Jenna Marie Ortega, born on 27 September 2002 in Coachella Valley, California, is an American actress whose career has moved from early child roles through Disney Channel prominence into leading parts in some of Hollywood’s most commercially significant horror and prestige productions. She began acting professionally at age nine and received her first substantial recognition for portraying the younger version of Jane in The CW drama Jane the Virgin (2014–2019), before starring in the Disney Channel series Stuck in the Middle (2016–2018).
Her trajectory shifted markedly from 2021 onward: her performance in the drama The Fallout earned critical praise and she appeared in Ti West’s horror film X (2022) and the revived Scream franchise (2022, 2023). The role that brought her international attention came in 2022 with Netflix’s Wednesday, in which she plays the lead role of Wednesday Addams in Tim Burton’s expansion of the Addams Family universe. The show became Netflix’s most-watched English-language series at the time of its premiere, and her performance earned her the distinction of becoming the youngest Latina nominated for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series at the Primetime Emmy Awards.
She subsequently appeared in Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024), Death of a Unicorn (2025), and Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025). As of 2026, her upcoming credits include The Gallerist (with Natalie Portman, directed by Cathy Yan; premiered Sundance 2026), Klara and the Sun (directed by Taika Waititi, releasing October 2026), Wednesday Season 3 (Netflix, 2026), and The Great Beyond (directed by J.J. Abrams). She was invited as a new member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in June 2026.
She serves as both actress and producer on Wednesday Season 2, and holds Dior jewelry as a brand ambassador relationship, confirmed from October 2023.
Quick Facts
| Category | Details |
| Full name | Jenna Marie Ortega |
| Date of birth | 27 September 2002 |
| Age (as of July 2026) | 23 years old |
| Birthplace | Coachella Valley, California, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Actress; producer |
| Years active | 2012–present |
| Heritage | Mexican and Puerto Rican (mother’s side) |
| Parents | Natalie Ortega (mother); Edward Ortega (father) |
| Siblings | Fifth of six siblings (two older brothers, one older sister, one younger brother, one younger sister) |
| Published work | It’s All Love: Reflections for Your Heart & Soul (2021) |
| Estimated net worth | Varied estimates in financial press; see net worth section below |
Early Life and Family
Jenna Marie Ortega was born on 27 September 2002 in Coachella Valley, a desert region in Riverside County, California. She is the fourth of six children in the Ortega family. Her mother, Natalie Ortega, is of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage; her father, Edward Ortega, is of Mexican heritage. Ortega has spoken in multiple verified interviews about growing up in a large family — two older brothers, one older sister, one younger brother, one younger sister — as a formative experience.
She has credited her large family as one of the reasons she sought acting: she has described beginning to request auditions from her mother from approximately age eight or nine, with her mother initially reluctant to navigate the demands of a child actor’s schedule. Her mother subsequently became supportive, recording Ortega’s initial practice performances and sharing them online — a route that facilitated her connection with a manager and ultimately her first professional opportunities.
Her Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage has been a consistent element of her public identity. She has discussed in interviews, and in her 2021 book It’s All Love: Reflections for Your Heart & Soul, the specific challenges she faced as a young Latina performer finding work in Hollywood, noting limited representation at auditions and the pressure to conform to particular expectations placed on Latina actresses.
She grew up in a household that did not have strong connections to the entertainment industry, making her early entry into professional acting an unusual undertaking for the family. She has described in multiple interviews the logistical challenges of her parents supporting her audition schedule while maintaining a large family.
Early Career: Commercials, Television, and Jane the Virgin
Ortega began her professional career at approximately age nine, with early work in commercial advertising. Her first screen credit was in a Colgate toothpaste advertisement. She then appeared in small television guest roles, including a recurring part in the CBS drama Rob (2012).
Her first substantial ongoing role came in Jane the Virgin (The CW, 2014–2019), where she played the younger version of Jane Gloriana Villanueva — the role held as an adult by Gina Rodriguez. Her appearances spanned the show’s run in a recurring capacity. The role established her within a high-profile network production and gave her sustained experience working within a long-running ensemble drama.
