Entertainment
JP Mangalindan and Ayomikun Adekaiyero
Updated
- Jenna Ortega is best known for her role as Wednesday Addams in the Netflix hit series "Wednesday."
- There are some things people might not know about the talented actor, however.
- For example, Ortega is a huge "Stranger Things" fan and wrote her first book in 2021.
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Jenna Ortega is one of six children.
"Wednesday" star Jenna Ortega was born on September 27, 2002.
Ortega said during her appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" last year that she grew up in the Coachella Valley in Southern California with five other siblings.
Ortega also told Kimmel that despite having six children and working as an emergency room nurse, her mother would find the time to drive seven hours to take Ortega to her auditions in LA.
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Ortega was inspired to act by Dakota Fanning's performance in the film "Man on Fire."
Ortega was inspired to act at the young age of 6 when she watched the 2004 action thriller "Man on Fire" with Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning.
Fanning played Lupita Ramos, the young girl whom former CIA agent John W. Creasy (Washington) is hired to protect.
As she told the "Tamron Hall Show" in 2021, Ortega wanted to become "the Puerto Rican version of her."
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A casting agent actually discovered Ortega through a video posted by her mother on Facebook.
When Ortega was 7 years old, her mother posted a video on Facebook of Ortega performing a monologue.
"It was kind of a joke," Ortega said during an interview on the "Tamron Hall Show." "I remember at the time she didn't want me to be an actor — it's kind of funny how things turned out — but she just wasn't sure about putting me in that environment or this industry that she had heard such terrible things about. She posted it just as a joke for her friends, because her friends on Facebook knew I was very dramatic."
During her interview with Wired for their "Web's Most Searched Questions" series, Ortega said that the passage she acted out came from a monologue book her mother had given her to stop her talking about becoming an actor.
After Ortega performed the monologue for her mother, she asked her to do it again so she could record it and put it on Facebook.
A casting agent saw the video and immediately reached out. Ortega was cast in a series of commercials for brands like McDonald's and Old Navy before eventually landing TV and film roles.
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Ortega had a crush on Barack Obama when she was younger.
Ortega admitted to having a huge crush on former US President Barack Obama when she was younger.
Ortega told Elle earlier this year that she told her mom that she wanted to become the first female president due to her crush on Obama.
"I had phases where I clung to something and then made it my entire personality," Ortega said. "To this day, I'm still obsessed with Obama."
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Ortega's first role was in a toothpaste commercial.
While hosting on "Saturday Night Live" for the first time, the "Scream" star revealed that her first ever acting gig was in a toothpaste commercial when she was 9.
Ortega's first TV acting roles were in "Rob" and "CSI: NY" in 2012.
Ortega told Wired that the first movie she acted in was called "After Words," which wasn't released until 2015.
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Ortega was accidentally cast in three McDonald's commercials in one year.
During her appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" in 2022, Ortega said she accidentally starred in three McDonald's commercials in one year because the casting directors were unaware of her previous commercials when they hired her.
"I was accidentally McDonald's girl for a year," Ortega said.
She went on to say that each time, she was cast as a child holding an apple in the commercials, much to her disappointment
"It was like the most one of the most disappointing experiences of my life," Ortega said. "Every time I see an apple, I'm just infuriated. I have, like, rage."
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Ortega voiced Disney's first-ever Latina princess in the animated series "Elena of Avalor."
From 2016 to 2020, Ortega voiced Princess Isabel in "Elena of Avalor," a Disney animated series that centered around Disney's first Latina princess as she ruled a fictional kingdom that drew heavy inspiration from Latin culture.
"It's something that I'm very grateful for," Ortega told People en Español. "I love working on 'Elena of Avalor.' A Latina princess was long overdue, and to be able to play one is a dream come true."
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Ortega is a self-proclaimed "weirdo" and had a highly unusual hobby as a child.
After roles in "Wednesday," and horror films like "X" and the fifth installment of "Scream," Ortega seems perfectly comfortable volunteering some unusual information about herself.
