Who Plays Taylor’s Mom Lucinda In ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’? Meet Kristen Connolly

New summer, new characters!

The Summer I Turned Pretty returned for its highly-anticipated third and final season, and in its first three episodes alone, fans have already met a number of exciting new characters.

At Finch, we met Belly (Lola Tung) and Jeremiah’s (Gavin Casalegno) new college besties, Anika (Sofia Bryant) and Redbird (Tanner Zagarino). At Stanford, we met Conrad’s (Christopher Briney) new go-to gal, Agnes (Zoé De Grand’Maison). And when the college kids headed back home for the summer in Season 3, Episode 3, we started really getting to know Taylor’s mom, Lucinda Jewel, played by Kristen Connolly.

So who is Lucinda on The Summer I Turned Pretty? What’s the deal with Taylor’s mom? And what do we know about Kristen Connolly, the actor who plays Lucinda?

Here’s what to know about the most important woman in Taylor’s life (aside from Belly, of course) based on the first three episodes of the Prime Video series.

Who Is Lucinda Jewel On The Summer I Turned Pretty?

As noted, Lucinda Jewel is Taylor’s mom. But she’s not a regular mom — she’s a cool mom! We first meet her in Season 3’s premiere, when she’s helping Tay Tay move into her dorm. She shares a sweet moment with Steven (Sean Kaufman), and later in the episode, Lucinda FaceTimes Taylor, clocks that she’s back together with him, and warns her not to be “the side chick” or engage in “ho behavior.” Lucinda tells it like it is, and she’s not so secretly rooting for her daughter and Steven to work out, as we see in Season 3, Episode 3 when Taylor comes home from school.

When she welcomes Taylor, or should we say “Taytie Tot” (SCREAMING!), home for the summer, Lucinda’s wearing cutoff jean shorts like Lorelai Gilmore on Rory’s first day of Chilton. We learn she made Taylor a playlist for her drive home, cleaned the house, and broke up with her boyfriend Scott, who was “a stupid MMA-watching two-timing piece of shit.” Taylor seems happy about the breakup and knows her mom can do better, and Lucinda seems fine as well! “Now we can watch Gilmore Girls, and eat burritos, and we don’t have to share the remote with him,” she says, hopefully. But when Taylor suggests “all men are trash,” Lucinda reminds her that Steven is a good one. “He’s the only boy you’ve ever dated who’s even remotely worth of you. So don’t let him go that easy,” she encourages.

As the episode progresses, Taylor gets shut down by Steven again and comes home sulking. So Lucinda takes matters into her own hands. Hoping to manufacture another shot at him and her daughter reconnecting, Lucinda calls Steven and asks him to come over and help her balance the books for her salon. Scott always helped manage the money, she says, and without him, she’s lost.

Steven agrees to help, but asks Lucinda to email the files so he can avoid Taylor. Once he takes a look, however, he calls Tay to break the news: Her mom’s salon is bleeding cash and it might not even survive till the end of the month. Before the episode ends, Taylor gets real with Lucinda, who breaks down crying at the thought of losing her salon. The Gilmore Girls parallels run even deeper than the shorts, the name drop, and the single mother/daughter dynamic when Lucinda says she can borrow more money from Taylor’s grandma. Taylor replies, “She’ll just lord it over you like last time. We’ll figure this out together.” So it’s clear we haven’t seen the last of Lucinda Jewel on TSITP.

In the meantime, let’s learn more about the actor behind the compelling new character. Shall we?

Who Is Kristen Connolly on The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3? What To Know About The Actor Who Plays Taylor’s Mom, Lucinda

Lucinda is played by Kristen Connolly, a 45-year-old actor who has nearly 40 credits on IMDb. Prior to her role in The Summer I Turned Pretty, Connolly starred in dozens of popular TV series and films, including Guiding Light, As the World Turns, The Good Wife, The Cabin in the Woods, House of Cards, The Whispers, The Bay, Evil, A Good Marriage, Deep Water, Accused, FBI: International, and more. She’s also credited in Ethan Coen’s 2025 film Honey Don’t!, starring Margaret Qualley, Aubrey Plaza, and Chris Evans.

For those who don’t know, Connolly has been married to Stephen O’Reilly since 2023. While we wait to see more of her on our screens as Lucinda, you can stay up-to-date with the actor on Instagram at @kristennoraconnolly, where she had 45,000 followers on Season 3, Episode 3 premiere day.

New episodes of The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 premiere Wednesdays on Prime Video.