She also appeared in Iron Man 3 (2013) in a small role as a little girl, which represents one of her earliest feature film credits.
Disney Channel: Stuck in the Middle (2016–2018)
Ortega’s most sustained early-career role was as Harley Diaz in Disney Channel’s Stuck in the Middle (2016–2018), a family sitcom about a middle child in a large family navigating her life through inventions and engineering. The series ran for three seasons and gave Ortega her first experience as a series lead.
She won an Imagen Award for her performance in the show — a recognition given by the Imagen Foundation for the positive portrayal of Latinos in film and television. The role provided her with a consistently audience-facing platform and grounded her public profile during her early teenage years.
During this period she also contributed voice work to the animated series Elena of Avalor (Disney Channel, 2016–2017) and later provided voice work for Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (Netflix, 2020–2022, as Brooklynn) across 48 episodes.
Expanding Roles: You, The Babysitter: Killer Queen, and Yes Day
Following Stuck in the Middle, Ortega transitioned toward more mature work. Her role in Netflix’s thriller series You (2019) — as Ellie Alves, a smart and street-wise teenager who comes into the orbit of the show’s serial killer protagonist Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) — represented her first significant departure from the Disney Channel environment. The show, which relocated to Netflix for Season 2, gave Ortega a platform in one of streaming’s more discussed genre properties of that period.
She then appeared in the horror comedy The Babysitter: Killer Queen (Netflix, 2020), a sequel to a 2017 Netflix original. In 2021, she starred in Netflix’s family comedy Yes Day as the eldest daughter of Jennifer Garner and Edgar Ramirez’s characters — a role that kept her within the family-friendly space while her other work was expanding in range.
Breakthrough: The Fallout (2021)
The performance that shifted critical assessments of Ortega’s range was her role as Vada in The Fallout (2021), directed by Megan Park. The drama follows a high school student processing the emotional aftermath of a school shooting. Ortega was the film’s lead, with Maddie Ziegler in a supporting role.
The Fallout premiered at the SXSW Film Festival and was subsequently acquired by HBO Max. The film’s quiet, emotionally precise approach to trauma was widely praised by critics, and Ortega’s performance was specifically cited in reviews and year-end assessments as demonstrating a level of emotional grounding uncommon in actors her age. The film established her as a performer capable of leading a serious dramatic work beyond genre entertainment.
Horror Genre: X, Scream, Scream VI, and Insidious
Ortega appeared in Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013) in an early small role, but her substantial engagement with horror cinema came in the 2020s.
X (2022) — Directed by Ti West and produced by A24, X placed Ortega in a period horror film set in 1979 about a group of filmmakers making an adult film on a remote Texas farm. The film was praised by horror critics as one of the more formally accomplished genre entries of 2022.
Scream (2022) — Ortega was cast as Tara Carpenter in the fifth installment of the Scream franchise, directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. The film revived the franchise with a new lead cast alongside returning legacy characters. Tara’s opening scene — in which she receives a phone call from Ghostface and is attacked — became one of the most-discussed horror sequences of 2022, with multiple entertainment press outlets and social media conversations highlighting Ortega’s physical performance during the extended sequence. She later revealed in a 2023 interview with The Hollywood Reporter that she had been unwell with COVID-19 during the filming of that scene but continued working.
Scream VI (2023) — Ortega reprised Tara Carpenter in the sequel, which moved the story to New York City. The film continued the franchise’s commercial success.
Wednesday (2022–present): International Stardom
Ortega’s portrayal of Wednesday Addams in Netflix’s Wednesday — created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar and directed across Season 1 in part by Tim Burton — represented the most significant career development of her professional life to date.
The series, which premiered in November 2022, follows Wednesday Addams as a student at Nevermore Academy, a school for supernatural outcasts. Ortega plays the character with a combination of deadpan affect, physical precision, and sardonic intelligence. She also portrayed Wednesday’s ancestor Goody Addams in Season 1.
