Lara Jean Song Covey is the main protagonist of To All the Boys I've Loved Before trilogy. She is the middle daughter of Daniel Covey and Eve Song, and later on becomes Peter Kavinsky's girlfriend. She is Margot Covey's younger sister and Kitty Covey's older sister. She is portrayed by Lana Condor. In flashbacks in To All the Boys I've Loved Before young Lara Jean is portrayed by Isabelle Beech. In flashbacks in To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You and To All the Boys: Always and Forever young Lara Jean is portrayed by Momona Tamada.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Lara Jean Song Covey was born on the 25th (unconfirmed) of March to Eve Song and Daniel Covey. She has a older sister named Margot Covey and a younger sister named Kitty Covey. When Lara Jean was 9 years old her mother Eve Song passed away when she slipped after mopping, took a nap, but didn’t wake up. Over the years, Lara Jean wrote five love letters to all the boys she had a crush on at some point. She wrote a love letter to Josh Sanderson, Peter Kavinsky, Kenny Donati, John Ambrose McClaren and Lucas Krapf (Lucas James in the movies.)
Books[]
To All the Boys I've Loved Before[]
P.S. I Still Love You[]
Movies[]
To All the Boys I've Loved Before[]
Lara Jean is an ordinary girl, but her fate changes when the 5 letters she wrote are sent. After finding out they were sent, she makes a contract with one of the boys who got the letter: Peter Kavinsky. They make a contract to fake date to make his ex-girlfriend jealous (Gen). After a while, they end up falling in love with each other, to her (his ex). But, in the end, they are together again.
PS I Still Love You[]
Following her relationship with Peter Kavinsky becoming serious and official, Lara Jean firmly believes herself to be living the dream; Kitty reminds her that she is not in a movie, however. Later that night, she enjoys her first date with Peter, and things go well. The two promise not to break one another's hearts and they share a kiss.
She later receives a letter from John Ambrose McClaren, a former recipient of her letters, in which he reminisces upon the times they spent together when they were younger. Lara Jean is perplexed by the letter, initially believing her letter to be lost in the post, and is indecisive upon whether to reply. She eventually decides against replying to the letter, given her relationship with Peter. She decides to tell Peter about the letter the following day at school, and he questions if she replied, however, she reveals that she did not. Peter is taken aback by the whole situation, but brushes it off when the two are faced with the decision of where they will volunteer. Lara Jean reveals that she is applying for Belleview, and believes Peter to be doing the same, however, conflicts arise when Peter reveals that he will be volunteering at Oakwood instead.
Lara Jean becomes instant friends with one of the residents at Belleview, Stormy. The two talk and Stormy gives her a tour of the residents' home, enticing her to skip the tour by the management. When she eventually does go to sign in, she is shocked and confused to find that John is also volunteering at Belleview. Embarrassed, she asks John for the letter back, and he agrees, on the condition that she return the letter to him upon completion of reading.
Lara Jean and Kitty talk about the possibility of their father dating their neighbor, Mrs. Rothschild. Lara Jean believes the relationship will not progress any further, however, Kitty intervenes and sends Mrs. Rothschild a Valentines on their father's behalf.
On Valentine’s Day, Lara Jean expects Peter to have organized the choir to sing to her, given this is what he did for Gen the previous year. She is disappointed when he doesn't, however, but she forgives him when he gives her an expensive necklace shortly after, and reads her a poem. The necklace was from Peter’s mom’s store, and it was something Lara Jean had wanted for a while.
The relationship between Lara Jean and John becomes increasingly complex and tense when they must work together to clean out a room for an indoor-outdoor garden party. John hands her the letter she wrote to him and Lara Jean leaves to read the contents. She becomes emotional at reading the letter and Stormy invites her inside her room where the two talk. When Lara Jean recites the poem to Stormy that Peter wrote to her, she is disappointed to find out that the poem is actually written by Edgar Allen Poe, not Peter. Lara Jean becomes increasingly concerned for the relationship she shares with Peter, questioning if he did things differently with Gen.
