1. Jenna Marie Ortega was born on September 27,2002 and is an American actress.
91 Facts About Jenna Ortega
1. 2.
Jenna Ortega 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.
3.
Jenna Ortega then won an Imagen Award for her leading role as Harley Diaz in the Disney Channel series Stuck in the Middle.
4.
Jenna Ortega played Ellie Alves in the thriller series You and starred in the family film Yes Day, both for Netflix.
5.
Jenna Ortega gained wide recognition for portraying Wednesday Addams in the Netflix horror-comedy series Wednesday, for which she received nominations at the Golden Globe, Primetime Emmy, and Screen Actors Guild Awards.
6.
Jenna Ortega starred in the slasher films Scream, X, and Scream VI, and the fantasy film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
7.
Jenna Ortega has been featured on the Power 100 list from The Hollywood Reporter in 2023 and the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2024.
8.
Jenna Ortega has been noted for her fashion, in addition to supporting various charitable causes.
9.
Jenna Ortega's maternal great-grandmother was an undocumented immigrant from Sinaloa, Mexico, and her maternal grandfather was from Puerto Rico.
10.
Jenna Ortega grew up in La Quinta, California, and has described her childhood self as "loud and extroverted".
11.
Jenna Ortega wanted to act from the age of six and begged her mother to let her pursue a career for three years.
12.
Jenna Ortega's mother attempted to distract her with other activities, including soccer and school.
13.
Jenna Ortega almost quit pursuing acting to participate in the former.
14.
Jenna 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.
15.
Jenna Ortega struggled to secure parts because few roles for Latinas existed and she "didn't look [a certain] way"; such experiences damaged her self-esteem.
16.
Jenna Ortega considered dyeing her hair blonde in an attempt to book more roles.
17.
Jenna Ortega enrolled in public school, attending Amelia Earhart Elementary School and John Glenn Middle School.
18.
Jenna Ortega stopped going to public 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.
19.
Jenna Ortega made her acting debut in the sitcom Rob and later made a guest appearance in the CSI: NY episode "Unspoken".
20.
From 2014 to 2019, Jenna Ortega had a recurring role on The CW comedy television series Jane the Virgin as a younger version of Jane Villanueva, who is portrayed by Gina Rodriguez as an adult.
21.
Declan Gallagher of Entertainment Weekly commended Jenna Ortega's performance, writing that "she eschews the trappings of a typical child actor".
22.
Jenna Ortega starred in the direct-to-video comedy film The Little Rascals Save the Day and the Netflix sitcom Richie Rich.
23.
Jenna Ortega appeared in the comedy-drama film After Words as Anna Chapa, the daughter of a male escort.
24.
From 2016 to 2018, Jenna 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.
25.
Jenna Ortega said that booking the role was "one of the best days of my life".
26.
Jenna 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.
27.
Common Sense Media praised Jenna 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".
28.
Jenna Ortega voiced Princess Isabel in Elena and the Secret of Avalor and Elena of Avalor.
29.
In 2018, Jenna Ortega starred in the film Saving Flora in the lead role of Dawn, a circus owner's daughter.
30.
Jenna Ortega considered quitting acting several times, saying that she "was too old for the young roles and too young for the older roles".
31.
Jenna Ortega was slated to return for the third and fourth seasons but was unable to do so due to scheduling conflicts.
32.
Jenna Ortega played Phoebe, the love interest of Judah Lewis's character, in Netflix's horror film The Babysitter: Killer Queen, which was released in September 2020 to negative critical reviews.
33.
Jenna Ortega voiced a travel vlogger named Brooklynn in the Netflix animated show Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous.
34.
Jenna Ortega starred in the Netflix comedy movie Yes Day, portraying a stubborn teenager who wants more independence from her parents.
35.
Jenna Ortega appreciated how people of color were shown in "a casual setting where it's acknowledged" in lieu of "shoving it down your throat".
36.
Jenna 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.
37.
Jenna Ortega, who describes herself as "such an insecure individual", found it easy to portray her character as relatable.
38.
The film received a positive response from critics, and Jenna Ortega's acting was applauded.
39.
Jenna Ortega felt nervous about joining a well-known franchise, wanting to "do it justice" without "ripping anybody off".
40.
Jenna Ortega said that working on the film taught her the importance of cast chemistry to the natural flow of the production process.
41.
Club, Jenna Ortega demonstrated "incredible" resilience and resolve in her role.
42.
Jenna Ortega won the MTV Movie Award for Most Frightened Performance.
43.
Jenna Ortega then starred in the slasher film X, which was directed and written by Ti West, who said Ortega was "fearless in her commitment".
44.
Jenna Ortega signed onto the project because of its script, calling it "the most outrageous thing I've ever read", and the opportunity to work with West.
45.
Jenna Ortega found the filming process to be enjoyable and unique due to West's style of shooting.
46.
In May 2021, Jenna Ortega was cast as Wednesday Addams in the Netflix comedy-horror series Wednesday, which she called a "new chapter" in her career.
