Lola Tung and 'The Summer I Turned Pretty' Movie

If you're curious about Lola Tung, you're in for a fascinating story. She was discovered through a high school self-tape, left Carnegie Mellon mid-year to film the role, and even had Belly's character rewritten to reflect her Asian-American identity. The Summer I Turned Pretty ran from 2022 to 2025, and a follow-up film was announced the same day the finale aired. There's plenty more worth knowing about her journey.

Key Takeaways

• Lola Tung was discovered through a high school self-tape, later securing her role via Zoom callbacks while attending Carnegie Mellon University.
• She left Carnegie Mellon mid-first-year to film The Summer I Turned Pretty, signing with Creative Artists Agency in September 2021.
• The series ran three seasons from June 17, 2022, to September 17, 2025, concluding with a finale titled "At Last."
• A film continuing the story was announced the same day as the series finale, building directly on the show's events.
• Jenny Han rewrote Belly's role to reflect Asian-American identity, and Tung's performance influenced Han's directorial debut in season three.

How Lola Tung Was Discovered Before the Show?

Lola Tung's acting career didn't start on a screen — it took root on a stage. Her passion for theater developed during middle school, and she later trained at LaGuardia High School of Music and Performing Art, an elite New York City arts institution that also shaped talents like Timothée Chalamet and Adrien Brody.

After graduating, Tung enrolled at Carnegie Mellon University in 2021 to deepen her performance skills. That's when things shifted. Casting directors discovered her high school self tape, which opened the door to a major opportunity.

She auditioned entirely through Zoom callbacks while living in Pittsburgh, recording scenes with roommates at home. Despite never stepping into a traditional audition room, she landed the lead role of Belly Conklin in The Summer I Turned Pretty. Before joining the cast, she had no formal on-camera experience, having focused exclusively on theater training throughout her early years.

Why Lola Tung Left Carnegie Mellon to Play Belly Conklin?

Halfway through her first year at Carnegie Mellon, Tung's manager reached out about a lead role in The Summer I Turned Pretty, Amazon Prime Video's adaptation of Jenny Han's bestselling trilogy. She auditioned via Zoom, landed the part of Isabel "Belly" Conklin, and made a decisive career pivot — placing her degree on hold to pursue filming in Wilmington, North Carolina.

The college pause wasn't impulsive. Tung completed her first year before departing, describing the experience as formative despite COVID-driven online classes. She signed with Creative Artists Agency in September 2021, signaling serious professional momentum.

The role fit naturally — Belly's age mirrored Tung's own, and she connected immediately with the character's emotional world. That alignment made leaving school a calculated, confident choice rather than a reckless one. Her early exposure to performance began long before Carnegie Mellon, having attended LaGuardia High School for the performing arts where acting was part of her daily curriculum.

What Made Her the Right Fit for Belly Conklin?

Stepping away from Carnegie Mellon was a bold move, but it only made sense if Tung could actually deliver the role — and she did from the very first audition. Jenny Han fell for her immediately, and it's easy to see why. Tung brought authentic vulnerability to Belly's most emotionally demanding moments, from the frat party confrontation to complex relationship revelations. Her formal training at LaGuardia and Carnegie Mellon gave her the technical precision to back it up.

Beyond performance, the role itself was rewritten to reflect her Asian-American identity, adding cultural resonance that transformed Belly from a simple literary character into a representation vehicle. Tung also read the entire book trilogy before filming, deepening her understanding of who Belly truly was. In the series, Belly's full name is Isabel Susannah Conklin, and her summers at Cousins Beach with the Fisher family form the emotional backbone of her entire coming-of-age journey.

How Lola Tung Shaped Belly's Character Alongside Jenny Han?

When Jenny Han first saw Lola Tung audition, she knew she'd found something rare. Their actor collaboration transformed Belly from a written character into a living, breathing presence on screen.

Rather than simply translating the book, the show functions as a reimagining, with Tung bringing her own gifts to scenes in ways Han hadn't envisioned.

This character evolution surprised even the author, as Tung's interpretive choices shaped moments that exceeded what existed on the page. Han described seeing "a real light" in Tung that made Belly's flaws feel relatable rather than alienating.

Their creative partnership became mutual — Tung's performance even informed Han's directorial debut in season three's "The Last Dance." Together, they built something neither could have created alone. Throughout this process, Han consistently returned to the original novels as a guiding north star whenever creative decisions became uncertain.

