Jenna Ortega

Jenna Marie Ortega (born September 27, 2002) is an American actress.

Jenna Marie Ortega, the fourth of six siblings, was born on September 27, 2002, in Palm Desert, California, United States.

Her father, a former sheriff who works at the California district attorney's office, is of Mexican descent and her mother, who is of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent, works as an emergency room nurse.

Ortega's maternal great-grandmother was an illegal immigrant from Sinaloa, Mexico, and her maternal grandfather was from Puerto Rico.

Ortega grew up in La Quinta, California.

From the age of six she wanted to act; for three years, she begged her mother to let her pursue a career.

Ortega's mother attempted to distract her with activities such as soccer and school.

Ortega almost quit pursuing acting to participate in the former.

Her mother later bought her a monologue book and posted a video of nine-year-old Ortega performing.

A casting director watched the video and signed Ortega to an agency.

Ortega's mother began driving her to Los Angeles to attend auditions, a trip that sometimes took six hours, up to five days a week.

She struggled to secure parts because few roles for Latinas existed and she did not have "the look" sought by casting directors.

Ortega stated rejections motivated her to change their viewpoint.

For the first year, Ortega, who had no connections in the film industry, limited her auditions to commercials; she secured parts in 12 national campaigns, including three McDonald's commercials.

From Mondays to Fridays, Ortega acted in Los Angeles for a few days and returned home to attend school.

She enrolled in public school, attending Amelia Earhart Elementary School and John Glenn Middle School.

Ortega made her acting debut in the sitcom Rob (2012), and later appeared as a victim of an accidental shooting in the CSI: NY episode "Unspoken".

In 2013, she made her film debut with a minor role as the vice president's daughter in the superhero film Iron Man 3.

That same year, Ortega appeared in the horror film Insidious: Chapter 2 as part of the supporting cast.

Both films were successful at the box office, and the former ranks among the highest-grossing films of all time.

She began her career as a child, receiving recognition for her role as young Jane in The CW comedy-drama series Jane the Virgin (2014–2019).

From 2014 to 2019, Ortega had a recurring role on The CW comedy television series Jane the Virgin as a younger version of Jane Villanueva, who is portrayed by Gina Rodriguez as an adult.

Ortega said her audition was not "anything overwhelmingly special" and attributed her casting to her resemblance to Rodriguez.

Declan Gallagher of Entertainment Weekly commended Ortega's performance, writing "she eschews the trappings of a typical child actor".

Ortega also starred in the direct-to-video comedy film The Little Rascals Save the Day (2014) and the Netflix series Richie Rich (2015).

Ortega appeared in the film After Words (2015) as Anna Chapa.

The Los Angeles Times praised her as "adorable" whereas The Arizona Republic found her "horribly cloying".

From 2016 to 2018, Ortega had a leading role as Harley Diaz in the Disney Channel series Stuck in the Middle, for which she won an Imagen Award.

Ortega dropped out of school during eighth grade to act in Disney projects and got an apartment in Los Angeles after securing a role in Stuck in the Middle (2016–2018).

During this time, Ortega worked in Los Angeles during the workweek and went home on weekends.

From 2016 to 2018, Ortega led the Disney Channel sitcom Stuck in the Middle as Harley Diaz, an aspiring inventor who is the middle child of the seven siblings.

She said booking the role was "one of the best days of my life".

Ortega drew inspiration from her own family and relationships with her siblings; she felt her experience starring on the show was akin to reality television.

Common Sense Media praised Ortega's performance, saying she "commands this role, pleading her case as a long-suffering middle kid while finding the humor in the many calamities that befall her efforts to shine".

She also voiced Princess Isabel in Elena and the Secret of Avalor (2016) and Elena of Avalor (2016–2020).

Ortega garnered three Imagen Award nominations for Best Young Actor – Television, including a win in 2018.

She played Ellie Alves in the second season of the thriller series You in 2019 and starred in the family film Yes Day in 2021, both for Netflix.

Ortega received critical praise for her performance in the teen-drama film The Fallout (2021).

In 2022, she starred in the slasher films Scream and X, and the following year in Scream VI, which established her as a scream queen.

Also in 2022, Ortega began starring as Wednesday Addams in the Netflix horror-comedy series Wednesday, for which she received nominations at the Golden Globe, Primetime Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Awards.