In the wildly popular series The Summer I Turned Pretty on Amazon Prime, she portrays Isabel “Belly” Conklin, a role that gave rookie Lola Tung a Hollywood-worthy acting debut.
While attending the prestigious Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama Acting and Music Theater, the Asian-American actress, a native of New York, scored the sought-after role in the television version of Jenny Han’s well-known novel series, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before.
Lola, 19, only teamed up with her management a few weeks into her first year of college, and this was the first project she had ever auditioned for.
Thanks to the popularity of her Amazon Prime series The Summer I Turned Pretty, Lola Tung has emerged as Hollywood’s hottest new star. She will be featured here in June 2022.
Isabel “Belly” Conklin, the series’ central character, is portrayed by the actress with co-star Christopher Briney.
Lola’s mother, Pia, had a brief acting career while her father was a musician, but an acting career has always been her goal.
Lola appears poised to follow TATBILB star Lana Condor as an actress whose career has climbed to the top due to their portrayal of a character created by Jenny Han, as fans around the world laud the star’s breakthrough performance in the intergenerational drama.
The sky’s the limit for Hollywood’s newest starlet as the actress gears up to enchant audiences once more in the show’s second season.
Although Lola may be considered an overnight sensation, the actress has always had potential since she fell in love with acting in the sixth grade.
Jenny Han, the author of the trilogy of books in which Lola appears, made the ideal selection.
Lola had to conduct chemical tests over zoom with co-stars Christopher Briney (left) and Gavin Casalegno (right).
Lola recalled that she fell in love with the process and enjoyed being on stage and speaking the stories, everything of it when she was cast as the Tin Man in her middle school production of The Wizard of Oz. That is when my love for him first began.
She continued, “I remember my parents being so pleased afterward. It was just the excitement of being on stage and having people laugh. My parents are both artists and were thrilled that I had found something. My dad used to play music, and my mother briefly dabbled in acting.
The celebrity enjoyed a lot of live theatre and musicals while growing up in New York City and had the disc jockey Ken Dashow as a neighbor, which further fueled her passion for the arts.
Lola soon got accepted to the elite LaGuardia High School, whose albums include Timothee Chalamet, Sarah Paulson, and Jennifer Aniston.
Inspiration: A photo of Lola’s mother, Pia Tung, when she was a newborn shows that she claims to have been nurtured by “artistic” parents.
Early on, the actress frequently participated in school plays after falling in love with acting in middle school.
In 2020, Lola’s tenure at LaGuardia concluded with a virtual senior showcase before starting her collegiate career at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama.
Lola was approached by a manager just a few weeks into her first semester as a freshman, and the manager swiftly suggested the actress for the part of Belly.
After her first professional audition, Lola reflected on how she ultimately landed the part and told Seventeen magazine: “I auditioned totally over Zoom, and I was in my first year at Carnegie Mellon. I submitted tapes for the role I taped at home with my housemates while living in Pittsburgh.
“I next conducted Jenny’s and some of the producers’ callbacks on Zoom. Working with or reading with so many different performers while reading for Jenny was fantastic.
Dedicated: Lola decided to study acting to pursue her ambition during her time in school. Seen her studying drama in high school.
Lola, who graduated in June 2020 from the renowned Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music, Art, and Performing Arts, is prepared for greatness.
The first time Lola tried out for a professional acting part was for the Amazon Prime series; she was pictured at The Summer I Turned Pretty talk in June 2022.
Fortunately for the actor, leaving right after her college studies to perform zoom auditions paid off. The actor faced the unusual issue of attempting to complete her first year of college while already having secured a significant role after eventually learning she landed the part during a zoom chat.
Her interview with Teen Vogue said, “I was in disbelief at first, and then I called my mom crying on the phone, and we freaked out together a little bit, but it was incredibly thrilling.
Lola was able to finish her first year thanks to the assistance and encouragement of her teachers before she decided to put her college plans on hold to concentrate on shooting the series.
In an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the celebrity said of her time at CMU: “I don’t think I’d be where I am right now without my one year at CMU.” Being away in a new city and experiencing what it’s like to be there taught me a lot about acting and myself.
Character: Lola plays Belly, who unexpectedly attracts attention and yearns while on vacation with her mother, brother, and close family friends in the summer.
