Thai K-Pop Star Lisa in top 20 most admired women worldwide

After a record-breaking YouTube debut, there is no denying that K-pop supergroup Blackpink member Lalisa Lisa Manobal commands clout, influence and admiration. Now YouGov has added the Thailand native Lisa to their list of the most admired women in the world after an international survey placed her at number 17.

Her influence is undeniable in Thailand – when she said she was homesick for her family and the local meatballs, vendors she mentioned at the train station in Buri Ram were flooded with orders that rocketed their Covid-19 ailing businesses to success. She caught the eye of top government officials who announced their intention to book her as the headliner of Phuket’s New Year’s Eve celebration but embarrassingly didn’t ask her before announcing it.

But YouGov’s survey of 42,000 people in 38 countries around the world shows the scope of Lisa reaches far beyond her hometown fans in Thailand. Her position at number 17 puts her above Chinese actresses Liu Yifei and Yang Mi, but also impressively ahead of Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s Prime Minister who won praise for her handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, a virus even Lisa herself couldn’t avoid.

YouGov is a British international research data and analytics group and conducts this poll every year. The survey asks if a respondent admires the person and whether the person is their most admired person. They balance those 2 answers and then add weighting based on the population size of the respondents country of origin in order to make it fair and balanced.

This year, the most admired woman for the third year in a row is former US First Lady Michelle Obama, followed by Angelina Jolie, Queen Elizabeth II, Oprah Winfrey, and Scarlett Johansson. Lisa was narrowly beat out by another former First Lady, Melania Trump, who herself was surpassed by young environmental activist Greta Thunberg at number 15.

On the men’s side, former President Barack Obama makes up the other half of the Obama power couple that top both lists after Barack beat out Bill Gates at number 2 again this year. Xi Jinping, President of China, is number 3 with footballer Cristiano Ronaldo and action star Jackie Chan rounding out the top 5. Time Magazine’s Person of the Year Elon Musk was sixth, with current US President Joe Biden rounding out the list in the 20th spot.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post