Who Is Dua Lipa's Mom, Anesa Lipa? Everything to Know About the Singer's 'Rock'

Dua Lipa just married Callum Turner in Sicily. But what do we know about the "Houdini" singer's mother, Anesa Lipa – she fled a war, retrained twice, and raised a global pop star — and she's still the one Dua Lipa calls her "rock."

Anesa Lipa's Background

Anesa Lipa, born Anesa Rexha, was born on 29 June 1972 in Pristina, then part of Yugoslavia. Her father, Iljaz Rexha, was Kosovo-Albanian; her mother, Zinka Rexha, was Bosniak.

She was reportedly drawn to law during her student years. By the early 1990s, she was engaged to a young musician from Pristina named Dukagjin Lipa, who fronted a Kosovan rock band called Oda.

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As war broke out across the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, Anesa and Dukagjin left Kosovo and arrived in London as refugees. They had, by any reasonable measure, very little. Both worked as waiters in cafes and bars to get by. Anesa eventually retrained in tourism.

The Family Returned to Kosovo — Then Dua Left Again, Alone

In 2008, Kosovo declared independence. Anesa, Dukagjin, and their three children moved back to Pristina, where they lived for roughly three years, reconnecting with a homeland that had changed considerably since they'd left it.

Then, when Dua was just 15, she made the decision to return to London on her own, determined to pursue a music career. Anesa has called it one of the hardest decisions she's ever had to make. "I think it's the hardest thing I've ever done, but she was so determined and full of dreams," she said in an interview with British Vogue. "She knew what she wanted from a young age. She was very mature and we believed in her."

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Anesa and Dukagjin raised three children. Dua, the eldest, is the one the world knows. Rina Lipa, born in 2001, became a competitive dancer and model, working with brands including Paco Rabanne and Versace. Gjin Lipa, the youngest, born in 2005, has been developing his own work in music and the arts.

Anesa made a point of keeping Albanian spoken at home throughout the family's years in London.

She's Very Close with Her Family

Dua Lipa has never been shy about crediting her mother publicly. In a 2020 interview with Wired, she said: "My mother is an angel sent from above. Her name is Anesa, and she is my rock and my superhero."

Anesa's involvement in her daughter's career goes beyond emotional support. She is listed as a registered director in UK Companies House records, with business links tied to London addresses including Baker Street, and she has played a role in organising aspects of Dua's professional life. She is also closely tied to the Sunny Hill Festival — the major music festival in Pristina that Dua co-founded with her father — helping organise an event that has become one of the most significant cultural occasions in Kosovo each year, alongside the associated Sunny Hill Foundation.