Jenna Marie Ortega (born September 27, 2002) is an American actress. She began her career as a child and received recognition for her role as a younger version of Jane in The CW comedy-drama series Jane the Virgin (2014–2019). She then won an Imagen Award for her leading role as Harley Diaz in the Disney Channel series Stuck in the Middle (2016–2018). She played Ellie Alves in the thriller series You (2019) and starred in the family film Yes Day (2021), both for Netflix.
Media publications have dubbed Ortega as "Gen Z's scream queen".[a] She has been featured on the Power 100 list from The Hollywood Reporter in 2023 and the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2024. Ortega has also been noted for her fashion, in addition to supporting various charitable causes.
Early life
Jenna Marie Ortega,[1] the fourth of six siblings, was born on September 27, 2002,[2] in Palm Desert, California.[1][3] Her father, a former sheriff who works at a California district attorney's office, is of Mexican descent, and her mother, who is of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent, works as an emergency room nurse.[4][3][5] Ortega's maternal great-grandmother was an undocumented immigrant from Sinaloa, Mexico, and her maternal grandfather was from Puerto Rico.[6] Ortega grew up in La Quinta, California,[3] and has described her childhood self as "loud and extroverted".[7] She wanted to act from the age of six and begged her mother to let her pursue a career for three years.[3][8] Her mother attempted to distract her with other activities, including soccer and school.[3][4] Ortega almost quit pursuing acting to participate in the former.[9] Her mother later bought her a monologue book and posted a video of nine-year-old Ortega performing. A casting director watched the video and signed her to an agency.[3][4]
Ortega's mother began driving her to Los Angeles to attend auditions, a trip that sometimes took as long as six hours roundtrip, up to five days a week.[4] She struggled to secure parts because few roles for Latinas existed and she "didn't look [a certain] way"; such experiences damaged her self-esteem.[10] She considered dyeing her hair blonde in an attempt to book more roles.[11][12] For the first year, Ortega, who had no connections in the film industry, limited her auditions to commercials; she secured parts in 12 national campaigns, including three McDonald's commercials.[13][14] From Mondays to Fridays, she acted in Los Angeles for a few days and returned home to attend school.[4] She enrolled in public school,[15] attending Amelia Earhart Elementary School and John Glenn Middle School.[16] She dropped out of school during eighth grade to act in Disney projects and got an apartment in Los Angeles after securing a role in Stuck in the Middle (2016–2018).[3][17] During that time, Ortega worked in Los Angeles during the workweek and went home on weekends.[16]
From 2016 to 2018,[28] Ortega led the Disney Channel sitcom Stuck in the Middle as Harley Diaz, an aspiring inventor who is the middle child of the seven siblings.[29] She said that booking the role was "one of the best days of my life". Ortega drew inspiration from her own family and relationships with her siblings; she felt her experience starring on the show was akin to reality television.[17]Common Sense Media praised Ortega's performance, saying she "commands this role, pleading her case as a long-suffering middle kid while finding the humor in the many calamities that befall her efforts to shine".[30] Ortega garnered three Imagen Award nominations for Best Young Actor – Television, including a win in 2018.[31][32][33] She also voiced Princess Isabel in Elena and the Secret of Avalor (2016) and Elena of Avalor (2016–2020).[34][35]
2018–2021: Transition to mature roles
Ortega in 2020
In 2018, Ortega starred in the film Saving Flora in the lead role of Dawn, a circus owner's daughter.[36][37] After Stuck in the Middle ended, she aimed to act in more mature projects but found people assumed Disney roles were "all you can do, or all you were meant for".[3] She considered quitting acting several times, saying that she "was too old for the young roles and too young for the older roles".[14] In 2018, she was cast as Ellie Alves in the second season of the Netflix thriller series You,[3] which was released on December 26, 2019.[38][39] Like the show's first season, the second season received positive reviews;[40]The Hollywood Reporter's Robyn Bahr noted Ortega as "a standout performer".[41] Ortega was slated to return for the third and fourth seasons but was unable to do so due to scheduling conflicts.[14][42]