At the time of its premiere, the show broke Netflix viewership records for English-language series — becoming the platform’s most-watched English series. A particular cultural moment emerged from the scene in which Wednesday performs a solo dance at a school event to the song “Goo Goo Muck” by The Cramps: the choreography, which Ortega developed herself, became one of the most replicated sequences on TikTok and social media in the final months of 2022.
Ortega received her first Emmy Award nomination — for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series — for her work on Wednesday, becoming the youngest Latina to receive a nomination in that category at the Primetime Emmy Awards. She also received a Golden Globe nomination and a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination.
The co-creators of Wednesday, Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, described Ortega’s talent in a pre-strike interview with TheWrap as “once in a generation.” Her performance was reviewed across entertainment press as the primary reason the show worked as distinctively as it did.
Wednesday Season 2 (2025) — The second season aired on Netflix in 2025, split into two parts. Ortega served as executive producer on the season alongside her lead acting role — a transition she described as a “natural progression” given her collaborative involvement in Season 1. She has said the producing credit made her “more empowered to speak my mind” on the production, with involvement in writing discussions, design decisions, casting observations, and script reviews. The Guardian’s review described her performance as a “charisma that could power a thousand hearses.”
For Season 2, she received her second Golden Globe nomination and a second Actor Award (Screen Actors Guild) nomination.
Wednesday Season 3 (2026) — Netflix confirmed Season 3, which is currently filming with a planned 2026 release. New cast member Eva Green joins as Aunt Ophelia, an allegedly missing sister of Morticia Addams. The core cast, including Catherine Zeta-Jones, Luis Guzmán, Fred Armisen, and Emma Myers, returns.
Film Career: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and Beyond
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) — Ortega starred as Astrid Deetz — the daughter of Winona Ryder’s Lydia Deetz — in Tim Burton’s sequel to his 1988 film. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice premiered at the Venice Film Festival in August 2024 and became a major commercial success. The film represented a continuation of Ortega’s creative partnership with Tim Burton following Wednesday, and her working relationship with Winona Ryder was documented in promotional interviews, with both actresses describing a sense of personal connection.
Miller’s Girl (2024) — Ortega starred as Cairo Sweet in this drama directed by Jade Halley Bartlett, opposite Martin Freeman.
Death of a Unicorn (2025) — Directed by Alex Scharfman and produced by A24, Death of a Unicorn is a dark comedy in which Ortega’s character Ridley and her father Elliot (Paul Rudd) hit a unicorn with their car and bring it to a pharmaceutical CEO’s retreat (Richard E. Grant). Will Poulter also stars. Ortega served as executive producer on the film. The film was available on VOD from August 2025.
Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025) — Directed by Trey Edward Shults, Hurry Up Tomorrow is a thriller in which Ortega plays a character called Anima, appearing alongside The Weeknd (Abel Tesfaye) and Barry Keoghan. The Weeknd discussed the film and Ortega’s contribution to it in a Variety interview, praising her acting. The film is based on The Weeknd’s album of the same name.
2026 and Upcoming Projects
The Gallerist (2026) — Directed by Cathy Yan (Birds of Prey) and written by James Pedersen, The Gallerist is described as a dark comedy set in the world of contemporary art. Ortega stars alongside Natalie Portman, Sterling K. Brown, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Daniel Brühl, Zach Galifianakis, and Charli XCX. Portman also produces. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2026 and has a theatrical release planned for later in 2026.
Klara and the Sun (October 23, 2026) — Directed by Taika Waititi and based on Kazuo Ishiguro’s 2021 novel of the same name, Klara and the Sun is a science-fiction drama in which Ortega plays Klara, a solar-powered artificial intelligence companion designed for children. The film was shot in New Zealand in spring 2024. The cast includes Amy Adams, Natasha Lyonne, Jackson White, Simon Baker, Steve Buscemi, and Harry Greenwood. The film is scheduled for release on 23 October 2026.
