Jenna Ortega Movies and Shows to Watch After ‘Wednesday’
Wednesday has become a success on Netflix as the Tim Burton series puts the spotlight on the macabre teen and a murderous supernatural story. The show follows a more modern take on Wednesday Addams as she attends Nevermore Academy for outcasts and solves a murder and family turmoil. Jenna Ortega has led the show to perfection, but it is not the first on-screen role she has dominated in movies and shows.
‘Wednesday’ was not Jenna Ortega’s first Netflix hit show or movie
Since its premiere, Wednesday has skyrocketed to success and held its own on Netlfix’s Top 10 list. Ortega’s rendition of the infamous goth teen has fans hooked from her blink-less stare to her never-before-seen psychic abilities. While Ortega is at the height of her career with Wednesday, it is not the first Netflix show and movie she has been a part of.
Before Wednesday, Ortega gained fame as the teenage character Ellie Alves in You Season 3. Her character is the new neighbor of serial killer Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley). She helps Joe with social media, and Joe develops a protective bond with her. But Ellie gets involved in his murderous past when his ex returns. There is a hint that Ortega could return for You Season 4.
In 2020, Ortega starred in the second installment of the Netflix horror movie, The Babysitter: Killer Queen. She starred as the character Phoebe Atwell, a new student attending Cole’s (Judah Lewis) school who believes his outlandish story about a cult.
Ortega then starred in the Netflix family comedy movie Yes Day. Based on the children’s book of the same name, a mom and dad decide to say “yes” to anything their kids want for a day, with some ground rules. The Wednesday actor played the role of one of their children, Katerina ‘Katie’ Torres. In Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, Ortega voiced Brooklyn and starred in Richie Rich.
Jenna Ortega has a face perfect for horror
Ortega’s career in movies and shows first gained some fame when she appeared in the CW’s Jane the Virgin in 2014. She played a younger version of the female lead character. That same year, she had a recurring role on the show Rake. The young actor had a breakthrough role in 2016 when she played the leading role of Harley Diaz in the Disney Channels’ Stuck in the Middle. When it comes to voice acting, Ortega voiced Princess Isabell in Elena of Avalor.
The actor is becoming a household name in the horror genre. Besides starring in Wednesday and You, Ortega played the standout role of Tara Carpenter in the 2022 fifth installment of the Scream movie franchise. That same year, Ortega dominated the horror scene starring as Skye Willow in Studio 666 and the acclaimed slasher movie X as Lorraine Day.
When auditioning for Wednesday, Ortega was working on X when she did her Zoom call with Tim Burton. In true Ortega fashion, she was still covered in fake blood and wounds when the video call started. Ortega is set to star as Tara again in Scream VI.
What was the actor’s first on-screen role?
Jenna Ortega’s movies and shows career are blossoming well while still at the age of 20. The actor got her start young in the entertainment industry. According to IMDb, Ortega’s first role was on the TV show Rob in 2012. She was credited as “girl” in the episode “The Baby Bug.” Rob was an American sitcom about a bachelor with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder who married into a Mexican-American family.
After the sitcom, Ortega played another guest role. In CSI: NY, she played a character named Aimee Moore in the episode “Unspoken.” The actor appeared on Days of Our Lives as a character named Hayley. Ortega’s movie and show career are far from over, and fans await the news on whether Netflix will renew a Wednesday Season 2 after the events of the cliffhanger finale.
