Lili Théodora Mbangayo Mujinga (; born 23 October 2003), known professionally as Theodora or Boss Lady, is a French-Congolese singer, rapper, songwriter, dancer and TV personality. She began her music career working alongside her older brother, Jeez Suave, who produced her music, encouraged her singing, and acted as her composer and manager. At age 15, she released her debut single, "La thune", in November 2018, followed by her trap-pop extended play (EP), Neptune, in January 2021, which was released through their independent label, Neptune Production.
Theodora first received mainstream recognition with the Caribbean bouyon-inspired smash hit "Kongolese sous BBL", which was released in September 2024. The song went viral on TikTok, becoming a body-positive anthem and sparking dance and lip-sync trends across social media. It peaked at No. 10 on the SNEP Top Singles chart for one week, reached No. 34 on Belgium's Ultratop Wallonia (charting for seven weeks), entered Spotify's Top 50 France, climbed to No. 3 on Spotify's Top Viral Global chart, and accumulated over 2.3 billion streams worldwide, including more than three million in the UK. The single was certified diamond by SNEP and gold by the BRMA, and was included on her debut mixtape, Bad Boy Lovestory, which was released in November 2024 through Boss Lady Records. The mixtape peaked at No. 2 on the SNEP Top Albums chart, remaining at that position for seven consecutive weeks, and reached No. 14 on the Ultratop Wallonia chart. It was later certified triple platinum by SNEP. A deluxe edition, Méga BBL, followed in May 2025, debuting at No. 15 in Wallonia and No. 21 in Switzerland, and was certified platinum by SNEP. That month, she won the Best Female Revelation at , and by 2026, Méga BBL won the Album of the Year at the Victoires de la Musique, and also received the Spotify Flame for Album of the Year and Best New Pop Album at Les Flammes.
In August 2025, Le Monde described Theodora as the "pop phenomenon of the summer", noting that her inclusive songs had made her "the new boss of pop in France". Billboard France reported that she was the most-streamed female francophone artist of the year in France. In September 2025, she guest-performed on Disiz's song "Melodrama", which topped the SNEP chart for ten consecutive weeks, reached No. 1 on Ultratop Wallonia, and No. 8 on the Swiss Hitparade. In November 2025, GQ France named her Woman of the Year, and in April 2026, she became the face of the Angel Nova perfume by Mugler.
Theodora's television career began with a guest role on the fourth season of Nouvelle École, which streamed on Netflix from 31 October to 14 November 2025. In January 2026, she joined the show's judging panel for its fifth season.
Early life and education Lili Théodora Mbangayo Mujinga was born in Lucerne, Switzerland, on 23 October 2003, to Congolese parents living in exile after political persecution. Her grandfather was a member of the opposition party Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS). Her father joined the Forces Armées Zaïroises (FAZ) during the late 1990s to qualify for a government scholarship program in Greece. Before he could finish, Mobutu's government collapsed after Laurent-Désiré Kabila took power. Théodora told Numéro that the military students were abandoned by the new government, which left her father without financial support and forced him to put his studies on hold. Her older brother, known by the stage name Jeez Suave, was born on 5 January 2000 in Athens. The family later moved to Switzerland, where Théodora was born, before they returned to Greece and later lived on Réunion Island. Her father completed his medical degree in his early forties. Théodora also told France Inter that her mother put her own medical studies on hold to raise the children. By 2025, her father was working as a gynecologist.
In 2008, after Greece's financial crisis, the family left the country. They first stopped in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and then on Réunion Island. They later moved to mainland France in 2009, living in several parts of France, including Val-d'Oise, Bordeaux, and Brittany before settling in Saint-Denis. After arriving in France, the family initially lived together in a small studio apartment before her father's medical career improved their financial situation. Although born in Switzerland, she does not hold Swiss citizenship because Switzerland does not grant birthright citizenship and has said she feels no particular attachment to the country. Having completed her schooling in France, she acquired French citizenship by declaration at age 13 or 14. Alongside her studies, she practiced judo and competed in French national tournaments.
She earned her Baccalauréat in 2021 in Vitré, where she was classmates with the French streamer and online content creator Anyme. Initially interested in politics, she enrolled in the ENS D1 preparatory program in Vannes, which she left after six months. She later joined the Brittany Regional Youth Council and became president of its culture commission.
Music career
2018–2022: Career beginnings and Neptune
Théodora's first exposure to music came through her father, who explored the local musical culture whenever the family moved to a new country. She also told the French-language online magazine Abcdr du son that her mother was a fan of Koffi Olomide and introduced her to Congolese artists including, Mbilia Bel, Tshala Muana, and Fally Ipupa, as well as Cameroonian singer Lady Ponce. In an interview with France Info, she cited Rihanna as the artist who left the strongest impression on her, saying that seeing a Black woman succeed in pop music gave her a strong sense of representation. France Info also noted that she often recorded ambient sounds, including television commercials she heard in Kinshasa.