I gained a lot of knowledge about professionalism and working with individuals that share my enthusiasm for acting and theatre. I bring all the tools I learned at CMU, and I appreciate them.
Han’s “Summer” trilogy centers on 16-year-old Belly, who unexpectedly attracts attention and yearns while on vacation with her mother, brother, and close family friends.
Belly has had a long-standing infatuation with Conrad (Christopher Briney), the older brother, who might now see her as more than just a little sister. However, all of a sudden, Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno), the younger brother, confesses his emotions for Belly.
Lola has compared the experience of filming the series to summer camp, and her social media posts frequently feature the ensemble having fun together.
The series has received tremendously positive feedback from devoted readers and newcomers alike.
The actress also expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to work closely with Han, who served as both the series’ writer and showrunner, and for the ability to further represent the AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) community.
She said, “I think it’s extremely important to have tales about love and about family [and see] diverse families,” in an interview with Teen Vogue. There isn’t just the same thing happening over and over.
To have an Asian-American creator, writer, and showrunner who has that voice and that understanding, as well as to be working with other Asian-American actors — Sean Kaufman, who plays my brother, Jackie Chung, who plays my mom, and Minnie Mills, who is also in the show — is fantastic.
We also had a fantastic Asian-American director, Jeff Chan, said, Lola. I was surrounded by amazing Asian-American artists all the time.
Starlet: People have been praising Lola’s performance online in droves.
That was also my first time working on a set, which was cool. The family is Asian-American, which is awesome because it’s just about family and love. It’s a story about love and family.
The response to the series has been overwhelmingly positive thus far, with both new and devoted readers of the book praising the cast and everyone else involved in its production.
Can we talk about how The Summer I Turned Pretty has the best cast, music, and arguably one of the best series to come out in a LONG time? A fan wrote in a tweet.
Another person commented: “Did I binge-watch The Summer I Turned Pretty entire season on the first night it was released, in one night? Yes. Did I sob uncontrollably, fall in love, and feel an overwhelming yearning for more? Yes.’
Another said, “I need season 2 of the summer. I turned more than I needed air.”
The actress and the cast spent their ideal summer of 2021 filming the show in Wilmington, North Carolina, from July to October.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette questioned Lola about the warm comments she received online, and she gushed: “Everyone has been incredibly lovely.” It has been a little too much social media.
But I consider myself fortunate that there was already such a strong following for the books, and they have been so gracious since the program debuted. It’s nice that I think people have welcomed the improvements and modifications.
Lola’s acting, in particular, has drawn appreciation from fans, as evidenced by one who wrote: “Lola tung is still so unbelievably stunning to me… and she’s wonderful as Belly Conklin.”
Another person commented on Twitter that Lola Tung’s performance as Belly was ideal casting.
A third praised Ms. Lola Tung for “her fantastic portrayal as Belly in #TheSummerITurnedPretty,” saying, “I know practically everyone is swooning over the males.” It was her first acting role, and she did very well! I hope she gets a lot of wonderful jobs in the future because she has such a lovely and powerful screen presence.
According to another admirer, Lola Tung is the ideal Belly who can’t stop watching The Summer I Turned Pretty.
A comeback to musical theatre is something that actress Lola hopes to accomplish in the exciting years ahead – shown in May 2022.
In addition to her employment, Lola has spoken for women’s rights, climate change, and other socioeconomic concerns that are important to her.
Before joining the 2019 school strike against climate change, she attended a different event where environmental activist Greta Thunberg spoke in 2018.
The celebrity can use her newfound platform to promote further topics she believes in. Her influence is expanding due to the success of her series’ initial seasons.
Campaigner Lola has made a point of speaking out about problems like climate change and societal representation.
Using her platform for good: The actress is determined to use her newly acquired platform to promote further causes she is passionate about.
For the time being, Lola is excitedly anticipating what might come next in her career, and the actress says she would like to go back to her first passion, musical theatre.
“I just think it’s been cool to keep going to auditions and seeing all the different projects out there,” you might say. I was a theatre kid when I was younger, and it would be amazing to do live theatre again at some time,’ she told InStyle.
Lola is already taking the necessary steps to realize that desire if the singing videos she has posted on social media are anything to go by.