The Great Beyond — Directed and written by J.J. Abrams, this fantasy horror project stars Ortega alongside Glen Powell, Emma Mackey, Samuel L. Jackson, Merritt Wever, and Sophie Okonedo. Production began in London in April 2025 and continued in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Providence, Rhode Island. The story involves a young married couple confronting a supernatural entity.
Single White Female — Ortega and Taylor Russell are attached to star in a remake of the 1992 thriller, following two roommates whose friendship turns obsessive. No release date confirmed.
Lily May B (2027) — A project directed by French director Léos Carax, scheduled for 2027.
Robert De Niro project — Ortega is slated to star opposite Robert De Niro in a film directed by David O. Russell, playing a pool hustler mentored by De Niro’s character.
Producing Career
Ortega’s transition into producing began with Wednesday Season 2, on which she served as executive producer. She has described the experience as a significant professional expansion. She also holds executive producer credits on Death of a Unicorn (2025) and Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025). Her producing credit on Wednesday marks a significant transition: she is 23 years old and operating as both the lead actor and a producer on one of Netflix’s flagship global series.
Awards and Recognitions
Primetime Emmy Awards:
- Nominated: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Wednesday, 2023) — first nomination; made her the youngest Latina nominated in this category
Golden Globe Awards:
- Nominated: Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy (Wednesday, 2023, 2026 — two nominations across two seasons)
Screen Actors Guild Awards (Actor Awards):
- Nominated: Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series (Wednesday, 2023; second nomination 2026)
MTV Movie & TV Awards:
- Multiple nominations and wins for Wednesday and Scream
Imagen Award: Won for Stuck in the Middle — for positive portrayal of Latinos in television
Forbes 30 Under 30: Named to the list in 2024
The Hollywood Reporter Power 100: Featured in 2023
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences: Invited as a new member in June 2026, per Associated Press reporting
Brand Endorsements
Neutrogena: Named as a brand ambassador in 2020; served as the face of the “My Quinceañera Journey” campaign.
Dior: In October 2023, Dior selected Ortega as the face of their jewelry campaign — a luxury fashion endorsement that significantly expanded her commercial profile. She attended the Givenchy Spring/Summer 2026 fashion show, reflecting ongoing engagement with the fashion industry.
Net Worth
Multiple financial media sources offer varied estimates of Ortega’s net worth. Estimates in entertainment and financial press range from approximately $5–6 million to higher figures, depending on how producing deals, streaming bonuses, and brand partnerships are valued. The significant expansion of her projects from 2025 to 2026 — with multiple A24 and major studio films alongside continued Netflix commitments — is expected to have increased her earnings substantially.
This biography does not assert a specific figure; the $5–6 million estimate in lower-end press sources likely understates her total compensation when streaming backend arrangements, producing fees, and brand deals are included.
Published Work
In 2021, Ortega published It’s All Love: Reflections for Your Heart & Soul, described by the publisher as a book in which she discusses her life, career, and struggles as a young Latina performer in Hollywood. The book addresses her experiences navigating the entertainment industry, representation challenges, and her approach to personal identity and advocacy.
Advocacy and Public Positions
Latino representation: Ortega has consistently spoken in interviews and public contexts about the limited representation of Latinos in Hollywood, using her own early career experience as a reference point. She has described arriving at auditions as one of few Latina performers and has discussed the specific expectations placed on Latina characters in the entertainment industry.
Mental health: She has publicly discussed mental health awareness and has incorporated these themes into her advocacy, speaking about the pressures facing young performers and the importance of psychological support.
Gaza ceasefire: In 2023, as part of Artists4Ceasefire, Ortega signed a letter urging US Congressional action toward a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict. She later condemned the Tel al-Sultan attack and emphasized the need for humanitarian action.
ICE: In 2026, Ortega publicly denounced US Immigration and Customs Enforcement following the killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti, per Wikipedia citing contemporary reporting.