One of the first artists she listened to when she moved to France was the French rapper La Fouine and the rap group XV Barbar, which led her to discover PSO Thug. She later expanded her musical interests to artists like Young Thug, Drake, and The Weeknd. At the age of ten, Theodora bought her first albums, including those by Stromae and Maître Gims, and attended her first live concert to see Indila. Although she first became involved in performing through dance, she began writing music after working with Suave, who produced the beats and encouraged her to sing. In November 2018, at the age of 15, Theodora released her debut single, "La thune". Before entering the École normale supérieure preparatory program in Vannes, she chose to focus on music instead. Her father opposed her decision and told her she would be on her own if she followed a music career, though they reconciled by 2025.
She began developing her trap-pop Extended Play (EP), Neptune, with Suave. What started as a bedroom project eventually moved to Le Block in Rennes, a community studio that offered professional-quality recordings at a modest cost. As the project developed, Theodora and Suave organized their first festival and officially released Neptune on Spotify on 10 January 2021 through their independent label, Neptune Production.
2023–September 2024: Lili Aux Paradis Artificiels, Lili aux paradis artificiels: tome 2, and breakthrough
Theodora began to attract attention on the Paris music scene in 2022 with the track "Le Paradis se trouve dans le 93" ("Paradise is found in the 93rd district"), co-written with Suave. The music video, funded with money she had saved while working at McDonald's, pays tribute to Seine-Saint-Denis over an animated drum-and-bass production. The song was later included on her six-track EP Lili Aux Paradis Artificiels, which was released on 15 March 2023 under Maison Neptune X NBDF. Lili Aux Paradis Artificiels also featured tracks such as "Ici le temps est trop morose", "C trop la loose", "Liliroxk", "Dans le paradis artificiel", and "Après l'orage". Most of the songs were co-written with Suave, who also produced the EP.
On 10 January 2023, she took part in the Île-de-France regional auditions for the iNOUïS du Printemps de Bourges at La Maroquinerie. The sequel, Lili aux paradis artificiels: tome 2, was released on 6 July 2023 and included five new tracks: "...Y'a deux fois plus d'orage", "Besoin d'aide", "J'ai retrouvé le sourire", "Boss Lady" and "Love me lagadou". The EP featured guest appearances from Implaccable and production contributions from Pedro Da Linha, Sutus, Koboi, MEI, Neophron, and Suave. It stood out for its rapid tempos, over which Theodora expressed her "innermost feelings, whether euphoric or tinged with the deepest melancholy".
On 27 September 2024, she achieved major commercial success with "Kongolese sous BBL", a Caribbean bouyon-inspired track that went viral on TikTok, as it evolved into a "body-positive anthem" and fueled dance challenges and lip-sync skits across social platforms. Jeremie Leger of the French rap outlet Rap City noted that "Kongolese sous BBL" challenges stereotypes surrounding the hyper-feminized and hypersexualized image of Black women. The acronym "BBL" refers variously to Brazilian Butt Lift, Big Boss Lady (her nickname), or Bad Boy Lovestory, the title of her debut mixtape. The song also playfully responds to critics who mock her lyrics, criticism she suggests is often thinly disguised racism, and, unbothered by online attacks, particularly on X (formerly Twitter), she has reacted with humor. The Fader described the song as having "palpable energy" and "hilarious" songwriting. The song peaked at No. 10 on the SNEP Top Singles chart for one week and reached No. 34 on Belgium's Ultratop Wallonia, where it charted for seven weeks; it also entered Spotify's Top 50 France, received airplay on NRJ and Skyrock, climbed to No. 3 on Spotify's Top Viral Global chart, and accumulated more than 2.3 billion streams worldwide, including over 3 million in the UK. It became the first bouyon song performed by a non-Caribbean artist to receive gold certification in France in 2024 and was later certified diamond by SNEP and gold by the BRMA.
November 2024–present: Bad Boy Lovestory, Méga BBL, "Melodrama", and standalone releases
Shortly afterward, on 1 November 2024, Theodora released her debut mixtape, Bad Boy Lovestory, through Boss Lady Records. The Fader described it as a "sugary fizz of dance, electronic, dancehall, and more". Featuring collaborations with Guy2Bezbar, Zoomy, Suave, and Jahlys, the mixtape merges Afropop influences with Caribbean genres. Commercially, Bad Boy Lovestory peaked at No. 2 on the SNEP Top Albums chart for three consecutive weeks, No. 14 on Ultratop Wallonia, and No. 100 on the Swiss Hitparade, as well as earning triple platinum certification from SNEP. It includes the hit "Kongolese sous BBL". The track "FNG", short for "freaky nasty girl", embraces her bold, unconventional persona. Beneath its upbeat sound, Bad Boy Lovestory explores themes of mental health, toxic relationships, and self-reflection. The Lasso-produced, SNEP platinum-certified "Ils me rient tous au nez" ("they all laugh in my face") explores the emotional struggle of someone overly generous who ends up ignored and ridiculed. Meanwhile, the amapiano-influenced "Fashion Designa", also produced by Suave, accentuates her confident and self-empowered persona, and it was certified diamond in France and spent two weeks at No. 12 on the SNEP Top Singles chart. "Fashion Designa" won her Original Song at the 2026 Victoires de la Musique and was also nominated for Audiovisual Creation, as well as for Music Video of the Year at .