Jenna Ortega might just be the busiest young actress in Hollywood. In 2022 alone, she has starred in four movies and three series, with three more projects in production as we speak. All that while being a modern Valentino muse. Like we said, busy!
We’re just weeks away from watching her take on what she calls her scariest role yet: Wednesday Addams in Tim Burton’s new Netflix series, Wednesday. While we wait, here’s your Jenna Ortega study guide.
Insidious: Chapter 2
Jenna starred in one of horror master James Wan’s scariest films, the sequel to the hit Insidious. Ortega was just 11 years old when she took on the role of Annie, kicking off her career as a horror icon.
Stuck in the Middle
Jenna's big break as a child actor came thanks to Disney Channel in a show called Stuck in the Middle. Ortega played Harley Diaz, who suffers from life's ultimate punishment: being the middle child.
Saving Flora
In this ultra-sweet drama, Jenna plays the daughter of a circus owner who plots to save a retired elephant from euthanasia. The pair–Ortega and the elephant, that is–venture on a journey through woods and rivers, all the while outrunning elephant hunters.
Jane the Virgin
Did you know Jenna (kinda) starred in this CW hit for five years? She plays young Jane, a young vision of Gina Rodriguez’s titular Jane Villanueva. Jane the Virgin centers around a devout Catholic girl (read: virgin) who finds herself pregnant. The show was the first ever CW show to earn a Golden Globe nomination and kept a loyal fanbase until the series’ end in 2019.
You
In the second season of Netflix’s hit series You, Jenna plays Ellie Alves, the little sister of Joe Goldberg’s L.A. neighbor. Though she is no longer a mainstay in the new seasons of You, her character is not dead (a rarity on this show), so here’s hoping we see her again.
The Babysitter: Killer Queen
Jenna stars in this Netflix comedy horror, a sequel to the 2017 film The Babysitter, which follows a young boy who learns that his babysitter is part of a satanic cult. The sequel follows the same young boy (poor guy) as he tries to balance high school with the lingering effects of his brush-up with the satanists.
Yes Day
Fun for the whole family, Yes Day follows a family through a child’s dream day, one in which parents can only say “yes.” Jenna stars alongside Jennifer Garner and Edgar Ramirez
The Fallout
Painfully real, The Fallout stars Ortega alongside Maddie Ziegler as survivors of a school shooting. The film follows their emotional journeys as they attempt to navigate trauma and hope in the wake of a tragedy.
Scream
In 2022, Ortega starred in the Scream reboot 25 years in the making. She picks up exactly where the original film left off, as a teenager tormented by a killer in a Ghostface mask. Catch up while you can, since Scream 2 is already in production and Jenna is coming back for more.
Studio 666
Starring the members of the band The Foo Fighters (including the late Taylor Hawkins), Studio 666 follows the band through a comedy horror show as they move into a haunted mansion to record their 10th album.
X
If Scream hadn’t done it already, X made Jenna Ortega a certified Scream Queen for the new generation. The horror movie follows a group of filmmakers shooting an adult film on a rural farm in Texas, and they quickly find themselves in gruesome danger when caught in the act by the farm’s elderly hosts. (FYI: A prequel for this film, Pearl, is currently in theaters, but doesn’t star Jenna.)
American Carnage
Jenna stars alongside Jorge Lendeborh Jr. and Eric Dane in this movie about a group of detained teenagers of undocumented immigrants who volunteer for the elderly to get their charges dropped. It's a comedy that turns horrific when the true nature of the “retirement home” becomes clear.
Wednesday
Netflix’s highly anticipated new Addams Family story focuses on the young Wednesday Addams, played by none other than Miss Ortega. The series also stars '90s movie Wednesday Christina Ricci, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Fred Armisen, and Luis Guzmán. It follows Wednesday through her school years at Nevermore Academy and premieres on Netflix on November 23, 2022.
