Jenna Ortega age, bio, siblings and parents, height, ethnicity 2025

Biography of Jenna Ortega

Jenna Ortega is a young American actress, who voiced Disney princess Isabel in the animated series "Elena of Avalor". She is also known for the films "The Fallout", "Jane the Virgin", "You", "Stuck in the Middle", "The Babysitter: Killer Queen", the family comedy "Yes Day" and the horror film "Scream" (2022). In 2022, she landed the starring role of Wednesday Addams in Tim Burton's Netflix series "Wednesday".

Childhood

Jenna Marie Ortega was born on September 27, 2002 in La Quinta (Coachella Valley), a resort town in California. She was the fourth child in a Puerto Rican-Mexican family, but not the last – Jenna was followed by younger sister Aliyah and brother Marcus. Her older siblings are named Mariah, Isaac and Mia.

The actress gets Mexican blood from her father's side. However, he was born in the USA and doesn't even speak Spanish, although Mexican traditions, especially culinary ones, are respected in their family. Jenna's parents met at a very young age, immediately fell in love with each other and got married. Both dreamed of a big family – and that's just what they got.

The family was large, but definitely not struggling financially. Jenna's father has always supported her endeavors. Her Mom, Natalie Ortega, raised six children and became their role model of a powerful woman. Thanks to her mom's efforts, Jenna broke into the entertainment industry. Natalie recorded a video with her daughter and posted it on social media, where a family friend spotted it and passed it along to a casting agent he knew.

Jenna Ortega in Colgate Kids commerical

The agent liked Jenna's artistry, but it was still far from a big movie: "We don't know what you're capable of, so first we'll shoot commercials and see how well you do," he said.

First roles

Jenna made her acting debut in 2012, landing the role of Aimee Moore in the TV series "CSI: NY". The following year, she snagged a small role in the Iron Man trilogy finale and played Annie in James Wan's Astral: Chapter 2.

2014 proved to be a busy year, with Jenna appearing in 6 different projects. Among them was the comedy series "Jane the Virgin", where she played the main character as a child.

With her driven personality, Jenna always aimed to be the best: at 13, after deciding to become the first female president or astronaut, she threw herself into researching how to make it happen. While the teenage dream eventually faded, her habit of thoroughly researching everything stuck around and became invaluable in her career.

One of the biggest challenges she faced as a teenage actress was balancing filming with her personal life:

One time, I was trying to get my good friend voted to be the queen of the school dance. She won, but I couldn't be there to see it happen.

This really got to Jenna. At 14, she started keeping a diary where she'd jot down tips from makeup artists and hairdressers about skin and hair care, figuring that taking better care of herself might help her feel a bit better. This hobby turned into a lifestyle and pushed her to partner with the company Neutrogena, which produces care cosmetics.

Acting career

In 2016, the animated series "Elena of Avalor" premiered on Disney Channel, with Jenna voicing a brave princess trapped in a magical amulet by an evil sorceress. That same year, Disney Channel launched the comedy series "Stuck in the Middle," with Ortega starring as Harley Diaz, the show's main character.

The character felt deeply personal to Jenna. Like Jenna herself, Harley navigated life in a large family, with her relationships with parents and six siblings driving the show's heart. The heartwarming family series ran for three seasons.

In 2018, Ortega lent her voice to the animated series "Big City Greens." She then starred as Dawn in the family film "Saving Flora" about rescuing an elephant, and landed the role of Ellie Alves, a key character in the psychological thriller "You."

Between 2019 and 2021, Ortega appeared in eight more films, including the 2021 family comedy "Yes Day," directed by Miguel Arteta. Playing Katie Torres, she shared the screen with Jennifer Garner and Edgar Ramírez.

Reflecting on working with these seasoned stars, Ortega shared:

I've looked up to Jennifer Garner and Edgar Ramírez for such a long time, so the opportunity to call them Mom and Dad just sounded like an amazing one that I couldn't pass up. Jennifer would bring up stories about things she learned when she was growing up in the industry and relate them back to me or would say, like, 'Oh, you have no idea. You know what this is going to be like, and this is going to be crazy for you.' And she kind of had a plan for my future, which I thought was funny.

That same year brought two more major releases for Ortega: the horror sequel "Scream" (2022), where she played Tara Carpenter, and "The Fallout," starring as Vada Cavell in this powerful social drama.

«The Fallout» star Jenna Ortega on why her character's devastating, emotional journey «does not end»

Personal life of Jenna Ortega

Jenna Ortega is not married. Online rumors suggest she dated singer Jacob Sartorius in 2017, followed by actor Asher Angel in 2018.

The actress isn't exactly a social media enthusiast. She believes long walks and connecting with nature beat stressing over your appearance or posting filtered photos on social media.

She's passionate about her work, puts family first, and actively fights racial injustice. Jenna's involved in charity work and loves music, painting, and writing: "I love to write. I write all the time, I will write about anything. Essays, scripts, whatever – it's how I unwind," she said in an interview with Byrdie media.

The actress hates cold weather but adores flowers and animals. Three dogs live in her house: Anna, Kylo and Brooklyn.

Jenna Ortega now

2022 was a breakout year for Jenna, with three major starring roles: the supernatural thriller "X," Diego Hallivis's horror flick "American Massacre," and Tim Burton's dark comedy series "Wednesday."

In the series, she plays an older Wednesday Addams navigating her psychic powers, unraveling family mysteries, and protecting her school. In addition to Jenna Ortega, Burton's series starred Christina Ricci (who played Wednesday in the 1991 film The Addams Family), Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzman.

Jenna Ortega on Her Wednesday Addams Transformation and Working with Tim Burton