When Did The Summer I Turned Pretty Air: and How Did It End?

The Summer I Turned Pretty premiered on Prime Video on June 17, 2022, launching a three-season run that concluded September 17, 2025. The release timeline moved from seven episodes in season one to eight in season two, then eleven in the third and final season.

You'll find the series finale titled "At Last" wrapped up Belly's story during her junior year of college, with Conrad's return stirring unresolved feelings alongside her relationship with Jeremiah. Season three's conclusion themes centered on love, growth, and long-overdue choices.

Remarkably, the same day the finale dropped, Prime Video announced a future film continuing directly from where the series left off. That announcement confirmed the story isn't truly over—it's simply moving to a new format. The story begins each summer at Cousins Beach, where the Conklin and Fisher families reunite in a tradition that shapes Belly's journey from childhood into adulthood.

Lola Tung's Broadway Debut and Why Theater Still Matters to Her

Before landing her role as Belly in The Summer I Turned Pretty, Lola Tung had already built her identity around the stage. She attended LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts and studied at Carnegie Mellon's School of Drama, shaping her into a versatile performer.

Her Broadway fulfillment came when she stepped into Hadestown as Eurydice, running February 9 through March 17 at Walter Kerr Theatre. She'd first seen the show in February 2020, immediately adding it to her dream roles list. Sharing the stage with Jordan Fisher, Ani DiFranco, and Lillias White, she delivered a performance years in the making.

Her stage resilience proves that television success never replaced her love for theater — it simply ran alongside it. The production itself is no small stage — Hadestown took home eight 2019 Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score.

How Lola Tung's Fame Translated Into Major Brand Campaigns

Fame opened doors that Lola Tung walked through with both purpose and personal credibility. Her Summer I Turned Pretty visibility made her a natural fit for Foot Locker's "Gifts of Greatness Holiday 2025" campaign alongside Adidas, shot through the streets of her native New York City.

She brought genuine sneaker authenticity to the role — she's openly a self-described "sneaker girl" who collects Adidas Sambas and styles them with baggy jeans. That personal connection made the campaign feel real rather than transactional.

Beyond footwear, Tung channeled sustainability advocacy through Coach's Coachtopia initiative, lending her Gen Z voice to circular fashion messaging that aligned with climate-conscious values. Both partnerships reflect how she's built a brand presence rooted in genuine interests rather than manufactured celebrity appeal. The Cosmopolitan article covering the Foot Locker campaign was written by Shopping Editor Hannah Oh and published on November 3, 2025.

What Is Lola Tung's Role in Forbidden Fruits?

Lola Tung's next major role takes her far from beach romances — she plays Pumpkin, a new hire at a store called Free Eden who crashes headlong into a witchy femme cult operating out of the basement. Think of Pumpkin as an agent of political disruption, forcing established members Apple, Cherry, and Fig to confront the performative sisterhood critique at the group's rotten core.

Described as "Mean Girls, but slasher," the horror-comedy filmed in Toronto in March 2025 under director Meredith Alloway. You'll see Tung driving the film's central conflict, pushing each character to face their internal "poisons." Alongside Lili Reinhart, Victoria Pedretti, and Alexandra Shipp, she anchors a satirical, body-horror narrative examining how false female bonding rituals collapse under genuine pressure. The film premiered at SXSW on March 16, 2026, before its wider United States release on March 27, 2026.

What Is Lola Tung Working on Next?

With Forbidden Fruits set for a theatrical release on March 27, 2026, Tung's immediate future is anchored to that project's rollout. Beyond that, her upcoming collaborations and broader career trajectory remain largely unconfirmed in current sources.

What you can see clearly is that she's building on the momentum from The Summer I Turned Pretty, using each role to expand her dramatic range. Forbidden Fruits already signals a deliberate shift toward more complex, mature storytelling.

While specific future projects haven't been publicly announced, her career trajectory suggests she's making intentional choices rather than chasing volume. In the film, she plays Pumpkin, a new hire whose arrival disrupts the power dynamics of an established witchy femme cult operating inside a mall dressing room after hours. You'll want to watch her official channels and reputable entertainment outlets for announcements, as details about her next moves will likely surface closer to Forbidden Fruits' release date.