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Jenny Han's TSITP is full of allusions to classic stories - how much was she inspired by Audrey Hepburn's Sabrina from 1954?
At first glance, Billy Wilder’s 1954 romantic classic Sabrina and Amazon Prime’s hit teen series The Summer I Turned Pretty may not seem to have much in common. One is a black-and-white Audrey Hepburn fairy tale about love and transformation, the other a sun-soaked coming-of-age romance based on Jenny Han’s bestselling YA novels. Yet, beneath their stylistic and generational differences, both stories explore surprisingly similar themes: growing up, navigating first loves, and discovering that maturity often leads us to unexpected choices.
Both Sabrina and The Summer I Turned Pretty anchor their love stories in idyllic summer settings tied to wealthy families. In Sabrina, the chauffeur’s daughter grows up at the Larabee family’s luxurious Long Island estate, always watching from the sidelines. Audrey Hepburn’s Sabrina feels like an outsider—captivated by the glamorous parties and hopelessly infatuated with David Larabee, the charming yet irresponsible younger son.
Meanwhile, Belly Conklin in The Summer I Turned Pretty spends every summer at the Fisher family’s beach house, thanks to her mother’s lifelong friendship with Susannah Fisher. Unlike Sabrina, Belly isn’t an employee’s daughter, but she still grows up in awe of the seemingly effortless wealth and beauty that surrounds her. Her life, too, revolves around two brothers: Conrad, the brooding elder son, and Jeremiah, the carefree younger one.
In both stories, the summer houses serve as enchanted backdrops where love, longing, and heartbreak unfold. The settings are not just beautiful—they’re places where class, belonging, and identity quietly shape the characters’ choices.
At the heart of both narratives lies a compelling brotherly dynamic. In Sabrina, Linus Larabee is the serious, Yale-educated businessman who shoulders the family’s corporate empire. His younger brother David is a charming playboy, bouncing between women and failed marriages, forever the carefree sibling.
The Fishers mirror this dynamic. Conrad is Linus’s counterpart: reserved, intelligent, and weighed down by responsibility—particularly in the face of his mother Susannah’s illness. Jeremiah, much like David, is magnetic, fun-loving, and often more emotionally available, even if he lacks his brother’s depth.
Both sets of brothers embody the archetype of order versus chaos. The older brothers represent maturity, responsibility, and emotional restraint, while the younger brothers embody impulse, freedom, and youthful recklessness. It’s no coincidence that both Sabrina and Belly must navigate their affections between these contrasting energies.
Perhaps the strongest link between the two works is their focus on transformation. In Sabrina, the chauffeur’s daughter begins as a naive young woman watching David from afar, unseen and overlooked. Her painful attempt at suicide, her father’s sobering wisdom, and her two years in Paris mark her evolution. When she returns, she is elegant, confident, and sophisticated—a woman who commands attention rather than hides in the shadows. Paris, in this film, becomes a symbol of maturity and independence.
Belly’s transformation is less dramatic but no less significant. The Summer I Turned Pretty revolves around “the summer she turns pretty,” the moment when Conrad and Jeremiah begin to see her not as the little sister figure of their childhood, but as someone desirable in her own right. For Belly, growing up means navigating the turbulence of first love, heartbreak, and self-discovery. Like Sabrina, she wrestles with who she is and which path—and brother—truly reflects her future.
In both cases, love becomes entangled with identity. Paris and Cousins Beach are more than just settings; they’re places where youth gives way to maturity.
Romantic entanglements drive both stories. Sabrina spends her youth pining for David, the younger Larabee, only to discover that Linus—the older, seemingly inaccessible brother—is her true match. The shift reflects her own growth: she moves from idealizing youthful charm to recognizing the depth and steadiness of real love.
Belly’s journey mirrors this triangle, though in a messier, more modern way. She begins with a lifelong crush on Conrad, then dates Jeremiah, only to ultimately return to Conrad (at least in the novels). Her heart vacillates between passion and stability, echoing Sabrina’s conflict. Both stories suggest that youthful infatuation with the “fun” brother often gives way to a deeper connection with the older one, symbolizing the movement from adolescence to adulthood.
Of course, the two tales diverge in important ways. Class divides Sabrina: she is the chauffeur’s daughter, never fully belonging to the Larabee world. Belly, on the other hand, is welcomed as family at the Fisher home thanks to her mother’s bond with Susannah.
Family dynamics also differ. While Linus carries the burden of running a business empire, the Fisher brothers grapple with the impending loss of their mother to cancer. Grief shapes Conrad’s emotional distance and Jeremiah’s need for comfort, giving their love triangle with Belly a heavier emotional weight than Sabrina’s glittering fairy-tale transformation.
Finally, while Sabrina’s metamorphosis is tied to Paris—a deliberate escape and a symbol of reinvention—Belly’s is more organic. Her beauty, maturity, and appeal emerge naturally “one summer,” making her story less about escape and more about the inevitability of growing up. We have yet to see if Belly goes to Paris in the series' final season; she speaks about it and grapples with the implications of going to Paris and leaving Jeremiah for an extended period of time.
Though separated by seventy years and vastly different audiences, Sabrina and The Summer I Turned Pretty explore universal truths about love and coming of age. Both remind us that first loves often give way to deeper ones, that growing up requires loss and change, and that the people we long for as children may not be the partners we need as adults.
Audrey Hepburn stepping into the Larabee ballroom and Lola Tung walking into Cousins Beach each represent a moment of self-actualization: the girl who was once invisible now takes center stage. And in both stories, the choice between brothers becomes a metaphor for the greater choice every young woman must face—between youth and maturity, fantasy and reality, innocence and wisdom.
It will be interesting to see if Jenny Han decides to deviate from the book version of Belly's story in the show. With only a few weeks to go until the conclusion of the series, we will soon learn more about Belly's choice - and what message it will send to her young audience.
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