Lilly Singh
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Lilly Singh

Emmy-winning actress, NYT best-selling author and part-owner of two women's pro sports teams — the woman who says out loud: "I don't buy Birkins, I buy sports teams 🏀"

Hype-woman energyBuilder, not spectatorFunny with a spinePuts money where her mouth isPublic life, private heart

Lilly is a builder with a performer's timing. She runs Unicorn Island, co-founded HYPHEN8, and signed on as part-owner and Chief Hype Officer of the Toronto Tempo, Canada's first WNBA team — all while leading, writing and producing her first feature film. Her own words for what drives it: "I'm on a mission to use storytelling to change the culture around how we treat girls and women." She is funny, blunt and unbothered about being seen doing it: she'll post a two-Anthem-Award team win and a self-deprecating joke about a new outfit in the same week. Underneath the hype energy is someone asking sharper questions than most — about self-sacrifice, boundaries, and why women get rewarded for giving everything up.

in LinkedInIG Instagram
What Lilly needs
A partner who is genuinely comfortable with a very public life

Her career and ownership stakes are inherently visible — press images, sponsorships, red carpets, a team she stands on the sidelines for. Someone who needs to stay invisible will struggle.

  • in“Headline: Founder & CEO of Unicorn Island, Emmy-Winning Actress, NYT Best-Selling Author and Gender Equality Advocate”
  • IG“Followers: 13167492”
Someone with their own mission and momentum, not a passenger

She repeatedly frames new ventures as collective work to be started, not announced. A partner who is also building something will match her; someone waiting for her calendar to open won't.

  • IG“Let's get to work… introducing @hyphen8_network 🚀”
  • in“Co-Founder @ HYPHEN8 (Mar 2025 – Present)”
Real, vocal encouragement — hype given back, not just received

She literally made 'Chief Hype Officer' part of her identity and talks about keeping morale up as a skill. She gives that energy out freely and will want it returned in kind.

  • IG“And as the Tempo's CHO, you already KNOW I'm bringing a little fashion courtside… I'll be dancing on the sidelines and keeping the energy HYPE 💃🏽”
  • in“Part Owner/ Chief Hype Officer @ Toronto Tempo (May 2025 – Present)”
Directness and respect for her expertise — no soft-pedalling

She posts unsentimental, take-it-or-leave-it lines about competence and leadership. Someone who hedges, flatters or argues with her track record will bore or irritate her.

  • IG“Get out of office, you don't know how to lead. - Ms. Singh”
Values alignment on gender equity — and the guts to say it out loud

This isn't a side interest; it's her career, her money and her public line in the sand. A partner who is neutral, quiet or squeamish on it will feel like a mismatch.

  • IG“I say them as a fan of this league who is fiercely protective of its players, as someone who has put my own money behind the growth of women's professional sports”
  • IG“Sit ALL the way down with your transphobia and tomfoolery.”
Mutual boundaries and give-and-take, not one-sided sacrifice

She's actively interrogating the belief that women should give everything up, and jokes about the physical cost of not setting limits. She needs a relationship where both people keep their own oxygen.

