Before it became a Netflix sensation, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before was a beloved book series by Jenny Han. Fans fell in love with the romance between Lara Jean Covey and Peter Kavinsky. For years, they eagerly anticipated the movie that would bring the characters to life. The 2018 smash-hit flick satisfied fans by being such a faithful adaptation and was embraced by rom-com fans for its charm.
It kept many of the books’ quirkiest elements, such as Lara Jean’s penchant for unique fashion and baking. It also cast the perfect actors to play each part. The movies translated so many spot-on details about the characters to the screen, whether physical attributes or important personality traits. Here’s what each character looked like according to the books’ descriptions.
Lara Jean Covey
Lara Jean is the “dreamy-eyed” protagonist of the series. Fans adore her sense of style, described as “’90s Alicia Silverstone and ’60s jumpers meets Asian streetwear” by the author, Jenny Han. Her aesthetic and outfits really set Lara Jean apart in a sea of YA leads. Given her personality, “the way she dresses is her way of expressing herself and being bold,” Han explained.
The movie could not have found a better Lara Jean than Lana Condor, who shot to fame as the heroine. In fact, Han herself pictured Condor as Lara Jean early on. If there’s one more trait Lara Jean is famous for, it’s her enviable long hair. It’s so important, in fact, that when Condor cut her hair short for another role prior to filming the sequel, the crew gave her extensions to keep her look on-brand.
Margot Covey
Lara Jean thinks Margot looks the most like their mom, “with her high cheekbones and dark eyes.” She is thoroughly described in the books, regarded as beautiful and intelligent. And she had long hair like Lara Jean until she returns home from Scotland for the first time. Then, she sports a short bob.
Margot is the oldest sister in the family and acts like it, even speaking to Lara Jean like she was “a wise old woman of forty-two.” It only made sense, then, to cast Janel Parrish, who is eight years older than Condor. Although Margot is only two years older than Lara Jean, it was the perfect touch to put more age between the girls to represent their relationship.
Kitty Covey
In the book, Kitty is described as looking most like their father, with “light brown hair like his.” Anne Cathcart, who went on to play Kitty, kept her naturally auburn hair for the part. The crew then lightened Parrish’s hair to tie the sisters together.
In the books, Kitty is nine years old, but the movie decided to age her up by casting Cathcart. It was the right move, as she became a hit as Kitty, stealing scenes with her sassy quips. It’s not a far reach to guess that the Kitty in the book would wear a “feminist” necklace and rock thick pigtail braids like Cathcart does in the movie.
Dr. Daniel Covey
Dr. Covey is the father of the family, steady and loving, and hard-working. He’s utterly devoted to his girls. Physically, he has light brown hair and is known to be handsome. He must be tall in the books, too, because when they bid goodbye to Margot at the airport, she has to reach up on her toes to hug him (just like in the movie).
John Corbett is no stranger to playing the love interest, but here he was cast as the Covey clan’s patriarch. Fans relished seeing him in this new role. His natural charm was a great fit for the part, especially as his role expands in the sequel with a love interest of his own, played by Sarayu Rao.
Peter Kavinsky
Peter K “has the look of a Handsome Boy from a different time,” according to Lara Jean, who fawns over his looks throughout the series. He has “wholesome good looks” like an old-time soldier, sporty and dashing. He’s tall and athletic, beloved by many girls at school, but especially sought after by Genevieve.
It was a tall order to fill, to be sure, but Noah Centineo instantly became the Internet’s New Boyfriend. He was cool and casual like Peter in the books, but wooed fans everywhere with his charm and “whoa, whoa, whoa”s. Fans happily embraced him as “the handsomest of all the handsome boys.”
John Ambrose McClaren
John Ambrose is Lara Jean’s middle-school crush. When she reconnects with him in the sequel, he has sprung up, standing much taller and more handsome than before. She notes his “fair hair” and “rosy cheeks,” like “an English farmer’s son.” His grandmother Stormy says he looks like a young Robert Redford.
In the movies, they did one better. They cast the handsome and magnetic Jordan Fisher, who perfectly captured John’s old-fashioned, gentlemanly charm on the screen. He was even able to infuse his own skills to the role, playing piano in a swoon-worthy scene. If anyone could beat out Peter Kavinsky, it was clearly Fisher’s John Ambrose.
Josh Sanderson
Lara Jean describes Josh as “ordinary” and nerdy, with “regular brown hair” and green eyes. And although his face is serious, she considers his freckles and single dimple as two of his defining features. Josh joined track the year before the events of the first book and he’s “on the skinny side.”
Israel Broussard looks like he stepped off the page, capturing most of those characteristics. Although he doesn’t reappear in the sequel, he left an impression as the sweet next-door neighbor and first love of the Song girls.
Stormy
Famed as the “Belleview diva” even before she made an official appearance in the series, Stormy is a legend. In her hey day, she had light blonde locks and looked “like she could be Grace Kelly’s sneaky cousin,” as Lara Jean puts it. Stormy schools Lara Jean in life lessons on boys and youth.
Fans were thrilled with the casting of Holland Taylor, a legend in her own right. The biggest change with her character may have been that, in the movie, she was not John’s step-grandmother, which was a major plot point in the book. In the books, she was firmly on Team John.
Trina Rothschild
Ms. Rothschild, as she is known to the Song sisters, is their beautiful “across-the-street neighbor” with “mahogany brown hair.” She dresses younger than her age, even shopping at the same stores as the girls. In the books, she sports short-shorts and high-heeled boots.
The stunning Sarayu Rao joined the cast in the sequel as Trina. She shares Trina’s dark brown hair, but fortunately, the character got a makeover with Rao on board. She’s clearly toned down, sweet to the Song sisters, and irresistibly charming to Dr. Covey.
Chris
Between the best friends, Chris is the troublemaker, infamous for her dalliances with truancy, boys, and smoking. She has a “toothy grin,” which always made her look hungry, according to Lara Jean. In the second book, she rocks “ombre lavender hair.”
To capture her edgy nature, actress Madeleine Arthur has red highlights and smudgy eyeliner in the movies, not to mention all-black ensembles. She is a milder character in the adaptation, but she still sneaks off of the school campus for lunch and stays out late at rock concerts.
