Is Zara Larsson Beyoncé’s First White Daughter? An Investigation.

Michael Ramirez has been a devout member of the Beyhive since the self-titled era, joking (but I can’t be too sure) that Beyoncé “runs his life.” He says part of why the people love Zara is because she checks a lot of the pop star boxes.

“I think we tend to have a high standard of live performance ability, and Zara seems to really have it vocally, with dance and movement—like, stage presence overall—so I think that that's why she probably clears the bar for a lot of people," Ramirez says. “Even before I knew any of her music, I knew that Zara likes to praise Beyoncé constantly. So I'm happy in this case. I see the lineage for sure. But whenever someone else stand up for Beyoncé, they're on my good side.”

Then there’s Midnight Sun, Zara’s new album, which has turned casual listeners into fans. The project is polished, endlessly replayable, and executed with a very clear, specific pop vision.

“It’s just so boppy," Ramirez says. "She really nailed the aesthetic. And it makes sense MNEK produced it—the thread is there.”

Zara gets the joke and the compliment. She’s a lifelong Beyhive member herself, someone who has studied the “ancient texts”: stagecraft, lighting, vocal training, precision, world-building—all the Beyoncé fundamentals. She even met her idol at the Mrs. Carter World Tour years ago, devolving into tears.

“It’s the highest compliment,” Zara has said. “She is a master of her craft. Very inspirational when it comes to everything that an artist could be.”

Audine Crosse, a longtime Beyoncé fan and musician as well, discovered Zara this summer through X. What hooked her was the “Pretty Ugly” video, because of the choreography, the attitude, and the precision. 

“She’s absolutely tapped in,” Crosse says. “She knows what she’s doing. It was intriguing—and got me thinking let me listen more.”

By the time Midnight Sun dropped, Crosse was a fan.

“She put a little something extra in here,” Crosse says. “It was giving pop star.” She even included Zara in her Substack recommendations. And when the “white daughter” discourse surfaced, she immediately understood it.

“You can tell she’s inspired by Beyoncé, but she’s not trying to be the next anything. She just cares. She studies. She’s dedicated to the craft," Crosse says. 

That dedication is what really seals the deal. Crosse says Zara’s outspokenness about politics also made her a fan. She engages with fans without pandering. She performs with the same energy in front of 20 people as she does in an arena. Artists like that don’t come around every day, especially in an era when many are more focused on TikTok virality than artistic growth.

There’s another layer, too, with Zara’s acceptance among music fans of color who aren’t typically rushing to crown another “skinny blonde pop star.” As Crosse puts it, Zara feels refreshing. She’s not an attempt to replicate the pop formulas of the 2010s, but an artist carving out her own lane while honoring the giants who shaped her.

“I think that there could be and there have been honestly a lot of variations of people who have tried to do what she does,” Crosse says. “But I think her authenticity is really what sets her apart.”

“I'm not the biggest Tate McRae fan," she adds. “I think she's a talented dancer, but if you give me the opportunity to see the two of them in concert, I'm gonna choose Zara every single time.”

Zara isn’t Bey’s literal daughter, and she may not need to be anyone’s daughter to justify her rise. With fresh Grammy nominations giving her some kind of institutional validation and an upcoming tour that’s already generating buzz, she’s stepping into pop stardom on her own terms. 

Let’s give it a few years and fans will soon be arguing over who Zara’s daughters are: the artists who study her precision and performance ethic and try to mimic her Swedish pop sound. Because at the rate Zara’s going, fans are taking notes.