5 facts to know about The Summer I Turned Pretty’s Lola Tung

With The Summer I Turned Pretty on everyone's television sets, the show's star, Lola Tung, has risen to stardom this year. After portraying Isabel "Belly" Conklin, the leading lady of the love triangle, the actor is booked and busy, with upcoming horror movies Forbidden Fruits with Lili Reinhart and The Young People with Nico Parker. She also featured in Royel Otis's music video, Who's Your Boyfriend?.

Born in New York City and of Chinese, Swedish, and Eastern European descent, the 22-year-old actor is known for her active role in societal issues. From advocating for sustainably manufactured products and attending various climate change protests worldwide to marching for women's rights, she has done it all. This has piqued curiosity, with every fan wanting to know more about Lola Tung.

Disclaimer: All opinions in this article belong solely to the writer.

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Did you know these 5 facts about The Summer I Turned Pretty star Lola Tung?

1) The actor has already made her Broadway debut

The actor made her Broadway debut in Hadestown in 2024 as a replacement (Image via Getty)

In between seasons 2 and 3 of The Summer I Turned Pretty, Lola Tung made a splash in her Broadway debut as Eurydice in Hadestown. She came in as a replacement for actor Solea Pfeiffer for a limited run and quickly became a fan favorite in the five weeks she was on stage. She starred opposite Jordan Fisher, who played Orpheus.

The actor played the lead who goes into the Green underworld after struggling with hunger and poverty, causing her lover to come rescue her. The Tony-winning musical earned her her first award nominations, one for 'Favourite Replacement (Female)' at the Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards and one for Favorite Broadway Debut at the iHeartRadio Music Awards.

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2) She narrated Jenny Han's books on Audible

Lola and Jenny at "The Summer I Turned Pretty" Season Three Launch Party (Image via: Getty)

Fans of the best-selling The Summer I Turned Pretty book and its sequels, It's Not Summer Without You, and We'll Always Have Summer, got an on-screen adaptation starring Lola Tung. However, there's one more fun fact for Belly fans. The audiobook version of the three novels has been entirely narrated by Tung, in the same tone she uses for Belly's inner monologue on the show.

This makes the books come to life and helps fans get a more in-depth look at her character's portrayal. Very few actors have the opportunity to explore a single character for over three years and voice the source material that brought them to their debut role. Moreover, her co-stars, Chris Briney and Gavin Casalagno, also feature in cameo voice roles for their parts of the story.

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3) The actor is a big Taylor Swift fan

Lola at the Teen Vogue Summit 2024 (Image via Getty)

Jenny Han's The Summer I Turned Pretty is closely tied to her love for Taylor Swift. In fact, the author has mentioned in several interviews that she wrote certain scenes while listening to her albums like Fearless. The show's soundtrack is largely driven by Swift's discography, with fan favorites like The Way I Loved You and Lover. So it comes as no surprise that Lola Tung is a "Swiftie."

The actor has made it well-known in every interview and promotional content for the show that she is a huge fan of the Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter. She even spurred countless memes after her interview with IMDB on July 12, 2023, went viral, when the question, "What Taylor Swift era are your characters in?" to which she responded with:

"Oh my goodness, I love this question!"

Tung and Han also attended an Eras Tour concert together.

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4) High school connections and Carnegie Mellon School of Drama

Tung is a drama major and got into a theater program at Carnegie Mellon School of Drama (Image via Getty)

Lola Tung studied at the prestigious Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York City. The institution is known for producing big names in Hollywood, including Timothee Chalamet, Jennifer Anniston, Nicki Minaj, and Al Pacino. She graduated in 2020, majoring in drama.

Later, the actor went on to study at the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama, but her education was cut short when her audition for The Summer I Turned Pretty was successful. She then took a break to film the teenage drama after finishing her first year, and it is unclear if she went back to complete her education.

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5) She wrote letters in character to prepare for her TV debut

Tung with Casalagno (left) and Briney (Right) at "The Summer I Turned Pretty" Season Three Launch Party (Image via Getty)

In an interview with Teen Vogue released on July 10, 2025, Lola Tung explained her audition process to play Belly in The Summer I Turned Pretty. She revealed that she filmed the tape with her college friends and connected with the showrunners on Zoom (during the pandemic). The actor used her drama education to study the script, annotate it, and research by reading the books.

Tung also revealed that she used a unique method to get into character: writing letters as Belly to each of the characters at different points in the story. From there, she tried to keep the essence of the books alive while adding her own personality to it, garnering many fans.

Lola Tung further explained in the interview:

"Jenny Han, who is the creator of the show and the writer of the books, she's obviously watched us now for three years, or whatever, and knows the way that we speak. When they were writing, they would add in the way we speak to the characters, which I think is really cool and interesting."

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The actor is also known for her up-and-coming modelling career, representing brands like Coach and American Eagle (with her co-stars). She is in the fashion week circuit, attending New York Fashion Week show in 2025 for Tory Burch and Paris Fashion Week in 2024 for Balmain.

Watch all seasons of The Summer I Turned Pretty starring Lola Tung on Prime Video.