Who Is Denise In 'The Summer I Turned Pretty'? Everything To Know About Steven's New Love Interest.

Who is Denise in The Summer I Turned Pretty?

Denise Russo is a new The Summer I Turned Pretty character we meet at the beginning of season 3. She works with Jeremiah and Steven at Adam's company Breaker Capital, but we learn in recent episodes that she's super into gaming and wants to start her own company with Steven (an idea I totally support, TBH).

She's competitive, headstrong, and determined, and never lets Steven off the hook for anything. But their workplace rivalry has slowly morphed into a friendship that feels like it's headed toward something more. After all, they ended up at the same gaming conference in New York City, and Denise joined Belly's bachelorette party. At the end of episode 7, we even saw the two nearly share a kiss and more...until Lucinda interrupted them.

A lot of fans are wondering if Steven and Taylor are still endgame, and whether Denise will actually end up with Jeremiah, but only time will tell. No matter who's endgame, I can safely say that I love the fact Denise has been added to the show. "Denise keeps getting better every episode!" one Reddit user agrees. "I have no idea where her arc is going but I love her."

Who plays Denise in The Summer I Turned Pretty?

Denise is played by Isabella Briggs. You might recognize her from Joshua Jackson's Fatal Attraction or Colin Farrell's Sugar, but there's no doubt that Denise lets Isabella shine like never before.

Is Denise in We'll Always Have Summer?

Denise is mentioned in the book as one of Adam's assistants, but this version of the character is new for the show. It's fun to see new plot lines unfold alongside Belly, Jeremiah, and Conrad's love triangle from the books. You can check out all the other differences between the book and season 3 here!

What has Isabella Briggs said about The Summer I Turned Pretty?

Denise started out by giving both Jeremiah and Steven a hard time at work, but Isabella thinks she's starting to warm up to them and "is starting to realize, 'Okay, maybe he can step up to the plate, you know,'" she tells Teen Vogue. "[Jeremiah] catching [a potential client's inaccurate reporting] and bringing it to Adam and telling us about it. Even if it's to Denise's chagrin, she will ever so slightly relent to the fact that he did good."

"With characters like these, they're rarely ever just mean to be mean. There's always something else going on," she continues. "There's always something that's happened in their past that has led them to hold the judgment that they do and to act and speak in the way that they do. And I'm excited now that we're seeing that loosen up and move."

And in response to all those theories about a couple love triangles with Steven, Taylor, and Jeremiah? "I have seen a few of them. I try to honestly, as best as I can, stay off of it, but I've definitely taken a peek and seen the theories, yeah," she says, adding that her one-word reaction is. "Hmm. Okay!"