At a party later, she hangs out with Lucas and tells him that she thinks that she needs a break from being Peter's girlfriend. Peter realizes that Lara Jean is not enjoying the party, and suggests that the two head out. She agrees, and Peter drives her home. He begins making out with her, and she sternly remarks that she doesn't want to have sex with him in his car. Lara Jean questions Peter about the poem, and Peter remarks that he never claimed to have written the poem but, nevertheless, everything in the poem is a true reflection of the love he feels for Lara Jean. Although he never said that he wrote it, it was very clear that he didn’t put the amount effort that Lara Jean expected. It made her realize that she was doing a lot of the heavy lifting in the relationship and she was putting the most effort, meanwhile Peter just wanted to have fun. Not convinced by this, Lara Jean asks if Peter misses sex, particularly with Gen, however, he replies that he doesn't.
She later makes small talk with John at Belleview's bingo game. John questions if Peter is still with Gen, and Lara Jean tells him that he isn't, but decides against telling John that she and Peter are dating. John asks for Lara Jean to return the letter, however she remarks that she has no plans to return the letter, effectively ending their agreement.
Lara Jean and Peter have more conflicts in their relationship when Lara Jean finds out that he and Gen have been spotted together. Lara Jean then asks him if he was waiting for Gen at the hot tub, and Peter doesn’t respond. Lara Jean suggests they break up, and they both leave heartbroken.
At the Belleview ball shortly after, John and Lara Jean dance, and eventually kiss. She quickly realizes that she does not want to be with John, and leaves the party to find Peter. Peter meets her on the doorstep, however, and the two repair their relationship; they kiss shortly after. Lara Jean realizes that the perfect relationship doesn't exist and, if she wants to be happy, she must risk it all.
To All the Boys: Always and Forever[]
It’s the final year of high school for Lara. She plans on attending Stanford University in California, where Peter received a scholarship, so that the two of them can stay close to each other, but Lara hasn't yet been accepted.
While in New York City for their senior trip, Lara Jean falls in love with the city and considers going to college there. Things start to get complicated when she tells Peter about it, because he's unsure being 3,000 miles apart won't throw a wrench into their relationship.
In the meantime, they have the Prom to attend before Lara Jean has to make any decisions on how she wants her future to unfold after graduation.
After much internal turmoil, Lara Jean makes the right decision for her personal future and decides to go to NYU.
LJ and Peter are stepping on eggshells on Prom night, but she still feels obligated to initiate their first time having sex, feeling insecure that the couple had yet to take that step. Peter stops things to have a conversation with Lara Jean, that turns into an argument between them that ends with the two contemplating breaking up.
Due to the couple’s turmoil, Peter skips out of being the date at Lara Jean’s father wedding. Later that night, Lara Jean has a heart-to-heart with her sister, who shows her the first letter she ever wrote about Peter. Lara and Peter reconcile with a contract agreeing to get back together. They spend one final night together and sleep together before going in different directions for college, with intentions to write love letters to one another during long distance.
Background[]
Personality[]
| “ | I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams. |
” |
—W. B. Yeats, Always and Forever, Lara Jean (Lara Jean's yearbook quote) | ||
Lara Jean is generally considered a nice, quirky and shy girl and who enjoys scrapbooking, fashion, especially Korean and vintage clothing, and baking. She is said to have decent grades. She is extremely attached to her sisters Margot and Kitty and has a good relationship with her father. She misses her mother Eve Song but also wants her father to remarry, which he does in Always and Forever, Lara Jean.
She is also described as "a girl that falls in love easily", referring to how she tends to have crushes easier than other people might and is often called "quirky" by Peter Kavinsky. She is hopelessly romantic and loves reading romance novels.
Physical Appearance[]
Lara Jean has long dark hair and dark eyes. Although she believes that Margot looks the most like her mother, she actually resembles her mother the most out of her sisters. Therefore, she looks more Asian than Caucasian. but she is also half South Korean.
In the movie, she usually wears her hair in a ponytail but stops doing so by the end of the first movie, when Peter tells her he prefers it when her hair is down.
She is portrayed by Lana Condor in the movie franchise.
Relationships[]
Family[]
Lara Jean loves her father Daniel Covey a lot. She understands that sometimes it's hard for him to understand her feelings and problems completely and that he tries his best to support her nonetheless. As shown in P.S. I Still Love You, she is afraid of disappointing her father, since his opinion of her means very much to her.
Margot is Lara Jean's older sister. It's mentioned that they used to fight a lot when their mother was still alive but became very close to each other after her death. They are protective of each other and comfort each other when one of them is sad. The relationship is strained, however, when it is revealed that Margot's boyfriend is the recipient of one of Lara Jean's letters, however the two are able to repair their relationship.