  • IG“But what if we've been confusing self-sacrifice with self-worth?”
  • IG“Sisters, either set boundaries.. or your immune system will.”
Hobbies
  • Courtside basketball — as owner and hype section
    She doesn't just attend games; she's part-owner of the Toronto Tempo and the Angel City teams and treats the sidelines as a stage, dancing to keep the crowd's energy up.
    • IG“Co-Owner: @torontotempo @weareangelcity”
    • IG“I'll be dancing on the sidelines and keeping the energy HYPE 💃🏽”
  • Fashion and styling as play
    She shops collections, works with a full styling team, and treats clothes as a mood-altering game — sweater vests, pantsuits, custom fits for museum openings.
    • IG“Sweater vests, cutesie jeans, pantsuits… I was thriving 🤌🏽”
    • IG“My toxic trait is thinking a new outfit will completely transform my personality.”
  • Resort downtime in the sun
    She documents relaxed, sensory holidays — drink with a straw outdoors on grass, a stay at Zadun, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Los Cabos.
    • IG“Post 5, 2026-09-07, Video, at Zadun, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve Los Cabos”
    • IG“Thank you @zadunreserve for the stay 😍”
  • Museum openings and cultural nights out
    She turns up for art-world events and gets a custom look made for them — a night out is a production, not a default dinner.
    • IG“Thank you @misho_designs for this custom fit for the @lucasmuseum opening night.”
  • Wellness rituals and enforced rest
    She openly jokes about the gadgets and the rest she needs to recover from a nonstop schedule.
    • IG“Now if you'll excuse me, I need to sit under my thyroid red light device 💯✌🏽”
  • Making films and shows
    Beyond acting she writes and produces — she spent seven years getting her first feature to the screen and also hosts a gameshow.
    • in“I've waited 7 years to say this... enjoy the official trailer for my upcoming film DOIN' IT”
    • in“This is Unicorn Island first feature, and my first time leading, writing and producing.”
Interests
  • Women's professional sport
    Not a casual fan — she owns stakes in two teams and frames it as culture-building for communities and female athletes.
    • IG“I'm so passionate about all things women, especially women's sports.”
    • IG“It's about time the world puts female athletes on the pedestal they deserve.”
  • Storytelling as a lever for social change
    Her whole thesis is that narrative shifts culture — it's the through-line of her company and her advocacy awards.
    • in“I believe stories have the power to change the world.”
    • in“So proud of the incredibly important work that Unicorn Island is doing in the gender equality space! We won 2 Anthem Awards!”
  • Entrepreneurship and building new ventures
    She stacks parallel builds — a production company, a network launch, a haircare brand, team ownership — and talks about them in terms of work starting, not finished.
    • in“Hairline Co-Founder @ AAVRANI (2022 – Present)”
    • in“Let's get to work. Introducing HYPHEN8.”
  • The 'good woman' myth and unlearning it
    She's in active conversation about self-sacrifice, boundaries and how women are conditioned to give themselves away.
    • IG“We're taught to admire the woman who sacrifices the most.”
    • IG“This conversation is about unlearning.”
  • Fashion, sponsorship and brand collaboration
    She works with labels on campaigns and enjoys the collision of style, sport and commerce.
    • IG“I had the honour of celebrating @reitmans' 100th birthday on @torontotempo's home court while getting a first look at their new fall collection.”
    • IG“With Reitmans as the official sponsor of the Toronto Tempo's Rhythm Section”
Values
  • Put your own money behind what you believe
    She measures commitment in ownership and investment, not vocal support — and she's proud of choosing that over luxury.
    • in“I don't buy Birkins, I buy sports teams 🏀”
    • IG“as someone who has put my own money behind the growth of women's professional sports”
  • Protecting people who are targeted
    When women's safety is used as a rhetorical weapon, she names it and stands with the players — loyalty is not conditional on convenience.
    • IG“I say them as a fan of this league who is fiercely protective of its players”
    • IG“And I'm standing ten toes down against people using women's safety as a costume for some clout.”
  • Team achievements over solo glory
    Her celebrations are collective — awards are announced with 'go team', ventures with 'let's get to work', and she reflects publicly on impact each year.
    • in“We won 2 Anthem Awards! Go team 👏🏽”
    • in“Proud to be part of this team.”
  • Self-worth over self-sacrifice
    She rejects the idea that giving everything away is what makes a woman good — and wants that unlearned rather than admired.
    • IG“But what if we've been confusing self-sacrifice with self-worth?”
    • IG“Sometimes”
  • Humour as the delivery mechanism
    Even her serious work is carried on jokes and warmth — the press quote she chose to share praises exactly that mix.
    • in“she's here to create it, and she's doing it with a perfect mix of humour, action, and heart.”
    • IG“My toxic trait is thinking a new outfit will completely transform my personality.”
Personality
Adventurousness80
Launches new ventures in fresh categories every year, travels to resort stays, and keeps signposting the next thing — "Watch this space 😮💨". Comfortable with the unfamiliar, as long as she's driving.
Ambition95
Founder of Unicorn Island, co-founder of HYPHEN8, part-owner of two pro sports teams, gameshow host, author, actress — and she benchmarked her life by choosing teams over Birkins.
Social energy90
Voluntarily became Chief Hype Officer, hosts a gameshow, opened a 100th birthday party on her own home court and promised to be "dancing on the sidelines". Big room energy, not wallflower energy.
Playfulness93
Captions like "Put your wallet away, babygirl 💋", "Usually, I am your daddy. But today, I am your father 💫", and a full joke about a new outfit transforming her personality.
Intellectual curiosity82
York University graduate, NYT best-selling author, UN SDG Advocate, and currently unpacking "one of the most deeply ingrained beliefs about womanhood" in long-form conversation.
Groundedness72
She posts yearly impact recaps, thanks publications graciously, and is candid about needing rest and boundaries — though the pace she keeps suggests she's still practising that one.
How they live
Base
United States (LinkedIn): Toronto named as her hometown
Pace
Furious and multi-threaded — running a production company, a new network, a haircare brand, a gameshow and two sports teams in overlapping windows.
Social
Public-facing by default: 13.1M Instagram followers, a 835-follower LinkedIn she still posts big personal milestones on, and a calendar full of openings, sponsorships and courtside appearances.
Travel
Between the US and Toronto, with sun-and-reset trips such as the stay at Zadun, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Los Cabos.
Health
Openly works at recovery — joking about needing to "sit under my thyroid red light device" and warning that unset boundaries catch up with you physically.
Work / life
Deliberately blurred: she hosts a retailer's 100th birthday on her basketball team's home court, calls the collision of work, fashion and sport "thriving", and brings the same people into both worlds.
Talks like
Fast, funny and blunt, with the punchline usually doing the arguing for her. She mixes earnest long-form advocacy with one-liners — "Let's get to work", "Get out of office, you don't know how to lead. - Ms. Singh" — and signs her opinions with her own name as if daring you to disagree. Emojis, em-dashes and direct address are her punctuation; she says the thing rather than hinting at it.
Shows care by
By hyping you publicly and loudly. She made 'Chief Hype Officer' an actual title, credited with 'keeping the energy HYPE', and she celebrates other people's wins in her own feed — Anthem Awards "Go team 👏🏽", "Proud to be part of this team." She also protects: "fiercely protective of its players." Expect encouragement, amplification and a willingness to fight on your behalf.
Green flags
  • Puts her own money behind her stated values instead of just posting about them
  • Celebrates teammates and collaborators in public and by name
  • Self-deprecating and quick to laugh at herself
  • Reflects annually and publicly on what her work actually achieved
  • Says hard things plainly rather than letting them fester
  • Direct about boundaries, rest and self-worth — including her own struggle to hold them
  • Gracious with press and collaborators: "Thank you ELLE Magazine India for a lovely time and great write up!"
Friction
  • The pace is relentless — a partner who wants slow, spontaneous, unscheduled togetherness will often come second to a launch, a shoot or a game.
  • Her public platform means parts of the relationship will be visible or speculated about; she is not going to hide her life.
  • She is blunt and her opinions are signed. Arguments are likely to be direct and quick rather than delicate.
  • Her advocacy is non-negotiable, so a partner who prefers to stay apolitical or neutral on gender issues will feel friction here.
  • The 'Daddy' caretaker framing in her bio suggests she defaults to looking after people — which can crowd out being looked after.
  • She admits the boundary-setting is still a work in progress, so she may overgive before she asks for what she needs.
Dealbreakers
  • Transphobia — "Sit ALL the way down with your transphobia and tomfoolery."
  • Anyone using women's safety as a costume for clout
  • People who position themselves as experts on her field without the track record — "Get out of office, you don't know how to lead."
  • Passivity: someone with no drive of their own to be hyped about
  • Needing to be the only ambitious person in the room
  • Expecting a partner to self-sacrifice as a demonstration of love
Who fits them

