From Jane the Virgin to Wednesday, a complete guide to the best Jenna Ortega movies and television shows
Jenna Ortega is a household name thanks to her absolute smash-hit series, Wednesday, which dominated Netflix when it was released late last year. The power the twenty-year-old held as the titular character was phenomenal, and as a result of her acting prowess, a whole new cult revival bloomed in tribute to the gloomy teenage icon.
Needless to say, Jenna has a very bright future ahead of her, and if the term "booked and busy" were a person, it would be her. I mean, after cementing her bonafide Hollywood A-lister status with a hosting gig on Saturday Night Live, Jenna has a slew of exciting upcoming projects that her fans (i.e. the entire world) can look forward to, which surprisingly, aren't just horror-related projects, meaning she will show us her entire repertoire of acting talents. Later this year, we can see the brunette starring alongside Tommy Lee Jones and Ben Foster in the crime thriller Finestkind, centred on two brothers from the opposite side of the tracks forced to come together to deal with an organised crime syndicate in Boston. Wow, sounds intense!
Plenty of male actors have criticised their films. Where were their slapped wrists?
Jenna will then be seen in the comedy-drama Miller's Girl alongside Martin Freeman and is also gearing up to star alongside The Weeknd and Barry Keoghan in a yet-to-be-titled project, and if the latest casting rumours are true, then also Beetlejuice 2! Oh, and if that wasn't enough, cameras will soon be rolling on season two of Wednesday. Jeez, does she even get a chance to sleep?!
But honestly, all of Jenna's success is well deserved, as if you didn't know, she has been working her socks off for years. Long before she wowed us in the Scream franchise and Netflix's You, she paid her dues by starring in the likes of Jane the Virgin and Disney's Stuck in the Middle. So, if you, like the rest of the world, are obsessed with Jenna Ortega and want to learn more about her past, then browse below all the fantastic projects she has been involved in with her career to date.
© 2022 Netflix, Inc.Wednesday, 2022
Jenna truly came into her own playing the sombre eldest daughter of the Addams Family for the action-packed Netflix series. In the show, the teenager doesn't fit into a regular high school for obvious reasons, and after landing herself into trouble, she is sent by her parents to Nevermore Academy to master her emerging psychic ability. There she finds herself embroiled in a supernatural murder investigation plaguing the town of Jericho. The show was such a winner for the streaming service that a second season has been confirmed, and we cannot wait for all things gloom and doom again!
Spirit EntertainmentAmerican Carnage, 2022
American Carnage is a horror film that follows a group of children of undocumented immigrants who are promised that criminal charges against them will be dropped if they volunteer at a nursing home. However, they soon learn that something sinister is happening at the home and find themselves in a desperate attempt to flee what is an evil government plan.
Beth Dubber/NetflixYou, 2019
Jenna was the breakout star of Penn Badgley starring You, playing teenager Ellie Alves, who is Joe's neighbour. With no parents and a mostly MIA older sister, Ellie is basically raising herself and finds herself unwittingly intertwined with all of Joe's disastrous life decisions. Her character had a one-season arc on the show, which is confirmed to be returning for a fifth season.
Everett Collection Inc / Alamy Stock PhotoX, 2022
In the slasher X, Jenna plays Lorraine, who, along with her boyfriend and fellow actor pals, head to small-town Texas in hopes of making an adult film unbeknownst to their reclusive hosts, who go on to make their lives hell when they find out what they are up to.
Scream, 2022-2023
Move over Neve Campbell as our Jenna officially became the face of the famous slasher franchise Scream with its fifth and sixth instalments, the latter being released earlier this year. In the movie, her character, Woodsboro High teenager Tara is at the other end of Ghostface's killing spree alongside her sister Sam. The sisters join forces with their friends to stop the killer and unveil their true identity.
SonyStudio 666, 2022
Inspired by actual events, this 2022 horror sees the rock band Foo Fighters grappling with supernatural forces after moving into a lavish Encino mansion steeped in grisly rock 'n' roll history that threatens the completion of their hugely anticipated tenth studio album. While Jenna didn't have a large part in the movie, it was still an epic movie to be a part of.
Everett Collection Inc / Alamy Stock PhotoThe Fallout, 2021
Jenna truly left us emotional in the film The Fallout, playing teenager Vada Cavell, who navigates her significant emotional trauma after surviving a tragic school shooting by hiding in a bathroom stall with schoolmate Mia Reed, with who she goes on to develop a profoundly close bond with.
Everett Collection Inc / Alamy Stock PhotoRichie Rich, 2015
While Wednesday made a star out of Jenna, her first significant role on a Netflix series was in 2015's Richie Rich, in which she played Darcy, the best friend of the titular lead. The show only lasted one season, but Jenna was well and truly fabulous in it.
CWJane the Virgin, 2014-2019
Jane the Virgin ran for five seasons, starring Gina Rodriguez as Jane Villanueva. And, of course, who else to play the younger version of her character that Jenna, in the multiple flashbacks during the course of the beloved show.
Signature EntertainmentSaving Flora, 2018
This movie may have flown under the radar, but it was absolutely brilliant. Saving Flora sees Jenna as the teenage daughter of a circus owner who rescues an ageing elephant named Flora from being euthanised. Following the rescue, the pair run away into the woods with two elephant hunters in hot pursuit.
TYLER GOLDEN/NETFLIXThe Babysitter: Killer Queen, 2020
The 2017 film The Babysitter developed a cult following, so it only seemed fitting that it returned for the sequel The Babysitter: Killer Queen in 2020 and fine-tined Jenna's craft as a future horror queen with the role of a pregnant high school student, who develops a deep bond with the main character Cole, despite the jury still being out on whether she murdered her parents or not.
MATT KENNEDY/NETFLIX © 2021Yes Day, 2021
A good feel-good comedy is a rite of passage for any up-and-coming actor, and we especially loved Jenna in the movie Yes Day. The film stars Jennifer Garner and Édgar Ramirez as parents who feel as though they tell their children "no" quite a lot. Their eldest child (Ortega) especially wishes her parents would treat her like a grown-up, so as a result, the duo decide to say "yes" to their kids for one whole day. Let the chaos commence!
Everett Collection Inc / Alamy Stock PhotoStuck in the Middle, 2016-2018
Jenna's first lead role was fronting the Disney Channel sitcom Stuck in the Middle. As the title suggests, she played the middle child of seven siblings, Harley Diaz, who uses her creativity and imagination to make the most of living in such a large family. The show was so popular that she won an Imagen Award for it and was nominated for two other gongs at the award ceremony.