Ortega played Phoebe, the love interest of Judah Lewis's character, in Netflix's horror film The Babysitter: Killer Queen,[43] which was released in September 2020 to negative critical reviews.[44] She also voiced a travel vlogger named Brooklynn in the Netflix animated show Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous (2020–2022).[45] In 2021, she made her writing debut with the book It's All Love: Reflections for Your Heart & Soul, which contains a series of quotes and statements regarding faith and love.[46][47] She starred in the Netflix comedy movie Yes Day (2021), portraying a stubborn teenager who wants more independence from her parents.[48][49] She appreciated how people of color were shown in "a casual setting where it's acknowledged" in lieu of "shoving it down your throat".[50]Yes Day was released in March 2021 to mixed reviews.[51]IndieWire lauded Ortega as "very capable",[52] and the Associated Press referred to her as "an impressively poised young actor".[53]
Ortega had a leading role in the high-school drama film The Fallout, starring as a student who is navigating her emotional trauma after a school shooting.[54] To prepare for the role, she looked at photographs and watched videos and interviews about school shootings; processing such events afterward "kind of came naturally". She also participated in the March for Our Lives movement, which led demonstrations in support of U.S. gun control legislation.[15] Ortega, who describes herself as "such an insecure individual", found it easy to portray her character as relatable.[55]The Fallout premiered at South by Southwest on March 17, 2021, and was released on HBO Max on January 27, 2022.[56] The film received a positive response from critics,[57] and Ortega's acting was applauded.[55]Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times described her performance as "grounded and deeply moving",[58] while The Hollywood Reporter wrote that her "beautifully nuanced turn understands the nothing-to-look-at-here façade and the chinks in the armor".[59]
2022–present: Mainstream breakthrough
In the slasher film Scream (2022)—the fifth film in the Scream franchise—Ortega played Tara Carpenter,[60][61] on which she stated: "I don't even think there are words in the English language to correctly express how happy, excited and nervous I am for this journey".[62] Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett cast Ortega because of her ability to play both horror and comic tones, and for the sound of her scream. She felt nervous about joining a well-known franchise, wanting to "do it justice" without "ripping anybody off".[4] She said that working on the film taught her the importance of cast chemistry to the natural flow of the production process.[63]Scream was a critical and commercial success,[64] becoming the 28th-highest-grossing film of 2022.[65] According to The A.V. Club, Ortega demonstrated "incredible" resilience and resolve in her role.[66] She also won the MTV Movie Award for Most Frightened Performance.[67]
Ortega later appeared in the Foo Fighters–led horror film Studio 666 (2022).[68] Reviewers said she was underused;[69][70] according to the Los Angeles Times, "[n]ot even [a] cameo from ... 2022's newly minted Scream Queen Jenna Ortega ... can offer true horror bona fides to this flick".[71] She then starred in the slasher film X (2022), which was directed and written by Ti West,[72] who said Ortega was "fearless in her commitment".[73] Ortega signed onto the project because of its script, calling it "the most outrageous thing I've ever read",[74] and the opportunity to work with West. She found the filming process to be enjoyable and unique due to West's style of shooting.[75]X became Ortega's best-reviewed film on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes;[76]The Australian dubbed her and co-star Mia Goth "scene-stealers".[77] The comedy-horror American Carnage was Ortega's final film release of 2022.[76]The A.V. Club said she was continuing "her streak as the new it-girl of horror with a stubborn punk persona that masks her care for other people",[78] while IGN lauded her "no-shits-given shell".[79]
Ortega promoting Wednesday in 2022