Someone with their own thriving thing going on — a builder, creator, athlete or operator who has a mission they'd say "let's get to work" about — and who is happy to be loud about hers too. They need to be unshockable, direct in return, genuinely aligned on gender equity rather than politely silent, and secure enough to share a very bright spotlight without shrinking. Bonus if they'll dance on the sidelines with her and then disappear to a quiet resort and do absolutely nothing.

Dates they'd love
  • Courtside at a Toronto Tempo game, then staying for the Rhythm Section and dancing on the sidelines with her instead of leaving at the final whistle.
  • A museum or gallery opening night where she gets to dress up properly — a custom fit, a real outfit, and a late dinner dissecting the show afterwards.
  • A no-agenda resort day in the sun somewhere like the Zadun stay she posted — a drink with a straw, no phones, and a deliberate reset after a brutal stretch.
  • A long dinner conversation in the spirit of her unlearning episode: what you were each taught a 'good woman' or 'good man' looks like, and which parts you're both throwing out.
Ask them about
  • Ask about the seven-year wait behind the film DOIN' IT — what changed in her as a first-time lead, writer and producer over those years.
  • Ask what HYPHEN8 is actually for and who she wants it to reach — she signs off with "Let's get to work", so ask what work.
  • Ask what a Chief Hype Officer really does day to day, and whether the job has taught her anything about hyping herself.
  • Ask where the "I don't buy Birkins, I buy sports teams" decision came from — it's clearly a values statement, not a flex.
  • Ask what she's still unlearning from the "we call it strength" conversation about self-sacrifice and self-worth — and whether she's actually setting boundaries yet.
  • Ask about holding "ten toes down" when your own league is the fight — what it costs to be the owner who speaks.
How the agent talks on their behalf
Sound like a co-founder who has your back and a comic who can't help the punchline. Short, declarative sentences. Warmth delivered with a bit of teasing, never gushing. Lead with her accomplishments as facts, not adjectives — "she owns two pro sports teams and her first feature is in cinemas." Use her own phrasing where it lands: "Let's get to work", "I don't buy Birkins, I buy sports teams." Be straight about the pace and the visibility up front — no softening, no overpromising. Never position her as needing to be rescued, and never let a match assume they'd be tagging along on her life rather than building their own. If someone wastes her time, a cool "Get out of office" energy is in character. Sign off with momentum, not goodbye.
✓ both links look like the same personconfidence 86/100