’re here now, just hold on until the end.”

She also opened up about her childhood back home – and going to dance classes as young as five years old.

‘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,’ Lisa said.

‘My mom was my audience at home, when I danced to the dance CDs she bought. Turns out, her dream was to be an actor. So when I was little, she sent me to acting and dancing classes.

‘I hated acting. I was a baby, trying to memorise lines, but I didn’t know how to read! How could I memorise lines?’

 Ahead of the premiere of The White Lotus, Lisa reflected on her first day of filming, with the singer confessing she was ‘so nervous’ that she kept forgetting her lines.

‘I was like, ‘I can’t remember my lines’,’ she told Variety. I’m blanked.’

Speaking to Elle about the project over the summer, Lisa branded director Mike White a ‘genius’ – and said she ‘cried’ after learning she got the part of Mook, a wellness director at The White Lotus resort in Thailand, where the latest season is set. 

‘I was with my friends, my mom’s friends, and my mom as well, but I didn’t tell them that I auditioned for it,’ she admitted.

‘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?’

‘It’s pretty new to me, but I think it’s similar to shooting music videos…I’m excited for my fans to see it.

‘I feel like people are going to fall in love with Thailand even more.’

Being a triple threat is far from Lisa’s only accolade. As well as being the most followed K-pop star on Instagram – where she posts to more than 105 million fans – Lisa was in 2023 invited for a prestigious state banquet in Buckingham Palace and received an honourary MBE from King Charles III.

The monarch, 76, appeared to be in high spirits as he held an Investiture, in the presence of The President of the Republic of Korea and the First Lady, during their official State Visit to the United Kingdom.

He invested the Blackpink members in recognition of the band’s role as COP26 Advocates for the summit in Glasgow 2021. 

Blackpink were first appointed by the UK Government as COP26 Advocates in January 2021. Non-UK citizens can be considered for an honour for their work within the UK. 

The group released a series of videos aimed at encouraging young people to learn more about climate change, which resulted – the government says – in ‘significantly increased engagement’ with the Summit from a young audience.

Lisa later said she will ‘forever cherish’ the moment in a gushing Instagram post.

She had shared an excited photo of herself holding up the award, seemingly moments after the investiture ceremony, and posed for a smiling selfie in a chic strapless grey dress, adorned with a cape, from clothing brand Asava.

The star teamed her look with white leather pumps from Stuart Weitzman and a BVLGARI watch, styling her raven tresses into a sophisticated half-up half-down look.

Other glamorous snaps in the carousel showed the star glamorously posing in what looked like a luxurious waiting room and a private car.

‘So deeply honored to be a part of this great moment,’ Lisa wrote in a post on social media.

‘I would have never have imagined standing here receiving an Honorary MBE so thank you and will forever cherish this moment.’

Over that summer, Lisa and Blackpink also made history at BST Hyde Park by becoming the first Korean band to headline a major UK music festival.

The girl group closed out the second weekend of the annual event in London to a sold-out crowd of 65,000 fans.

Opening to screams and pink fireworks shooting up from the stage, the girls launched into the Pink Venom before performing 16 more songs and having three outfit changes. 

Introducing themselves to their young crowd, they performed a mix of K-Pop favourites including Kick It, Pretty Savage, How You Like That, and Shut Down. 

Even their first ever single, Whistle – the one that made them famous – was among the setlist. 

The roaring audience included Hugh Grant who revealed himself as a new fan of Blackpink after taking his daughter. 

Taking to X, the A-lister in July wrote: ‘Very grateful to three eleven year olds for taking me to see @BLACKPINK yesterday. Am rabid Blink now. Slept with my heart hammer.’

‘Blink’ is the name given to fans of the K Pop group and the hammer is Blackpink’s official concert glow stick, known as Hammer Bong.

As well as their combined group success, Lisa had already found immense musical success in her own right, before even establishing her own label.

After she came out with solo hit Money in 2021, it became the first album and song by a K-pop solo artist to reach one billion streams on Spotify, respectively.

And in October 2023, Pinkvilla reported that she became the first ever K-pop soloist to get two 14 million-like music videos on YouTube.

In 2022, she was also inducted into the Asian Hall of Fame for her work as a ‘Cultural Icon’. 

Aside from Lisa’s professional successes, she has also been romantically linked to LVMH heir Frederic Arnault.

The pair sparked a flurry of dating rumours after they were spotted giggling together at an event in Venice two years ago – prompting a furious investigation by amateur internet detectives who have aired even more evidence of a budding romance between the pair. 

Speculation about a relationship between the pair began when photos emerged of the alleged couple enjoying a laugh at the Bulgari Mediterranea High Jewelry event in Venice back in May 2023, a moment that quickly sent fans on the hunt for more evidence of a blossoming romance.

This unearthed another photo of the pair sitting together at an airport lounge in Los Angeles as well as sightings in Paris and at multiple fashion events – while others began analyzing Lisa’s Instagram, insisting that her posts revealed a slew of clues hinting at a romance between the pop princess and the billionaire luxury fashion heir. 

Frederic, 30, is the son of the richest man in the world, Bernard Arnault. The patriarch is the chairman and CEO of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, and he and his family are worth about $212 billion, according to Forbes.

It is not clear when the pair first met, but Lisa has previously worked alongside brands that are part of the LVMH group.

She was Celine’s global ambassador for three years and collaborated with Bulgari on a limited-edition watch in 2023.

In November 2022, Frederic attended one of Blackpink’s concerts at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles before posting a snap alongside the band members.

He and Lisa were then spotted giggling together at the Bulgari Mediterranean High Jewelry Event in Venice back in May as well as hanging out in Paris when the K-Pop star was on the group’s world tour.

Another photo also surfaced of the two at a private airport lounge in Los Angeles, California.

Neither Lisa nor Frederic have confirmed the status of their relationship.

DailyMail.com at the time had contacted representatives for TAG Heuer and Blackpink for comment. 

After The White Lotus finale premiered, bringing the curtain down on season three, Lisa paid tribute to her character and Mike White in a heartfelt Instagram post comprising several behind-the-scenes shots taken on set. 

She thanked White for ‘trusting me’ to play Mook, adding that she ‘has changed my life in a way where I am learning more about myself and my capabilities’. 

‘My Sunday nights may feel a lot emptier, but closing out The White Lotus with a full heart.’