Dua Lipa is the embodiment of someone with a je ne sais quoi. From that description alone, one can easily gather she’s a “cool girl.” And to put it simply: she really, truly is. Her sense of the “it factor” is even stronger because of how naturally it seems to come to her.
Lipa is a world-travelling popstar with some of the biggest hits in the last decade. Her online presence is light, grateful, and charming (despite her nearing 100 million followers on Instagram). On stage, she’s captivating and electric. Each night of her recent tour consisted of singing her endless hits and dancing in custom outfits from major fashion houses.
Most performers emphasize how important their rest is after shows, but for Lipa the night cannot possibly end there. She says performing gives her such a rush that she often goes out after her concerts to get drinks and dance with friends and family. These nights often end anywhere from three to five in the morning, all after performing from eight to ten. This not only epitomizes how fun she is, but her lust for life.
This lust is something everyone on the internet jokes about as Lipa is almost always found on vacation. This is in part because of her touring, but also because she loves a holiday. It’s a humorous joke that circles everyone’s Twitter timelines, but you can’t even be that annoyed at her because she’s living life in a way we all wish we could.
Beyond her clear love and enjoyment for living, she is deeply invested in arts and culture. Lipa has a “service” called Service95 all about curating recommendations and insight on literature, fashion, travel, activism, etc. Through this service she has a book club and often interviews the authors of the books they’ve read. Some of these authors include Patti Smith, Margaret Atwood, Ocean Vuong, and George Saunders. Her conversations with authors are thoughtful and exemplify how interested Lipa is.
To see a huge star eager to engage with the world, and provide a way for others to engage is refreshing. It’s known that celebrities can live in an unreachable bubble, but Lipa doesn’t fall victim to that trope. She has a genuine care about her that comes across gracefully.
On the surface, many of us want Lipa’s ability to travel everywhere, her financial stability, and the carefree lifestyle she leads. But she makes it clear it comes from her determination and hard work, genuine investment in learning about the world, loving life and her loved ones loudly, and her joy that surrounds her in everything she does. I’m part of the criticism toward people who worship celebrities and focalize them in their lives because: they’re just people. But, in cases where they’re a genuine inspiration, I think it can be exactly what someone needs.