Jenna Ortega: Meet the Wednesday Addams Actress and Gen Z Scream Queen

Jenna Ortega is one of Hollywood’s brightest young stars. At just twenty years old, the starlet already has many accomplishments. Ortega most recently appeared in Ti West’s horror thriller X and the indie film The Fallout, which won the Grand Jury and Audience Awards at SXSW 2021. In 2014, Ortega rose to fame as young Jane in the critically acclaimed series Jane the Virgin. Additionally, she lent her voice to an animated show Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, and starred in the Disney Channel series Stuck in the Middle. In Netflix’s upcoming Wednesday, a series based on Tim Burton’s The Addams Family, she will play Wednesday Addams. The fifth installment of the Scream franchise boosted Ortega’s profile due to her role as Tara Carpenter in the 2022 movie. In addition to performing well opposite returning stars Courteney Cox, David Arquette, and Neve Campbell, Ortega shined bright enough to win an MTV Movie Award for “Most Frightened Performance.” Her other upcoming credits include Miller’s Girl and Finestkind and the next Scream sequel. Besides her work in film and television, Ortega wrote It’s All Love, which contains anecdotes about her life meant to be inspiring and encouraging. Besides her many accolades, she also has over nine million Instagram followers. But how exactly did she get her start? And what is her connection to Disney? Read on to find out more about the Wednesday star.

‘Stranger Things’ is her favorite show.

In an interview with Talk Nerdy With Us, Ortega revealed that the popular Netflix sci-fi horror series is one of her favorite shows. She told the outlet, “I follow everyone’s theories about the show, and I cannot get enough of it.” In the past, she and her Stuck In The Middle costars have even dressed up as Stranger Things characters for Halloween.

She is passionate about her work as a UNAIDS ambassador.

Ortega has worked closely with UNAIDS to raise awareness in honor of her late grandfather, who died of AIDS. As she said at WE Day in 2017, “I want to help eliminate the stigma of AIDS and get people talking about it. Make it normal. Bring it up. It’s a disease that affects all of us.” The activist also often posts about causes she advocates on social media, supporting causes like Unicef, Black Lives Matter, and reproductive rights.

She won an Imagen award.

Ortega’s role as Harley Diaz in the Disney series Stuck in the Middle garnered her three nominations for the Best Young Actor award, winning once. She received two nominations for Stuck In The Middle and Elena Of Avalor in 2019 but lost to Anthony Gonzalez, who won the prize for Icebox. Imagen Foundation organizes the awards to promote positive portrayals of Latinos in the media. Over the last three decades, they have honored notable Latino entertainers like Antonio Banderas, Jennifer Lopez, and Andy Garcia.

The actress is outspoken against anti-immigration.

Ortega has first-hand experience of discrimination against immigrants because her great-grandmother was an undocumented Mexican immigrant. She told Teen Vogue that staying true to your culture is essential, along with embracing the fact that so many people of different ethnicities live in the United States. In addition, she supports Pride Over Prejudice, an organization that advocates for individuals in the LGBTQ community.

She voiced Disney’s first Latina princess.

Ortega voiced Isabel in Elena of Avalor, the animated series based on Disney’s first Latina princess. As a Latina, Ortega has always prided herself on her heritage. In a 2016 self-written PopSugar article, she said her acting career faced an uphill battle in the early 2000s due to subjective casting and restrictive ethnic guidelines. However, despite these difficulties, Ortega overcame cultural barriers and prejudice as an emerging star.

She has five siblings.

According to TV Guide, the actress has three sisters (Aaliyah, Mariah, and Mia) and two brothers (Isacc and Markus). The daughter of mixed Mexican and Puerto Rican parents, Ortega is the fourth eldest of all her siblings. Her family is still reportedly living in Coachella Valley in California, where she grew up.

Her acting career began at a young age.

Ortega was reportedly discovered on Facebook after her mother shared a video of her. In 2012, she landed her first minor role in the series The Baby Bug when she was just nine years old, according to IMBD. Her credits since then include CSI: NY, Days of Our Lives, Iron Man 3 and Insidious: Chapter 2, Jane the Virgin, You, The Babysitter: Killer Queen, and Yes Day, a 2021 comedy-drama that co-starred Jennifer Garner.