47.
Jenna Ortega auditioned through a Zoom call with director Tim Burton, during which she read a four-page monologue.
48.
Jenna Ortega 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.
49.
Jenna Ortega learned to play cello and speak German, read the original Addams Family comic, and watched the 1960s television adaptation.
50.
Jenna Ortega called the production of Wednesday 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.
51.
Jenna Ortega 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.
52.
Jenna Ortega's performance received nominations for a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
53.
Jenna Ortega was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, becoming the category's second-youngest nominee.
54.
Jenna Ortega later spoke about her discomfort with becoming well known for her work on the show, having had a creatively unpleasant experience filming it.
55.
In March 2023, Jenna Ortega hosted an episode of NBC's sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live.
56.
Jenna Ortega reprised her role as Tara Carpenter in Scream VI.
57.
Jenna Ortega said her character had more personality in the film than in the previous installment, in which she "was screaming and crying the entire time".
58.
When creating Tara's personality, Jenna Ortega considered several of the character's traits, including her favorite color, fashion style, makeup, and sense of humor.
59.
In November 2023, Jenna Ortega exited the Scream franchise after her co-star Melissa Barrera was fired due to her pro-Palestinian comments on the Gaza war; she stated a subsequent film did not appear to be the "right move" due to the changing cast and crew.
60.
Jenna Ortega began 2024 with a starring role in the drama Miller's Girl, opposite Martin Freeman.
61.
Jenna Ortega appeared in and executive produced the romantic drama Winter Spring Summer or Fall, which premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Festival.
62.
Jenna Ortega later starred in the music video for Sabrina Carpenter's song "Taste".
63.
Peter Travers of ABC News said Jenna Ortega "takes this horror comedy into human territory and gives it a beating heart", bringing energy to the story despite its perceived shortcomings.
64.
Jenna Ortega is slated to reprise her role as Wednesday in the second season of Wednesday.
65.
Jenna Ortega became an executive producer, which she described as a "natural progression" since the first season was "naturally already very collaborative".
66.
Jenna Ortega is set to appear in and executive produce the film Hurry Up Tomorrow from Trey Edward Shults, that will co-star The Weeknd and Barry Keoghan.
67.
In 2016, Jenna Ortega organized a meet-and-greet event for fans to raise money for a young girl with cancer.
68.
At the 2018 Radio Disney Music Awards, Jenna Ortega wore a jacket displaying the words "I Do Care and U Should Too" in response to the clothing First Lady of the United States Melania Trump wore on a visit to see immigrant children who were being housed without their parents.
69.
Jenna Ortega's protest gained significant media coverage; 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.
70.
In 2019, Jenna Ortega appeared at numerous We Day benefit concerts across the US and Canada to raise funds for WE Charity.
71.
Jenna Ortega later condemned the Tel al-Sultan attack and emphasized the need for a ceasefire.
72.
In 2020, Jenna Ortega was named a brand ambassador for the cosmetics manufacturer Neutrogena and was the face of its "My Quinceanera Journey" campaign.
73.
Jenna Ortega starred alongside Danny Ramirez, Olivia Negron, and Patricia Mauceri in an advertisement for Doritos that aired at the Super Bowl LVIII in February 2024.
74.
Club enjoyed the ad but opined that fans of Wednesday would be dissatisfied by Jenna Ortega's lack of goth, while TVLine stated that her limited screen time was "a real miscalculation".
75.
Jenna Ortega was initially inspired to pursue acting after watching Dakota Fanning in the 2004 thriller film Man on Fire.
76.
Jenna 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]".
77.
Jenna Ortega admired Fanning's sister, Elle, and followed both of their careers as a child.
78.
Jenna 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.
79.
In 2021, Jenna Ortega named Riz Ahmed as a career role model and praised his acting, manner of speaking, and activism.
80.
Burton compared Jenna Ortega's acting style to silent film acting, saying she expresses emotion through her eyes without words.
81.
Jenna 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.
82.
Jenna 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" and that her desire to accept the most diverse roles possible made the transition to mature roles easier for her.
83.
Jenna Ortega stated that she looks for projects that will have a "forever effect" for her, such as The Fallout.
84.
Jenna Ortega has been noted for her work in horror and has been described as a horror icon by journalists.
85.
In 2023, Jenna Ortega appeared on Variety "Young Hollywood Impact Report", a list of breakthrough performers, and The Hollywood Reporter Power 100, a list of the most powerful women in entertainment.
86.
Jenna Ortega has been called a style icon by Harper's Bazaar.
87.
Jenna 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".
88.
Jenna Ortega is active on Instagram but has described social media overall as being a "comparing game" and "very manipulative".
89.
Jenna Ortega stated that she would like to be a "private person" and not discuss her romantic life publicly, believing that it distracts audiences from her work.
90.
Jenna Ortega has described the concept of celebrities as "absolutely ridiculous".
91.
Jenna 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".