Jenna Ortega's Transformation From Disney Channel Star To Scream Queen
This young starlet is on a path to superstardom, but did you know that it all began on Facebook? From her role as a Disney darling to her powerful political activism and stunning performance as Wednesday Addams, this unstoppable rising star seems to do it all!
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00:00This young starlet is on a path to superstardom. But did you know that it all began on Facebook?
00:05From her role as a Disney darling to her powerful political activism and stunning performance
00:10as Wednesday Addams, this unstoppable rising star seems to do it all.
00:15For Jenna Ortega, the journey to stardom began with a single movie that captured her imagination
00:20like nothing else. The inspiration came at the age of 6, when she watched a movie that
00:24isn't really appropriate for 6-year-olds. In an interview with Collider, Ortega revealed
00:28that as a child, she joined her older sister to watch Man on Fire, a 2004 thriller directed
00:34by Tony Scott that stars Denzel Washington as a former CIA agent turned bodyguard who
00:39rescues the 9-year-old daughter of a businessman played by Dakota Fanning.
00:43Ortega added that it was after watching Fanning, who, as she put it, was so talented at such
00:48a young age that the budding actress decided she wanted to be, in her words, the Puerto
00:52Rican version of Fanning.
00:54It's safe to say that Ortega has continued along the successful professional path forged
00:58by Fanning, who went from a rising child artist to a renowned actress as an adult.
01:03Ortega revealed to Interview magazine with her Wednesday co-star Christina Ricci that
01:07in addition to deciding to perform in front of the camera, she believed that acting would
01:11enable her to realize other ambitions she had, like becoming the first female president
01:15or becoming an astronaut.
01:18Discovering her aspiration as an actor wasn't enough for Ortega, as she also had to convince
01:22her mother Natalie that she would do okay in that profession. Ortega talked with Latina
01:27magazine about how she was discovered with the help of the internet.
01:29"...I started begging my mom to let me act when I was six years old. Two years later,
01:34when I still wanted to do it, she started taking it more seriously. Facebook helped
01:38me get my first agent. My mom posted a video of me doing a dramatic monologue and a friend
01:42of hers from high school forwarded it to an agent. Three months later I got my first audition
01:46and the rest is history."
01:48When Tamron Hall asked Ortega in 2021 about whether she remembered her mother telling
01:52her she was going to upload the video online, Ortega answered,
01:55"...No, I didn't. Because she didn't mean anything by it. It was kind of a joke. I remember
01:59at the time she didn't want me to be an actor. She just wasn't sure about putting me in that
02:03environment, in this industry that she had heard such terrible things about."
02:07She continued, saying,
02:08"...She posted it just as a joke for her inside friends because, you know, her friends on
02:11Facebook knew that I was very dramatic."
02:14As is typical for up-and-coming actors who are generating buzz in the industry, there
02:18have been rumors that Jenna Ortega might be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the
02:22new Disney Plus series Daredevil Born Again, scheduled for 2024. According to GiantFreakinRobot,
02:28she might even be playing the role of a new hero named White Tiger. In the Marvel Comics,
02:32White Tiger is a mantle currently helmed by Ava Ayala, who yields an amulet that grants
02:37its users superhuman strength and agility. Keep in mind, these rumors are unconfirmed,
02:42but the prospect of Ortega playing a superhero is undeniably exciting.
02:47While this may be the actor's first stint as a superhero, most fans forget that Ortega
02:51has already made an appearance in the MCU in 2013's Iron Man 3, which was the actress'
02:56first film credit, in a very minor role as the vice president's daughter. Given that
03:01the vice president's own daughter is an amputee, it is revealed in the film that he is backing
03:06Aldrich Killian's experimental Extramess program, which seeks to repair any debilitating disability
03:11by growing any missing or lost limbs in its host.
03:15Despite her blink-and-miss appearance in the film, her character represents the personal
03:19motivations for everyone who supports the Extramess project, despite all of its serious
03:24flaws, including high-ranking government officials whose support gives Killian a lot of political
03:28leverage.
03:30After playing a few supporting roles in shows like Jane the Virgin and Richie Rich, Ortega
03:34finally got her big break as Harley Diaz in Stuck in the Middle, a Disney Channel sitcom
03:38that aired for three seasons between 2016 and 2018. As you might have guessed from the
03:43show's title, Harley is a fourth-wall-breaking aspiring engineer who is stuck as the middle
03:48child among seven kids.
03:50Yep, that's my mom, squatting on a can of corn in the closet. When you have seven kids
03:55and want some peace, this is what happens."
03:57It was relatively easier for Ortega to slip into the shoes of the character, since she
04:01herself is a middle child with five siblings, and could draw from her own personal experiences
04:06when portraying the character. The actress told Latina magazine,
04:09"...Playing Harley Diaz is awesome because I relate to her a lot. It is like I am playing
04:14We both are middle children in a big family, we both can be goofballs, we both love our
04:18families and we both love math and science."
04:21The similarities also enabled Ortega to contribute ideas to the scripts of each episode of the
04:25show. She would illustrate to the writing team how her own family would deal with particular
04:29situations in their home, which in turn informed how the show's fictional Diaz family would
04:33deal with the everyday chaos, as reported by Mama's Mission.
04:37Off-screen, Ortega has been a vocal supporter of minority groups and a staunch advocate
04:41of the value of diversity in the film and television industry. In 2018, Ortega wore
04:46a jacket to the Radio Disney Music Awards with the, quote, "'I Do Care' and "'You Should
04:50Too' etched on the back." This was in reaction to Melania Trump, the then-First Lady who
04:55wore a jacket with the words, "'I Really Don't Care, Do You?' printed on it, during a visit
04:59to a facility housing undocumented children who had been separated from their parents.
