Jenny Han proves she’s more than just an author with iconic cameos in the TV shows and movies based on the books she’s written. Eagle-eyed fans were quick to notice the author when she appeared in To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, which premiered via Netflix in August 2018.
She appeared in a flashback scene where a younger version of Lana Condor’s character, Lara Jean, is attending a homecoming dance with Lucas Krapf, one of her love letter recipients. Han, for her part, played the role of chaperone and watched the two dance.
While Han admitted that she doesn’t love being filmed, that didn’t stop her from making appearances in the other two To All the Boys franchise films — To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You and To All the Boys: Always and Forever.
So, when The Summer I Turned Pretty premiered via Prime Video in June 2021, no one was surprised when Han made a brief appearance in one episode.
“I don’t actually enjoy being on camera at all. I had done it for To All the Boys movies and people kept asking me if I was gonna do it for this one,” she told BuzzFeed in June 2022. “So, then I was like, ‘You know what? Sure.’ I bought [the dress] for that moment. I think it’s a nice scene, very celebratory — and I like champagne.”
In the show’s first season finale, Han is seen grabbing a glass off a champagne tower while attending Belly’s (Lola Tung) debutante ball.
“This might have to be my last cameo bc how does one top a champagne tower?” she joked on Instagram at the time, showing off a behind-the-scene photo on set.
The following year, The Summer I Turned Pretty returned for season 2. While it seemed like Han’s cameo wasn’t going to happen, she surprised fans by walking out of a convenience store as Tung walked in.
These aren’t the only cameos she’s made thus far!
While Netflix’s XO, Kitty isn’t exactly based on one of Han’s books — it’s a To All the Boys spinoff series — she did have a lot of say in the show coming to fruition and acts as an executive producer. Because of this, the writer made another onscreen appearance.
Keep scrolling to see all of Jenny Han’s iconic cameos so far:
