Dua Lipa’s road to superstardom is proof that sometimes having no plan B is the only plan you need.
Born in London on August 22, 1995, to Albanian parents who fled Kosovo in search of a better life, Dua’s childhood was shaped by her parents’ hard work and resilience. Her father, Dukagjin, himself a musician, and her mother, Anesa, did everything they could to make ends meet — and music was always playing in the background.
Dua’s love for music was clear from an early age. She tried learning the cello but jokes that lugging the oversized instrument around as a small child felt more like a health hazard than a hobby. Even being told her voice was “too deep” for the school choir didn’t stop her — that same deep tone would become her trademark sound.
In her teens, Dua moved back to London from Kosovo, living with a family friend to chase her dream of becoming a singer. “I had no plan B,” she has often said — and that single-minded focus would soon pay off.
In 2013, a homemade cover of Sister Sledge’s “Lost in Music” caught the right attention and helped her land a record deal with Warner Records the following year. By 2015, she had released her debut single, “New Love.” Her self-titled first album arrived in 2017 and put her firmly on the pop map.
When the world shut down in 2020, Dua’s career did the opposite: her disco-inspired second album Future Nostalgia hit No.1 and gave fans a reason to dance during lockdowns. She didn’t stop there — determined to control her creative direction, Dua launched her own company, Radical22, and named her father as her manager. She also bought back the rights to all her music, giving her rare freedom in an industry known for tight contracts.
Her latest album, Radical Optimism, debuted at No.1 in May 2024 and shows no sign that her momentum is slowing down.
Despite her fame, Dua stays grounded by her family, her roots, and a deep pride in where she comes from. “I feel very proud to be from both places and I feel like I represent both,” she says of her British and Albanian identity.
For Dua Lipa, the gamble to bet everything on herself has turned into a global success story — proof that sometimes, there really is no need for a plan B.
