Jenna Ortega

Jenna Marie Ortega (born September 27, 2002) is an American actress. After appearing as Annie in the supernatural horror film Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013) and as Mary Ann in the direct-to-video film The Little Rascals Save the Day (2014), she first received recognition known for her role as Young Jane on The CW romantic comedy-drama series Jane the Virgin (2014–19). She then had her breakthrough starring as Harley Diaz on the Disney Channel series Stuck in the Middle (2016–18), for which she won the Imagen Award for Best Young Actor – Television in 2018.

Ortega voiced Princess Isabel on the Disney Channel animated series Elena of Avalor (2016–2020), for which she won the Imagen Award for Best Children’s Programming. She made her transition to mainstream film and television starring as Ellie Alves on the Netflix thriller series You (2018–2020). She has also starred as Dawn in the drama film Saving Flora (2018), as Phoebe in the horror film The Babysitter: Killer Queen (2020), as Katie in the comedy film Yes Day (2021), and she currently voices Brooklyn on the Netflix animated series Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous (2020–present). She received praise for her role as Vada in the drama film The Fallout (2021).

Aside from acting, Ortega has been noted for her activism as well as her public image, being listed first on PopSugar’s “20 Under 20” list in 2020. She is also known for her fashion sense, and is registered across various social media, being an active internet personality.

Early life

Jenna Ortega was born on September 27, 2002 in Coachella Valley, California, the fourth of six children. Ortega’s father is of Mexican American descent and her mother is of Mexican and Puerto Rican ancestry.

Career

2012–2014: Early roles

Ortega had become interested in acting from the age of six. By the age of eight, with her mother’s help and agents, she eventually began receiving auditions, and soon made her acting debut in 2012 with a guest appearance for Rob, in the episode “Baby Bug.” Following this was an appearance on CSI: NY on the episode “Unspoken” as Aimee Moore.

In 2013, she made her film debut with a minor role in the superhero movie Iron Man 3 as the vice president’s daughter. Following this, Ortega starred in the horror film Insidious: Chapter 2, the third film of the Insidious franchise, as Annie, a supporting role. Both films were successful at the box-office. In 2014, Ortega had a recurring role on the series Rake, playing Zoe Leon. In the same year, she was cast in the recurring role of the younger version of Jane on the romantic-drama series Jane the Virgin throughout the entirety of the show’s run. In the same year, she starred as Mary Ann in the direct-to-video comedy film The Little Rascals Save the Day.

2015–2018: Breakthrough with Disney

In 2015, Ortega was cast for the Netflix original series Richie Rich as part of the main cast, playing Darcy, Richie’s best friend. Her character was a gold digger, that would spend Richie’s money even without his consent. The show was panned, overall attaining generally negative reviews. In the same year, she appeared in the film After Words as Anna Chapa.

From 2016 to 2018, Ortega then went on to star on the Disney Channel sitcom Stuck in the Middle as Harley Diaz, the lead role of the show, the character being the middle child of the seven Diaz siblings, throughout the show’s run. The show was well received, and Ortega received an Imagen Award for her performance, as well as being nominated for two others. In the same year, she joined the cast on Disney’s Elena of Avalor, as the voice of Princess Isabel, which ended in 2020. The show was well received, and she shared another Imagen Award win with the cast, as well as another nomination in 2019.

In 2017, she starred in the music video for the single “Chapstick”, which was performed by and also stars Jacob Sartorius. In the video, Ortega played Sartorius’s love interest, which managed to gain significant media coverage. In 2018, Ortega starred in the film Saving Flora as the lead role of Dawn, the daughter of a circus owner. The film received positive reviews from critics, and Ortega received praise for her performance. She received a nomination for Best Lead Actress at the Southampton International Film Festival.

2019–present: Mainstream film and television

In January 2019, Ortega had been cast in the main role of Ellie Alves, the sister of Delilah Alves, on the second season of the Netflix thriller series You, which was released on December 26, 2019. In You, her character is a smart and meddling girl who likes to act older than her true age. Ortega commented on working with co-stars Penn Badgley and Victoria Pedretti, stating that “I wish I had gotten to shoot with Victoria more, because I think she’s really talented. … Penn is such an eloquent speaker, so well-thought and so respectful and so kind, and just such a pleasure to work with.” The season, alike to the show’s first season, was praised as well as Ortega’s performance.

In 2019, Ortega was cast as Pheobe in the Netflix horror film The Babysitter: Killer Queen. She said in an segment with Cosmopolitan that she had been “incredibly nervous” when they began filming, stating that “because it was a sequel, all of the other cast members already knew each other … I went on the set panicking because I didn’t know what I was doing.” The film was released in September 2020, and received mixed reviews from critics. In 2020, Ortega voiced Brooklyn in the Netflix animated series Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous. The series was met with mixed reviews, although praise went towards Ortega’s voicing and the rest of the cast. The series was renewed for a second season, slated to release in 2021.

