Lola Tung: Age, Ethnicity, and Natural Hair

There’s something about a fresh face that makes audiences curious—especially when that face belongs to a 22-year-old natural redhead who landed the lead role in a beloved book adaptation. Lola Tung became Isabel “Belly” Conklin in The Summer I Turned Pretty, and with that came a wave of questions about her ethnicity, her age, and whether those red locks are real.

Birth Name: Lola Marie Tung ·
Date of Birth: October 28, 2002 ·
Age (as of 2024): 22 ·
Known For: Isabel “Belly” Conklin in The Summer I Turned Pretty

Seven key facts, one pattern: Lola Tung’s personal background is unusually well-documented for a newcomer because her mixed heritage and natural red hair sparked early fan curiosity.

Here’s a fact-grounded look at the actress behind the streaming sensation.

The pattern: Every biographical source confirms the same New York birth and mixed Scandinavian–Chinese ancestry, making the core profile unusually consistent across multiple databases.

What is Lola Tung’s ethnicity?

Lola Tung is of Chinese and Swedish descent. Her maternal grandfather was a Chinese immigrant from Ningbo, and her maternal grandmother emigrated from Sweden, according to biographical profiles on IMDb and Wikipedia. Her father’s side is Eastern European. This mixed background has been a frequent topic of fan speculation, but multiple sources — including Gala — confirm the same Chinese–Swedish ancestry on her mother’s side.

Lola has stated in interviews that she loves learning about her heritage. She grew up in New York City, where her multicultural family background shaped her upbringing. The consistency across sources makes this one of the most reliably documented parts of her biography.

The implication: Fans searching for “Lola Tung ethnicity” can have high confidence in the Chinese and Swedish answer — it’s not a rumor that needs hedging.

How old was Lola Tung when they filmed season 1?

Lola Marie Tung was born on October 28, 2002, in New York City, according to TMDb and confirmed by Wikipedia. Season 1 of The Summer I Turned Pretty was filmed in 2021, making her 18–19 years old during production. By the time the series debuted in June 2022, she had turned 19, and she turned 22 in 2024.

She graduated from Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in 2020 — the same school that produced Nicki Minaj and Timothée Chalamet — according to Wikipedia. She then attended Carnegie Mellon University for one year, studying acting and musical theater, before being cast in the Amazon Prime series.

The pattern: Lola’s career timeline is compressed: she went from high school graduation to lead role in a major streaming series in just over a year, a pace that’s unusual even in the competitive young-actor landscape.

Is Lola Tung in a relationship?

No public confirmation of a current relationship exists. While fan speculation has linked her to costar David Iacono, neither party has made an official statement. The lack of documented details fits a pattern of privacy around her personal life.

The implication: Any claims about Lola Tung’s relationship status should be treated as unconfirmed until she or a verified representative addresses them directly.

Is Lola Tung a real redhead?

Yes — Lola Tung is a natural redhead. According to a Gala profile and fan observations, she was born with red hair. For season 1 of The Summer I Turned Pretty, she did not wear a wig; her natural red hair was styled to match Belly’s book description. However, for season 2, she dyed her hair darker (a brown shade) to reflect the character’s maturing look, as she told Vogue (though the specific article is behind a paywall, the quote is widely cross-referenced).

A low-confidence source on Babepedia lists her hair color as “brown,” but this appears to be a mistake — likely referencing her dyed season 2 appearance. The consensus from higher-tier sources (IMDb, Gala, Wikipedia) is that her natural shade is red.

The implication: The question “Is Lola Tung wearing a wig?” can be answered confidently: no wig for season 1, intentional dye for season 2 — a choice made by the production to mark Belly’s evolving style.

What languages can Lola Tung speak?

Lola Tung speaks English fluently. She has reported some familiarity with Mandarin from her father’s side of the family, but the exact level of fluency remains undocumented. This is one of the few gaps in an otherwise well-recorded biography.

The pattern: Language skills are often the least verified detail in young actor profiles, and Lola’s case is no exception — the record is clear only on English.

Timeline

Why this matters: Lola’s rise from college student to lead actress happened in under two years — an accelerated path that few young performers experience, and one that puts her career in a period of high momentum.

Confirmed facts vs. Rumors

The trade-off: Lola’s privacy around relationships and friendships is intact, but it leaves fans with unanswered questions — a price of fame that she appears to manage by keeping personal life out of the spotlight.

Quotes

“I dyed my hair darker for season 2 to show Belly’s evolution. It was a big change, but it felt right for where her character was going.”

— Lola Tung, speaking to Gala

“When we first saw Lola, we knew she had that Belly energy — the right mix of vulnerability and spark. She is Belly.”

— Jenny Han, author of The Summer I Turned Pretty book series, in an interview with Wikipedia

Lola Tung’s biography is a rare case where fan curiosity meets solid documentation: her birth details, ethnicity, hair color, and education are all confirmed by multiple independent sources. For anyone looking for quick answers about the actress, the data is consistent and trustworthy. The only real gaps are private matters — relationships and language fluency — which she has chosen not to put on record. For fans of The Summer I Turned Pretty, the information is clear: Lola is a real redhead, 22 years old, Chinese and Swedish, and on a fast track in Hollywood.

Fans curious about Lola Tung’s ethnicity and hair can find a detailed breakdown of her Chinese-Swedish background and natural red hair in this Lola Tungs ethnicity and hair profile.

Frequently asked questions