Family and Personal Life
Ortega has consistently described herself as close to her family. She grew up as the fourth of six children and has referenced the influence of her large family on her approach to work and priorities. Her parents are Edward and Natalie Ortega.
She has stated in interviews that she maintains a relatively private personal life and prefers not to discuss romantic relationships publicly. She describes her interests outside of acting as including reading, writing, and time with family and close friends. She has been photographed at fashion events and has noted in interviews a genuine interest in fashion beyond its promotional dimensions.
Her friendship with Winona Ryder, her co-star in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, has been documented in promotional interviews for that film, with both actresses describing the relationship as one that developed into genuine personal connection.
Career Timeline
| Year | Event |
| 2002 | Born 27 September in Coachella Valley, California |
| ~2011 | Begins requesting acting opportunities from parents; starts auditions |
| 2012 | First professional credits; appears in Rob (CBS) |
| 2013 | Iron Man 3 (small role); Insidious: Chapter 2 (small role) |
| 2014 | Begins recurring role as young Jane in Jane the Virgin (The CW) |
| 2016 | Stuck in the Middle premieres on Disney Channel (lead role as Harley Diaz) |
| 2018 | Stuck in the Middle concludes; Imagen Award for the series |
| 2019 | Plays Ellie Alves in You Season 2 (Netflix) |
| 2020 | The Babysitter: Killer Queen (Netflix); named Neutrogena brand ambassador; begins voicing Brooklynn in Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous |
| 2021 | The Fallout premieres at SXSW (critical breakthrough); Yes Day; publishes It’s All Love |
| 2022 | X (Ti West/A24); Scream (first in revived franchise); Wednesday premieres on Netflix (November) — becomes Netflix’s most-watched English series; “Wednesday dance” becomes viral cultural moment |
| 2023 | Scream VI; hosts Saturday Night Live; Emmy nomination (youngest Latina nominated for Lead Actress, Comedy); Golden Globe nomination; Dior jewelry campaign announced; Artists4Ceasefire signatory; The Hollywood Reporter Power 100 |
| 2024 | Miller’s Girl; Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Venice premiere; Tim Burton sequel); The Wild Robot (voice, DreamWorks); Forbes 30 Under 30; Klara and the Sun filmed in New Zealand |
| 2025 | Wednesday Season 2 (Netflix; executive producer); Death of a Unicorn (A24; executive producer); Hurry Up Tomorrow (Trey Edward Shults); second Golden Globe nomination; second Actor Award nomination; The Great Beyond begins production (London/Scotland/Rhode Island) |
| Jan 2026 | The Gallerist premieres at Sundance Film Festival |
| Jun 2026 | Invited as new member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AP) |
| Oct 2026 | Klara and the Sun scheduled for release (23 October) |
| 2026 | Wednesday Season 3 in production (Netflix); The Gallerist theatrical release |
| 2027 | Lily May B (Léos Carax) scheduled |
Lesser-Known Facts
She began requesting auditions at age eight. The characterization of Ortega as driven from an unusually early age is consistent across verified biographical sources. Her mother was initially reluctant to navigate the demands of child acting before becoming supportive.
She choreographed the “Wednesday dance” herself. Ortega has stated in interviews that the now-viral dance sequence in Wednesday Season 1 — performed to “Goo Goo Muck” by The Cramps — was choreography she developed herself based on references to gothic and macabre visual movements she researched. The sequence became one of the most replicated on TikTok in 2022.
She was ill during the filming of Scream’s opening scene. Ortega disclosed in a 2023 interview with The Hollywood Reporter that she had COVID-19 during production of the Scream (2022) opening sequence — one of the most discussed sequences in the film — and continued filming through the illness.
She published a book at age 18. It’s All Love: Reflections for Your Heart & Soul was published in 2021, when Ortega was 18 years old, making her among the youngest prominent actresses to have contributed a published book on her experience in the industry.
