The Summer I Turned Pretty: Who Plays Laurel?

While there have been many films and television shows that have focused almost exclusively on writers over the last few decades, occasionally, you get a writer who exists more in the periphery rather than being the central character of the drama. This is the case with Laurel Park in "The Summer I Turned Pretty."

Based on the trilogy of books by Jenny Han, the Prime Video series follows Isabel "Belly" Conklin (Lola Tung) as she navigates life and love with a pair of brothers that she's known since childhood. However, Belly's mom, Laurel, is an author who uses her grief over the passing of her lifelong friend Susannah to write a book with the same title as Han's own second book in the trilogy. The real-life version of the book, "It's Not Summer Without You," is actually the basis for Season 2 of "The Summer I Turned Pretty," which is just finishing up. 

On an even more meta note, the character of Laurel in "The Summer I Turned Pretty" is actually played by real-life writer and actor Jackie Chung. Though the performer has only acted sporadically over the last couple of decades, it is possible that you've seen her in some of her other roles on popular network dramas.

Jackie Chung of "The Summer I Turned Pretty" may only have 21 credits over the course of the last 18 years, but that hasn't stopped her from appearing in some massive shows. The actor has shown up in episodes of "Grey's Anatomy" and "Station 19," though she played two different characters in the interconnected universe of those series.

Elsewhere, she wrote and starred in the mini-series "Finding My America," a road trip story co-starring Hong Chau about two Asian American women who explore the highways and landscapes of America. The performer has also appeared in several indie projects, shorts, and a few other lesser-known television shows over the years.

As for where you can see Chung next, you can expect her to return for the third season of "The Summer I Turned Pretty." However, being that the episodes of Season 1 and Season 2 covered roughly a book each, it's very likely that the third season of the popular Prime Video series could be the last, wrapping up the story for good.