In the male-dominated world of showbiz management, superstar Rita Ora is grateful for the secret weapon she’s had throughout her incredible career.
And the 31-year-old singer knows the power behind her throne will never let her down.
Because it’s her big sister.
Rita has had 33-year-old Elena by her side since she shot to fame in 2012 – and the pair admit when it comes to Rita’s success, they see it as a “team celebration”, even though most people have no idea Elena helps call the shots on how her career progresses.
“I get as proud of the success as Rita does. But I guess the public only sees her reaction to it,” admits Elena.
“It feels like a team thing. Obviously the public just sees Rita, but to us that’s just how it is, you know?”
Hot Right Now star Rita adds: “Elena is really good at protecting me. I think that is so important in this industry.”
The close sisters have negotiated movie deals, brand partnerships with the likes of fashion house Prada and have also negotiated a string of lucrative TV contracts.
Rita’s a firm favourite on ITV ’s The Masked Singer and is a regular judge on The Voice Australia – deals that have seen her bank balance hit a reported £23million this year.
But the duo admitted it’s often been a battle for Elena to be taken seriously among the showbiz industry’s overwhelmingly male executives.
Elena, who has a politics degree, gained management experience before teaming up with Rita in a business partnership. Speaking with her sister on a podcast she sighs: “People have this vision of what someone in power looks like. And it’s usually white and male.
“Rita performed at the Vatican, at the Oscars. But in the background you had me saying, ‘this is what we want the performance to look like. This is what song we need to sing. This is how many people we want in the orchestra and this is what she should be wearing’.
“And then you’ve got men in their 40s and 50s a lot of the time saying, ‘Oh cute. That’s nice. Can I speak to whoever’s running this please?’.
“It’s actually me! So sorry about that, but you’re going to have to speak to me! I remember being called ‘kid’ a lot.”
As the pair chat to Idris and Sabrina Elba on the Coupledom podcast Rita adds: “It’s really tough in such a male dominated industry to really stand up for yourselves and navigate this s**t.
“What do they expect people in power to look like? There’s not an identity. It’s about being accepting of who’s telling you the things you need to do. It doesn’t matter. Looking back, I remember thinking, ‘Oh, Elena’s going into this room with all these big suited people’.
“It’s really not easy, you know? But you’ve always been so gracious with it and held your own. I think that’s such an admirable thing to see.
“She’s never lost her cool. She’s always kept it very together.” Rita says she has always had the same trusted people around her in her career.
“I try to keep my team very small. I don’t really like change. That’s why I’ve had the same team for over 10 years. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.”
Rita was just a year old when her parents – dad Besnik and mum Vera – moved her and three-year-old Elena to the UK to escape persecution in Kosovo.
While Besnik ran a North London pub, Vera worked as a psychiatrist and the family remain close knit along with Rita and Elena’s younger brother Don. The sisters believe their upbringing is the key to their successful partnership in business.
Rita says: “I give a lot of credit to my upbringing. My parents did really well in the sense of giving us discipline and how to respect each other. That’s so important in a work environment.
"Obviously for people who don’t know what it’s like to work with relatives or family, it can get very heated very quickly. Balancing that takes patience, time, and persistence.”
It also helps that Elena knew from an early age Rita would be centre stage while she remained in the shadows.
“I think Rita’s always been very comfortable being that person in the spotlight,” she says. “I got so much attention when young – I was always like, “Can you guys leave me alone?
"I really appreciated my privacy and that’s how I am now. I’m a private, more shy person.”
The pair are now putting the finishing touches to Rita’s third album recorded in LA. And the singer, reportedly engaged to New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi, says it’s Elena’s opinion that matters most when it comes to the creative direction of the album.
“I am my worst critic because I always want the best,” says Rita. “This past couple of months making my new record, it’s been such a breeze because I really wanted Elena’s opinion. It brought me back to the beginning of when it was only us.”