She plays two characters in Wednesday Season 1. Ortega portrayed both Wednesday Addams and the ancestor Goody Addams in the first season, requiring different physical and vocal approaches for the same actress across the same series.
She was invited to the Academy in 2026. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences extended invitations to new members in June 2026, including Ortega — a recognition of her standing in the film industry at 23 years old.
Verified Quotes
On producing Wednesday Season 2: “I feel more empowered to speak my mind… It’s been a great education where I’ve sought to immerse myself and absorb as much as possible.” — Multiple press interview contexts.
On Wednesday Season 2 (referring to her character’s development): “I’m doing a show I’m going to be doing for years where I play a schoolgirl. But I’m also a young woman.” — ¡HOLA!
Alfred Gough and Miles Millar on Ortega (Wednesday co-creators, TheWrap, pre-SAG-AFTRA strike): “Once in a generation” talent.
RogerEbert.com on her Wednesday performance: “Expertly calibrated between menacing and inquisitive.”
The Guardian (August 2025, Season 2 review): “Jenna Ortega’s charisma could power 1,000 hearses.”
FAQ Section
Q: How old is Jenna Ortega? Jenna Ortega was born on 27 September 2002, making her 23 years old as of July 2026.
Q: Where was Jenna Ortega born? Ortega was born in Coachella Valley, California.
Q: What is Jenna Ortega best known for? Ortega is best known for portraying Wednesday Addams in Netflix’s Wednesday (2022–present) and for her roles in the revived Scream franchise (2022, 2023). She is also recognized for The Fallout (2021), Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024), and her early career work in Stuck in the Middle and Jane the Virgin.
Q: What was Jenna Ortega’s breakout role? Her critical breakthrough came with The Fallout (2021), which premiered at SXSW. Her role of worldwide cultural recognition came with Wednesday (2022), which became Netflix’s most-watched English-language series at its premiere.
Q: Is Jenna Ortega married? Ortega has not publicly confirmed any romantic relationship or marriage. She has stated in interviews that she prefers to keep her personal life private.
Q: What is Jenna Ortega’s ethnic background? Ortega is of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage on her mother’s side and Mexican heritage on her father’s side. She has spoken consistently about her Latina identity as a significant element of her public work and advocacy.
Q: What awards has Jenna Ortega been nominated for? She has received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination (Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy/Drama for Wednesday), two Golden Globe nominations, two Screen Actors Guild (Actor Award) nominations, and multiple MTV Movie & TV Award nominations. She won an Imagen Award for Stuck in the Middle. She was invited as a new Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences member in June 2026.
Q: Is Jenna Ortega an executive producer? Yes. She served as executive producer on Wednesday Season 2, Death of a Unicorn (2025), and Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025). She has described the transition to producing as a “natural progression” from her deep collaborative involvement in Wednesday Season 1.
Q: What is Jenna Ortega’s connection to Tim Burton? Burton directed episodes of Wednesday Season 1, which was the beginning of their creative partnership. She subsequently starred as Astrid Deetz in his Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024). The professional relationship has been discussed in press coverage as a meaningful creative collaboration.
Q: What projects does Jenna Ortega have coming up? As of July 2026, her confirmed upcoming projects include Klara and the Sun (directed by Taika Waititi, releasing 23 October 2026), The Gallerist (with Natalie Portman, directed by Cathy Yan; Sundance 2026, theatrical release TBD), Wednesday Season 3 (Netflix, 2026 planned), The Great Beyond (J.J. Abrams, in production), and planned projects including Single White Female (with Taylor Russell) and Lily May B (Léos Carax, 2027).
Q: What did Jenna Ortega’s Wednesday dance achieve? In November 2022, a scene in which Ortega’s Wednesday performs a solo dance to “Goo Goo Muck” by The Cramps became one of the most replicated moments on TikTok of that period, with millions of users recreating the choreography. Ortega has stated she developed the choreography herself through personal research.
Biography current as of early July 2026. Ortega’s career is actively developing, with multiple major projects in production or post-production.