In May 2021, Ortega was cast as Wednesday Addams in the Netflix comedy-horror series Wednesday (2022),[80] which she called a "new chapter" in her career.[81] She auditioned through a Zoom call with director Tim Burton, during which she read a four-page monologue.[82] The casting team felt her portrayal offered the character the necessary empathy.[3] She was initially hesitant to accept the part because she wanted to focus on film acting and feared working on another television series would prevent her from booking the roles she wanted.[83] To prepare for the role, Ortega underwent "the most physical transformation I've ever done", cutting her hair and dying it black, as well as altering her mannerisms, style of speaking, and facial expressions.[84] She also learned to play cello and speak German, read the original Addams Family comic, and watched the 1960s television adaptation.[85] Ortega called the production of Wednesday's first season her "most overwhelming job" in 2022, and spoke about being in a constant state of confusion and stress over the direction of the series and character.[86] She said that she had never "had to put my foot down on a set in the way that I had to on Wednesday", believing that the initial writing was nonsensical from a character standpoint and did not suit Wednesday's personality. While filming some scenes, Ortega would change her lines without informing the crew.[87][88]
Upon Wednesday's release, critics widely praised Ortega:[89][90]CNN said that her performance sets the series apart from similar spin-offs, being "relentlessly strange, a portrait in unblinking intensity and oddly endearing all at once".[91]Wednesday became one of Netflix's most-watched shows, receiving over 1 billion viewing hours within a month.[92] Ortega's performance received nominations for a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.[93][94] She was also nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, becoming the category's second-youngest nominee.[95] She later spoke about her discomfort with becoming well-known for her work on the show, having had a creatively unpleasant experience filming it.[96]
In March 2023, Ortega hosted an episode of NBC's sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live.[97][98] Ortega reprised her role as Tara Carpenter in Scream VI.[99] She said her character had more personality in the film[100] than in the previous installment, in which she "was screaming and crying the entire time". When creating Tara's personality, Ortega considered several of the character's traits, including her favorite color, fashion style, makeup, and sense of humor.[4]Scream VI was released in March 2023 and grossed over $169 million on a budget of $33–35 million.[101][102][103]Deadline Hollywood attributed its box-office success partially to Ortega's star power.[104] In a review, Variety'sOwen Gleiberman praised her "surly spunk",[105] and Slant Magazine said she "fantastically embodie[d] the role".[106] In November 2023, Ortega reportedly exited the Scream franchise due to scheduling conflicts with the filming of Wednesday's second season.[107][108]The Hollywood Reporter later said she left the franchise after an unsuccessful request for seven-figure pay.[109] In the crime thriller film Finestkind (2023), she played Mabel, a drug dealer's daughter who is seeking her own path in life.[110][111] The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival to negative reviews.[112][113] Many journalists said Ortega had been miscast.[114][115][116]
Ortega began 2024 with a starring role in the drama Miller's Girl, opposite Martin Freeman.[117] The film tells the story of Cairo Sweet (Ortega), a high schooler whose writing ability captures her teacher's interest, which leads to a complicated relationship between the two.[118] She called her character "the most complex character that I've ever played" and described the material as risky since she thought it would provoke discussions on topics people may find disturbing.[119]RogerEbert.com'sChristy Lemire found Ortega "magnetic enough" to maintain the viewer's interest, although she thought the character's motives were predictable and illogical;[120] Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press dubbed the film "a pointless, awkward turn" in her career.[121] Ortega appeared in and executive produced the romantic drama Winter Spring Summer or Fall,[122] which premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Festival.[123] Director Tiffany Paulsen described Ortega as the casting team's first choice for the role of Remi Aguilar, a driven genius who falls in love with a rebellious musician.[124] She later starred in the music video for Sabrina Carpenter's song "Taste".[125][126]
Ortega starred in Burton's fantasy film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)—a sequel to Beetlejuice (1988)[127][128]—playing Astrid Deetz, the cynical teenage daughter of Lydia Deetz.[129] It opened the 81st Venice International Film Festival and received generally positive reviews.[130][131]The Guardian commented that Ortega portrayed her character with "just the right note of soulful sullenness".[132]Rolling Stone said she was an "unimpeachable" casting choice and commended the emotions she conveyed using a "world-class deadpan stare".[133] In a more negative review, The Independent stated that she "can't help but seem a little bland and strait-laced" acting opposite Michael Keaton as Betelgeuse.[134] The film has grossed $451 million worldwide;[135] publications such as Boxoffice Pro and TheWrap credited Ortega for attracting younger audiences, particularly members of Generation Z.[136][137]