In 2020, Ortega announced that she would make her writing debut with the book It’s All Love, which was released in January 2021. Ortega starred as Katie Torres in the Netflix comedy movie Yes Day; she was cast in 2019, and the film was released in March 2021 to mixed reviews, though her performance was praised. Also released in March 2021 was the high-school drama film The Fallout, where she portrayed the lead role of Vada. Cast in February 2020, filming took place over a month between August and September of that same year. It received a positive response from critics, and Ortega’s acting was lauded. The Hollywood Reporter wrote: “…Ortega’s beautifully nuanced turn understands the nothing-to-look-at-here façade and the chinks in the armor.” Variety magazine described Vada as her breakthrough film role, writing that “Ortega in particular seems to have found her voice.”

Upcoming projects

In August 2020, Ortega was cast in an undisclosed role on the upcoming slasher film Scream, which will be released on January 14, 2022. On her role, she stated that “I don’t even think there are words in the English language to correctly express how happy, excited and nervous I am for this journey.” Filming took place in Wilmington, North Carolina from September to November of that same year. On working with co-stars Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette, she stated that “You never know what to expect when you’re meeting people of that standard, but they truly were just the most down-to-earth, sweetest people.” She will also star in the upcoming horror film X.

Public image

Philanthropy and views

Ortega has used her platforms on social media to promote support towards immigrants and politics involving them.

Ortega is a supporter of Pride Over Prejudice, a campaign that promotes acceptance towards the LGBT community; she has advocated for the organization since she was the age of 13. She is against anti-immigration and discrimination. Ortega told Teen Vogue: “It’s important to embrace your culture today because there are so many different ethnicities in America. At the end of the day, you are you. You’ve got to stay true to yourself, and you can’t change yourself in order to fit in or to make someone else feel comfortable.”

In 2016, Ortega organized a meet and greet for fans to raise money for a young girl with cancer. Across 2019, Ortega appeared at numerous WE Day concerts across the United States and Canada to benefit WE Charity.

On working during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ortega stated in an interview with Cosmopolitan that “I’m luckier than most kids in the sense that I haven’t really lived a normal lifestyle. And I’ve been working. I’m fortunate to even be working during a time like this. I feel for the kids who are missing their prom, or missing the opportunity to graduate or can’t have that high school experience they typically would … I think that’s such an important part of life that I missed out on, and wish I had had. And not to say that I’m not very fortunate for everything else that I’ve experienced, but I think that it’s got to be weird for people who are unable to work or go out or do what I do.”

In the media

Ortega has stated that she believes social media is “inauthentic”, and that across her platforms she tries to be “more natural and honest.”

Ortega’s fashion sense has received praise, particularly for her for her various attire and her general outlook, and in 2020 the magazine Hola! dubbed her the “red carpet darling” in recognition of her style. In 2020, Ortega was listed first on a list of PopSugar’s “20 Under 20: Young Women Who Are Already Kicking Ass and Taking Names”.

In 2018, at the Radio Disney Music Awards, Ortega wore a jacket, which displayed the words “I Do Care And U Should Too” in response to first lady Melania Trump’s apparel when she went to visit immigrant children who were being housed without their parents, which said “I Really Don’t Care. Do U?”. The stand gained significant media coverage. Ortega told Forbes: “I remember I was going through the news on my phone and I saw what Melania wore on the way to visit the immigrant children. I was so deeply offended and right there at that moment I knew what I wanted my statement to be…”

In 2020, Ortega was named a brand ambassador for Neutrogena. On becoming an ambassador, she told Hola!: “I could not be more ecstatic. I say it over and over, but it really is such a surreal feeling, especially with such an iconic brand, that I have looked up to for such a long time.”

Artistry

Influences

Ortega has cited actress Dakota Fanning (left) and her Jane The Virgin co-star Gina Rodriguez (right) as her primary inspirations.

In an interview with Collider, Ortega said that she was initially inspired to pursue acting after watching the performance of actress Dakota Fanning in the 2004 thriller film Man on Fire, stating that “After watching Dakota, who obviously was so talented from such a young age, I decided that I wanted to be the Puerto Rican version of her.” She also said that she’d thought Denzel Washington was “the coolest man I had ever seen in my life.”

Ortega cites actress Gina Rodriguez, whom she worked with on the television drama Jane The Virgin, as one of her major influences. She stated that she admires Rodriguez for her story being similar to hers, and for her efforts and ability. Ortega told magazine Latina in 2016: “I look up to Gina Rodriguez because, like me, she did not have a connection to the business, we are both Latinas who do not come from money and did not have an easy way in. She speaks openly about the challenges of being a Latina actress and how Latin actors are not represented on screen the way they should be. She has proven that hard work pays off, and I admire that.”

Acting style and reception

Ortega has stated that she feels taking more varied roles in acting is important to her, as to not be typecast. She told E! Online in 2021 that she did not want to be “pigeonholed as an actor, and I want to do the most diverse roles that I possibly can and really switch up.” This made the transition to more mature roles easier for her.

In 2021, The Independent Tribune wrote that Ortega was “an impressively poised young actor”.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music video

• “Chapstick” (2017), by Jacob Sartorius

Awards and nominations