Unless you’ve been living under a rock these past few weeks, you’ve heard all the buzz about Wednesday on Netflix. The eight-episode teen drama stars Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams, who is expelled from her school and sent away to Nevermore Academy, the place where her parents, Morticia and Gomez, met.
Nevermore is a school for outcasts and freaks, a place where Wednesday should feel right at home. But because she’s not good at nor interested in making friends, she still feels like an outsider. It’s not until she discovers a prophecy that leads her to believe she might be the one to save the school does she realize why she’s needed there.
Wednesday has been breaking viewership records on Netflix and all eyes are on Ortega, the overnight star. But Ortega has been acting for a long time and has several notable roles under her belt. Let’s get into everything you need to know about the 20-year-old actress!
Jenna Ortega started acting at age 9
Ortega had a dream of becoming an actress from a young age, and when she was 9 she booked her first gig in an episode of Rob on CBS. She followed that up with other small and recurring roles in shows like CSI: NY and Days of Our Lives, and then played the younger version of Jane in Jane the Virgin. In 2013, she scored her first two movie roles with Iron Man 3 (as the Vice President’s Daughter) and Insidious Chapter 2 (as Annie).
Jenna Ortega net worth
Since then, Ortega has continued to scoop up parts, and in 2016 she landed the starring role in the Disney Channel show Stuck in the Middle, where she played the main character Harley Diaz for three seasons. Her resume has only grown since then. Reports claim she’s worth between $3 and $4 million.
Jenna Ortega is a certified scream queen
Although Ortega is a former Disney Channel star, much of her filmography is not suitable for children. At this point, fans know her as a horror queen because of how many scary movies she’s been in. These include Insidious: Chapter 2, The Babysitter: Killer Queen, Scream, Studio 666, and X. She’ll also appear in the upcoming Scream 6. Additionally, she had a supporting role in You season 2 alongside Penn Badgley.
At this year’s New York Comic Con, Ortega spoke about her love for the genre, gushing over how passionate the people who make horror movies are:
"@winteriscoming.net Who’s a horror lover like her? #fyp #foryoupage #jennaortega #jennaortegaedit #jennaortegaedits #jennaortegaofficial #x #xmovie #a24 #a24films #a24film #wednesday #wednesdayaddams #theaddamsfamily #scream #scream5 #scream6 #you #younetflix #horror #horrormovies #horrorfans #horrormovie #fantasy #fantasyshows ♬ Wednesday Main Titles (Single from Wednesday Original Series Soundtrack) – Danny Elfman"
Jenna Ortega filmed Wednesday scene with COVID
Ortega has been in the headlines basically every single day since Wednesday dropped in November, but one story is really creating a stir. According to the actress, she filmed her big dance scene while she was sick with COVID, though at the time, she didn’t exactly know she had it.
As she explained to NME, she was feeling symptoms but continued to film while she was waiting on the test results. When the positive result came back, she was removed from the set and later asked if she could redo the dance scene, but she was denied.
“I asked to redo it but we didn’t have time,” Ortega says. “I think I probably could have done it a bit better.” Considering how popular the scene has become, I think she did it perfectly.
Jenna Ortega gave up being vegan to make Wednesday
As Ortega explained to WIRED, she had been vegan “for a really long time” but decided to quit when she had to travel to Romania to film Wednesday because she didn’t feel like the food there was giving her the nutrition she needed. She started eating fish, so now she’s a pescatarian.
Jenna Ortega has a big family
The Scream actress has opened up about her family before, including how her mother used to drive her from Coachella Valley to Los Angeles for auditions multiple times a week, which would be seven hours round-trip. Ortega is the fourth of six children!
Jenna Ortega has over 25 million Instagram followers
Ortega is on her way to becoming a household name. At the time of this article, she has over 25 million followers on Instagram (and counting); naturally, the number has rocketed up in the past few weeks. In the first 10 days since the series’ release, Ortega gained a whopping 10 million followers!
Up next, Ortega will appear in Scream 6, which is slated for a March 2023 theatrical release. And fingers crossed that Netflix decides to renew Wednesday for a second season; with those viewership numbers, it’d be silly for them not to.
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