Upcoming projects
Ortega is slated to reprise her role as Wednesday in the second season of Wednesday. She became an executive producer,[138] which she described as a "natural progression" since the first season was "naturally already very collaborative". Ortega helped oversee the costumes, characters, and scripts.[139] In addition, she has joined the cast of Klara and the Sun (2025) to be directed by Taika Waititi.[140] She is set to appear in and executive produce the film Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025) from Trey Edward Shults, that will co-star The Weeknd and Barry Keoghan.[141][142] She is also due to star in Death of a Unicorn (2025), a dark comedy co-starring Paul Rudd, which will be produced and distributed by A24.[143][144]
Other ventures
Activism and philanthropy
Ortega has used her platform to support various causes,[8] including Pride Over Prejudice—a DoSomething campaign that advocates for immigrants and refugees[47]—the National Bullying Prevention Center, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media,[145]Planned Parenthood, and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS.[8] She is pro-immigration and anti-discrimination, telling Teen Vogue: "It's important to embrace your culture today because there are so many different ethnicities in America. At the end of the day, you are you. You've got to stay true to yourself, and you can't change yourself in order to fit in or to make someone else feel comfortable."[146] Ortega is also an advocate for women's rights.[47]
In 2016, Ortega organized a meet-and-greet event for fans to raise money for a young girl with cancer.[147] At the 2018 Radio Disney Music Awards, Ortega wore a jacket displaying the words "I Do Care and U Should Too" in response to the clothing First Lady of the United StatesMelania Trump wore on a visit to see immigrant children who were being housed without their parents. Trump's jacket read, "I Really Don't Care, Do U?".[148][149] Ortega's protest gained significant media coverage;[17] she told the Associated Press that Trump's apparel displayed a lack of judgement and as the first lady, she ought to show concern for migrant children.[150][151] Ortega later said: "We should all care about each other and our country ... we are one country under God".[17] In 2019, Ortega appeared at numerous We Day benefit concerts across the U.S. and Canada to raise funds for WE Charity.[152]
In 2020, Ortega was named a brand ambassador for the cosmetics manufacturer Neutrogena and was the face of its "My Quinceañera Journey" campaign.[157][158] In 2023, she became an ambassador for the sportswear company Adidas and the luxury fashion brand Dior.[159][160] She was the face of Adidas Sportswear, the company's first new line in 50 years,[161] as well as one of the faces of the #DareInGrisDior campaign.[162] She starred alongside Danny Ramirez, Olivia Negron, and Patricia Mauceri in an advertisement for Doritos that aired at the Super Bowl LVIII in February 2024.[163][164]The A.V. Club enjoyed the ad but opined that fans of Wednesday would be dissatisfied by Ortega's lack of goth,[165]
while TVLine stated that her limited screen time was "a real miscalculation".[166]
Artistry
Influences
Ortega was initially inspired to pursue acting after watching Dakota Fanning in the 2004 thriller film Man on Fire. Ortega was unable to understand how a young child could perform in a way that could scare her so much; she analyzed the film several times and decided she wanted to be "the Puerto Rican version of [Fanning]".[167][168] She also admired Fanning's sister, Elle, and followed both of their careers as a child.[169] As she matured, Ortega aspired to be "the female version" of Denzel Washington, who appeared alongside Dakota Fanning in Man on Fire.[16] She also admires Gina Rodriguez and fellow Disney Channel stars Selena Gomez and Zendaya.[170] Ortega said she admires Rodriguez because they are both Latina actresses who struggled to break into the acting industry due to their lack of connections.[171] In 2021, Ortega named Riz Ahmed as a career role model and praised his acting, manner of speaking, and activism.[15]
Acting style and role choices