05:03The actress stated,
05:04"...There is no excuse to not speak up. It doesn't matter if you have five followers
05:08or a million followers. It doesn't matter your age or where you come from, every voice
05:12is important."
05:13In addition to her support for the pro-LGBTQ+, Pride Over Prejudice campaign, Ortega's activism
05:19also reflects in the parts she picks for herself, refusing roles that are detrimental to the
05:23Latinx community. She explained to Cosmopolitan,
05:26"...I feel like the Latinx community, first of all, they're not often shown on camera
05:30in general, but they're also oftentimes not shown in a positive light. I never want to
05:34play a maid, and I never want to play a cartel leader's daughter. I would much rather be
05:38able to play a person of power, a powerful character in a positive way."
05:42Given that an actor's physical appearance continuously draws attention and plays a role
05:46in their career, working as an actor in the film and television industry can be brutal
05:50for one's self-image. Ortega revealed to People magazine that she had gone through a similar
05:55ordeal, recalling a negative experience when she was made to feel shameful about her freckles
05:59when she was a teenager.
06:00"...I think any insecurity that I had with my skin was more in terms of working with
06:04makeup artists. I remember one once made a comment about not being able to match my
06:08skin tone correctly and that they needed to cover things up. For a while, I was really
06:12ashamed of my freckles and didn't want to show my face ever."
06:15"...I'd get comments like, oh, you have a dirty face."
06:18As a result, Ortega decided to endorse a message of positivity and the beauty of uniqueness
06:23after becoming the brand ambassador of the skincare brand Neutrogena in 2020, whose products
06:28Ortega claims to have been using for most of her life. She went on to describe her consistent
06:32skincare routine using a variety of Neutrogena products. She concluded by highlighting how
06:36important influencer diversity, visibility, and brand messaging are, as well as how her
06:41vision aligns with the brand's mission to spread a message that's about embracing natural
06:45beauty.
06:46In addition to being an actor, philanthropist, activist, and brand ambassador, Ortega has
06:51proven herself as a talented author, having published her first book in 2021. It's All
06:56Love, Reflections for Your Heart and Soul is a non-fiction self-help book filled with
07:00quotes and anecdotes penned by Ortega herself that aims to help its readers, mainly teenagers,
07:06deal with their mental health difficulties. Ortega discussed the book with J-14, saying,
07:10"...It's All Love is a collection of stories and lessons I've experienced while growing
07:14up in a non-traditional sense. I think a lot of what I've been through might be helpful
07:18or insightful for teens struggling with their identity."
07:21The first time, authors cited her own struggles with mental health, saying,
07:24"...I've never addressed my aggressive struggle with my mental health, and I talk about that
07:28somewhere in this book. It's weird. I'm not a very social person, but I also want to be
07:32as sincere as possible in all I do. And I think it might be nice for those who also
07:36have a hard time to know that they're not alone."
07:39Ortega reaffirmed the purpose of writing the book by saying,
07:41"...Being a teenager is tough. If there's anything I can do just to be a source of comfort
07:46or helpful in any way, it would bring me immense joy. People have been so kind towards me,
07:51and I want to return the favor."
07:52"...If my family was a week, I would be Wednesday."
07:55Ortega found that playing Wednesday Addams comes with its own expectations and difficulties.
08:00When you think about it, it makes sense. The character's been ingrained in the cultural
08:03zeitgeist for nearly 60 years, ever since she made her on-screen debut in the 1964 sitcom
08:08The Addams Family.
08:10Jenna Ortega had to study fencing, archery, canoeing, cello, and German in order to match
08:14the multiple talents demonstrated by her character on-screen for the 2022 Netflix series. Additionally,
08:20Ortega faced the creative obstacles of working with multiple directors on the series, each
08:24of whom had their own visions for her character. She explained to Wednesday co-star Christina
08:28Ricci,
08:29"...We were going from Tim Burton to another director back to Tim to another director.
08:33I felt like everybody wanted different things from her. There were a lot of battles like
08:36that because I felt like people didn't always trust me when I was creating my path in terms
08:40of, OK, this is her arc, this is where she gets emotional."
08:44Ortega added,
08:45"...I would call my parents every night in a panic because I felt like it was different
08:48from any job I had ever done before. I got out to Romania and we started training and
08:52shooting immediately. We didn't really have time for rehearsals. I remember it being very
08:56stressful and confusing. I did the best I could, but that's probably the most overwhelming
09:00job I've ever had."
09:02Aside from reprising her role as Tara Carpenter in Scream 6 and Wednesday Addams in the sophomore
09:07season of Netflix's Wednesday, Ortega is set to star alongside film legend Tommy Lee Jones
09:13in the upcoming Paramount Plus thriller film Finest Kind and Martin Freeman in Lionsgate's
09:18Miller's Girl.
09:19Her foray into off-screen endeavors with her advocacy and writing demonstrates that
09:23her ambitions extend beyond acting. In a 2016 interview with Latina magazine when she was
09:2814 at the time, Ortega discussed her future goals, saying,
09:31"...I would really like to get some lead roles in big feature films in the near future. When
09:35I grow up, I would like to get into directing, writing, producing, and still act."
09:39True to her word, the actress is slated to make her debut as an executive producer on
09:43the romantic drama Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall, in which she will also star with
09:48her Wednesday peer, Percy Hines-White. In a 2021 interview with Cosmopolitan, Ortega
09:52spoke about embracing her past as a Disney kid and her hopes to act in independent films
09:57and passion projects, saying,
09:59"...I do want to do projects that challenge me a little bit more and put me in situations
10:03that I may not necessarily be able to initially relate to, just to push myself and see what
10:07I can do."