Greta Thunberg's Younger Sister Is Building A Bold Pop Career Far From Climate Activism

Greta Thunberg became known around the world through climate protests and direct challenges to political leaders. Her younger sister, Beata MonaLisa, is taking a very different path, building her name through dramatic vocals, bold performances, and a pop image that has little in common with Greta's public work.

Beata, who often goes by Bea, spoke about that identity during a recent virtual interview with Interview Magazine. Her full name may sound like a stage creation, but she explained that it is real and comes from two women in her family: "I was born with it. It's from my grandma Mona and great grandma Lisa,"

At 20, she does not appear interested in being treated as a supporting character in her older sister's story. Greta is three years older and is known for speaking out on climate change and social issues, while Bea is trying to establish herself as a distinctive young pop performer with her own goals, audience, and public identity.

Beata MonaLisa is the younger sister of Greta Thunberg. Beata MonaLisa / Instagram

Bea presents herself as far more than a singer. On her Instagram profile, she lists work across music, dance, acting, modeling, production, songwriting, writing, and choreography. She calls herself "self-trained," and has developed a rich, theatrical voice that sounds older than her 20 years.

Performing has been part of her life for almost as long as she can remember. Bea said she began dancing when she was old enough to walk and started singing at seven, but being so open and expressive made her stand out at school. Instead of praise, she said she was "bullied by everyone."

She recalled how other students responded when she took part in school productions, admitting, "I performed in shows at school and everyone thought I was annoying," Those early reactions did not stop her from performing. They appear to have pushed her toward a style that is louder, stranger, and less concerned with winning approval from everyone in the room.

Her theatrical singing style helped her find an audience

Bea's online performances have played a major part in introducing her voice to people outside Sweden. Her covers lean into big emotion, long vocal runs, and an almost stage-musical level of drama. The result can feel serious and playful at the same time, which has helped the videos stand out in crowded social media feeds.

One performance of Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You spread widely online and drew such unusual reactions that some viewers reportedly believed the singer was created by artificial intelligence. Bea initially took the claim as an insult, but later chose to see it as proof that her voice and delivery had made people stop and pay attention.

She also named Beyoncé as her favorite living artist and spoke about being moved to tears while watching her perform. Among artists who have died, she expressed admiration for performers such as Michael Jackson and Édith Piaf, fitting the mix of modern pop, old-school vocals, and high drama that shapes her own work.

That combination comes through in Bea's version of Édith Piaf's 1949 French classic "Hymne à l'amour". Her performance gives listeners a taste of the strong vocals and theatrical mood she plans to bring to her first full-length record.

The debut album has been years in the making. Bea said she began working on the project when she was 13 and has written every song herself, making it less of a quick attempt to use her family name and more of a personal project that has developed through most of her teenage years.

She described the record as "Pro-queer, anti-macho," Those few words set out its direction clearly: the songs will center queer identity, reject controlling ideas about masculinity, and give women room to define themselves without asking for permission.

The 20-year-old is a “self-trained” singer who is in the midst of finishing her debut album. Beata MonaLisa / Instagram

A debut album that keeps changing with her

Working on one album from age 13 to 20 means the person finishing it is not the same person who began writing it. Bea has continued revisiting the material, changing songs as her voice, ideas, and sense of identity have developed.

That long process also gives her more control over what listeners will hear. Rather than being handed a complete image and a set of songs by a label, she has treated the record as a place to work through her own views on gender, confidence, acceptance, and creative freedom.

There is no sign that she wants the album to sound careful or neutral. Her public performances favor excess over restraint, and the description she has given the project suggests the finished music will carry the same direct personality.

Bea told Interview that the record was close to completion, though she was still willing to revise it: "I keep coming back and changing things. There are nine songs, seven are finished…The album's about the freedom of identity and empowering women," The album contains nine tracks, with seven finished at the time of the conversation, and its central ideas come from her belief in freedom of identity and stronger roles for women.

The young singer has already been described as a "gay icon,", but she does not appear eager to let that label define every part of her. Like the album itself, her image combines sincerity with sarcasm, polished vocals with exaggerated movement, and serious themes with a sense of humor.

When the conversation turned to Greta, Bea chose not to use the interview to discuss her sister's work or views. She ended that line of questioning with a short response: "I'm not responsible for other people's lives." It was a firm way of keeping attention on her own choices rather than turning her music interview into another discussion about climate activism.

Greta Thunberg caught the public’s attention in 2018 for her solo climate change strike. Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images

The sisters may share a family and a willingness to speak directly, but Bea measures achievement through a very different lens. Greta's public work centers protests, policy, and climate action, while Bea is more interested in performance, self-expression, and the bond between an artist and the people listening.

For Bea, large numbers do not guarantee that an artist feels valued. She described success as "Maybe it's a feeling. You can be worldwide famous and not feel accepted, or you can have a small fan base and feel very successful."

Her answer leaves room for ambition without making fame the only test that matters. She wants a major career, but she also wants the people following it to understand her humor, values, and artistic choices rather than simply recognizing her name because of her sister.

The sisters are quite the opposite of one another. Getty Images

Bea may have stayed away from Greta's political causes, but she has strong views of her own. Much of that frustration comes from working in an music industry where older men may assume that a young woman needs to be controlled, corrected, or taught how to use her own voice.

She described her experiences with male producers by saying, "I have many straight male producers who tell me how to sing. They want to feel like they've taught me. A loud, young female is very provocative, especially to them, because they want to have control," Her concern is not just that producers offer advice. It is that some appear to want credit for shaping her and feel challenged when she arrives with clear ideas of her own.

Bea has not hidden her desire to become famous around the world. Even so, she said recognition means less without a real bond between performer and audience, adding that "it's more important to have fans who understand you."

She believes the people already drawn to her work share more than an interest in her singing. Describing those fans, Bea said, "They're very specific. They have the same interests, the same way of dressing, the same humor. I'm very sarcastic,"

That specific connection may explain why her performances work online. Viewers are not only hearing a skilled singer. They are responding to the dramatic poses, bold clothes, sharp jokes, queer themes, and refusal to make herself smaller for people who find her too loud.

Greta Thunberg became famous by demanding that powerful people take climate change seriously. Bea MonaLisa is building something separate through music, identity, and performance. She may never offer the climate commentary people expect from Greta's sister, but that is also the point: she wants her work judged as her own.