Megan Park, who directed Ortega in The Fallout, said that she knows "when to give her all and when to hold back" while acting, adding that "to have that understanding of herself as a performer at such a young age" is extremely rare.[3] Burton compared Ortega's acting style to silent film acting, saying she expresses emotion through her eyes without words.[3][172] Ortega says she tries not to be more prepared than necessary for a scene because "you never know what you're going to say next or what your next facial expression is going to be" in real life.[160]
The Dodge College professor and agent Joe Rosenberg describes Ortega as an actress who has "a feel for the right project at the right time" and is "savvy" with her role choices.[173] Ortega feels taking more varied acting roles is important to her to avoid being typecast; she told Entertainment Tonight in 2021 that she did not want to be "pigeonholed as an actor"[55] and that her desire to accept the most diverse roles possible made the transition to mature roles easier for her.[55][174] Ortega stated that she looks for projects that will have a "forever effect" for her, such as The Fallout.[73] She has said she feels most comfortable starring in horror works,[175] describing such projects as "very therapeutic".[3] In 2023, Ortega said she is mindful of not "over-indexing on the gore scale" and feels "very conflicted" about her interests because there is "a part of me that always feels like the girl in the Coachella Valley".[4]
Media image
Ortega in 2022
Commenting on Ortega's off-screen persona, Who What Wear wrote in 2022 that she is "poised, mature, and wise beyond her years" while providing "an essence of relatability".[176] A 2023 Harper's Bazaar story describes her as "quiet and contemplative",[10] while Vanity Fair wrote that she has a "black-hole persona" but is "much warmer and more cheerful than you'd expect".[177] Ortega has been noted for her work in horror and has been described as a horror icon by journalists.[21][178][179] Media publications have dubbed her "Gen Z's scream queen",[a] and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association called her the "scream queen for the 21st century".[185] Ortega attributes her "instinctive" scream and "really ugly crying face" for the positive reception her horror work has received from audiences.[186]
In 2018, The Hollywood Reporter named Ortega one of "Hollywood's Top 30 Stars Under Age 18".[187] The magazine later referred to her as the "Next Big Thing" in 2022 and "The Gen Z Obsession" in 2024.[84][188] In 2023, Ortega appeared on Variety's "Young Hollywood Impact Report", a list of breakthrough performers,[189] and The Hollywood Reporter'sPower 100, a list of the most powerful women in entertainment.[190]Complex also listed her among the best actors in their 20s.[191]Forbes included her on the 2024 edition of its 30 Under 30 in the Hollywood & Entertainment category.[192][193]
Ortega has also been called a style icon by Harper's Bazaar.[194] Her initial red-carpet style featured bright colors, patterned clothing, and many accessories.[195][196] Enrique Melendez, her stylist, dressed Ortega in RED Valentino and Thom Browne, wanting her wardrobe to be age-appropriate, fashionable, and stylistically interesting. They later tried to move away from the "feminine and flirty and frilly" style of other Disney actresses.[197] After her role in You, Ortega began wearing heavier makeup and darker clothing.[195] Media publications said her later style borrowed from Wednesday's while incorporating high fashion and described it as goth glam.[b] According to Vogue, her off-screen style has a "dark, gothic fashion sensibility".[180] Ortega said that playing Wednesday has "changed my taste a lot" and she has "a hard time getting her off of me, at least clothing-wise".[205]
Ortega is active on Instagram but has described social media overall as being a "comparing game" and "very manipulative". She has said she became fearful of her comments on social media being misinterpreted following the release of Wednesday, adding: "Because I naturally tend to be sarcastic or dry, it's very easy for me to find myself in trouble ... [People] see your vulnerability and twist it in a way that you don't always expect."[139][206] As a minor, Ortega was sent explicit images of herself that were AI-generated, which later led to her deleting her Twitter account.[7][207]
Personal life
Ortega stated that she would like to be a "private person"[7] and not discuss her romantic life publicly, believing that it distracts audiences from her work. She has described the concept of celebrities as "absolutely ridiculous".[82] Ortega has said that her friends and family give her a sense of safety that helps her deal with the more challenging parts of her career, adding that her family "keep[s] [her] feet on the ground". She states that growing up in an industry dominated by adults forced her to mature faster than normal.[170]
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