Kitty is Lara Jean's little sister. They love and care for each other but tend to have small fights quite often, which eventually resolve. Lara Jean isn't as close to her as to Margot, nevertheless, she loves her equally.
Lara Jean likes Trina and supports her relationship with her father. When her father and Trina marry in Always and Forever, Lara Jean, making Trina her step-mother, she is happy that her father has met a woman that can make him completely happy again.
Love Interests[]
Lara Jean had feelings for Peter since middle school, although she eventually gives up on him and tries to completely stop loving him by writing him a letter. After a series of unfortunate events, they end up fake-dating, which was Peter's attempt to get his old girlfriend back. When she realizes that she had fallen for him again, she tries to suppress her feelings for him at first but gives in when Peter confesses to her. He ends up being her boyfriend. They end up dating for a long time and go through a hard time when John Ambrose comes because he has feelings for Lara Jean. Nevertheless, she still loves Peter and they make-up.
Lara Jean and John Ambrose McClaren are childhood friends who got separated after John's family moved away. After reconnecting through Lara Jean's letter, they begin to develop romantic feelings for each other, which make Lara Jean wonder how it would be to be in a relationship with John instead of Peter. She kisses him, and realizes she doesn't love him. Ultimately, she ends up choosing Peter over John.
Josh is Lara Jean's childhood friend and Margot's ex-boyfriend. After Margot and he break up at the beginning of To All the Boys I've Loved Before, Lara Jean is afraid that the feelings she used to have for him until 9th grade might surface again and when her letters get sent out, When she sees John with her letter, coming to talk to her, she jumps peter, then runs away. Later, she and peter start a fake relationship, and she doesn't tell her sister because she doesn't want her to know she used to love her X-Boyfriend.
Friends[]
Chris and Lara Jean are friends since their childhood, although Lara Jean used to be closer to Genevieve than to Chris in the past. Their interests were similar until high school but then Chris started going out on parties often, which Lara Jean doesn't like very much, but accepts. They are best friends
Lara Jean becomes friends with Stormy upon beginning her volunteering at Belleview retirement home. The two instantly connect, and a close relationship forms between the two. Stormy gives her relationship advice on numerous occasions, and encourages her to fix things with Peter, she also eats farts for breakfast, despite having kissed John Ambrose.
Pammy was friends with Lara Jean. They both found similarities in each others personalities and thus became friends.
Others[]
Genevieve and Lara Jean used to be childhood friends until Genevieve cut ties with her before high school. Lara Jean never understood why they stopped being friends but accepted it. In P.S. I Still Love You it is revealed that Genevieve saw Lara Jean kissing Peter at the gathering at John's house in seventh grade, making her feel betrayed by Lara Jean, who knew that Genevieve liked Peter and that Genevieve didn't consider them friends from that point on. However, at the end of the book, it is shown that Genevieve, just like Lara Jean, put her friendship bracelet into the time capsule at the end of middle school, it being the thing dearest to her at that time.
Appearances[]
Books[]
To All the Boys I've Loved Before
Movies[]
To All the Boys I've Loved Before
To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You
To All the Boys: Always and Forever
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Lara Jean's character is based on Beth from Louisa May Alcott's Little Women.[1]
- Lara Jean's love for baking and cooking originated from Jenny Han's love for said and because she believes that "food connects people". [2]
- Lara Jean always likes to add banana pieces in her cereal and she always gets a cherry ice cream cone with chocolate chips.
- Peter was Lara Jean's first kiss.
- Lara Jean is Korean on her mother's side.
- Peter and Lara Jean's song is Let's Stay Together by Al Green.
- Her alternative yearbook quote was "Without you, today's emotions would be the scurf of yesterday's" (Hipolito, Amélie).
- Lara Jean's university choices were UVA, William & Mary, James Madison, University of Richmond and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- In the books she got rejected from UVA and decided to go to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- In the movies she got rejected from Stanford University and decided to go to New York University.
- Lara Jean's birthday is on March 25. Her sign is an Aries which was mentioned from a comment on a Instagram post of the series. Instagram page
- Lara Jean is a Hufflepuff.
- Lara Jean owns a collection of glass unicorns.
- Lara Jean's dream man is Gilbert Blythe, a character from the story 'Anne of Green Gables'.
- In the movie, it is shown that her address is 9147 Jefferson Street, Greenpoint, OR 97501.[3]
- In the movie, Lara Jean is left-handed.