Jenna Ortega
Jenna Marie Ortega (born September 27, 2002) is an American actress and Olivia Rodrigo lookalike. She is noted for her roles on television as Young Jane in Jane the Virgin, Harley Diaz in Stuck in the Middle and Ellie Alves in You. In 2016, she began voicing Princess Isabel in the Disney Channel animated series Elena of Avalor. Ortega's movie work includes starring as Annie in Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013), Mary Ann in The Little Rascals Save the Day (2014) and Dawn in Saving Flora (2018). Apparently you might know her for these roles but she's best known as Wednesday Addams from her own series.
Early life[edit | edit source]
Ortega was born on September 27, 2002 in Coachella Valley, California. She has five other siblings. Because she was an actress, she hasn't lived a very typical life that was like other Californians, similar to Billie Eilish and (as mentioned before) Olivia Rodrigo. She did not attend high school and didn't experience prom and graduation. She was instead homeschooled.
Career[edit | edit source]
2012-2017: Early acting roles[edit | edit source]
At the age of six, Ortega became interested in acting. By the time she was around 8 or 9, she got an agent and started getting auditions after her mom posted her dramatic monologues on Facebook. She made her real acting debut in 2012 in a guest appearance for Rob but no one knew that was her anyway. She then appeared in CSI: NY and no one knew that was her too. Then she would land more forgettable roles until 2014 when she landed a role as a younger version of Jane in Jane The Virgin. Apparently, she was a Disney star. She was in Stuck in the Middle and Elena of Avalor.
In 2017, she starred in a Jacob Sartorious music video which was supposed to ruin her career but she used a different identity for the music video.
2018-2020: Netflix[edit | edit source]
After she left her Disney career behind, she started to be in Netflix series and films. She starred as Ellie Alves in You. Her character is a smart girl who likes to act older than her true age, which is exactly what Ortega embodies. She was then cast as Phoebe in the film The Babysitter: Killer Queen, who has a much similar personality as Ellie. Every single film she has been with Netflix has gotten mixed reviews.
2021-present: The REAL breakthrough[edit | edit source]
In 2021 and 2022, most of the time, Ortega was starring in a lot of horror films, with some exceptions. The Fallout was released in March 2021 as a high school drama, and critics loved her acting. She would be cast in Scream. Responding to her casting, she says that she couldn't think of any synonyms for how happy and excited she was for her new journey. Other films she was in included a horror film directed by none other than the Foo Fighters and X. Her name and acting skills weren't well known until October 2022, when Wednesday premiered. This was the first time her name was introduced to the public.
Ortega's version of Wednesday Addams is mysterious and is a goth. However, she likes dancing to Lady Gaga on TikTok and listening to classical music.
Personal life[edit | edit source]
Ortega is also known to be an activist as well, since she supports immigration and LGBTQ+ rights. She has also raised money for a young girl with cancer, which is something she's very good at. During 2019, she appeared in many WE Day concerts to support a charity, until she realized that the charity was embroiled in a scandal. Meanwhile, in 2020, she was named a brand ambassador for the skin care brand Neutrogena. She has a lot of secrets in her head, but she wouldn't reveal them right away.
It was revealed in 2022 that Ortega wanted to become a soccer player and is a fan of Lionel Messi.
Otherwise, she is every single horror trope to ever exist, simply because she's good at everything horror related.
Acting style[edit | edit source]
Back in the 2010s, Ortega wasn't comfortable with the horror stuff that she became accustomed to. She was more innocent and carefree, and was in kids shows. By the time she grew up, she was more comfortable with high school dramas. Since then, in an interview with Rotten Tomatoes, the only time she will be in a TV show/film is if the genre is horror, or any other sub-genre of it.