During an interview with Wired, for example, Ortega revealed she actually conducted autopsies on little animals as a kid.
"I used to perform autopsies on little animals when I was younger, like little lizards that I found dead in our backyard," she told the publication.
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Ortega was covered in fake blood in an audition for "Wednesday."
Ortega told Wired that she had to do one of her auditions for the lead role in "Wednesday" just after filming a scene for the horror film "X."
Ortega, who had just finished a bloody scene, turned up to an audition with the show's producer, Tim Burton, covered in blood.
"I had stage blood and glycerin sweat in my hair and a massive cut on my face and had been up for over 24 hours," she said. "I got on the Zoom and he actually laughed. It made me laugh. I thought it was endearing."
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Ortega learned to play the cello specifically for her role in "Wednesday."
One of Wednesday's key skills in the hit Netflix series is that she is an adept cello player.
Ortega told Wired that she had to learn how to play the instrument for the role.
"I started working on the cello about two months before we started shooting," Ortega said. "I probably couldn't play too well now just because I've been away from home so much working, and it is something that I want to continue to pursue."
She continued: "I have immense respect for anybody who plays the cello. I think it's such a delightful instrument."
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Ortega was a vegan before filming "Wednesday" but changed her diet during production.
Ortega was a longtime vegan before filming "Wednesday," but because the show was shot in Romania, which emphasizes a diet based on meat, eggs, dairy, bread, and sugar, the actor changed her eating habits.
"I was vegan for a really long time, but I stopped being vegan when I went to Romania to shoot 'Wednesday' actually, because the food is very different there, and I don't think I was meeting my nutrition requirements, so I started eating fish again," the actor told Wired, adding that she's currently pescatarian.
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She has a "very dark sense of humor."
Ortega may have been the ideal choice to play Wednesday Addams for many reasons, such as her morbid sense of humor.
During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Jenna discussed her twisted humor on the "Wednesday" set, which included jokes exchanged with Christina Ricci.
"Socially I can be kind of hard to communicate with at times, and sometimes I would say something as a joke, and I think I have a very dark sense of humor, and she would go, 'Oh, that's dark,'" Ortega said.
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Ortega doesn't go anywhere without her pair of Sony noise-canceling headphones.
Maybe it's because Ortega grew up with five siblings but the actor usually prefers to listen to something or have something playing in the background, she told New York Magazine's The Strategist.
Because of that, Ortega always carries around a pair of Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones, which tech critics generally agree are some of the best noise-canceling headphones you can buy.
"I wear these on set," she said. "I wear them going to work, leaving work, going for walks. Even feeling the headphones on my chest is comforting. People call me a perpetual headphone head. I love these, because I can control them from the side without pulling out my phone."
"I've also been getting into a lot more film scores lately, and these are so grand and elegant," she continued. "They're noise-canceling, so the sound quality is better for complicated pieces. I can pick up on different things I wouldn't if my phone was just playing the music on the counter."
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She's a proud ambassador for UNAIDS.
To honor her late grandfather, who passed away from AIDS, Ortega has worked closely with UNAIDS, a joint venture of the United Nations that brings together the resources of 11 UN organizations with the long-term mission of achieving 10 ambitious goals, including preventing HIV among drug users and eliminating new HIV infections among children.
"I want to help eliminate the stigma of AIDS and get people talking about it," the actor said while speaking at WE Day, a youth empowerment event, in 2017. "Make it normal. Bring it up. It's a disease that affects all of us."
Ortega clearly holds her grandfather in high regard and even told Refinery29 that he would be a dream dinner guest.
"I'm told we share a lot of the same qualities, but we never got the chance to meet!" she said.
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Ortega is a huge "Stranger Things" fan.
Ortega is a self-described "Stranger Things" nerd. During an interview with Talk Nerdy With Us, the actor acknowledged she pays close attention to fan theories about the show.
"I nerd out about 'Stranger Things!'" Ortega said. "I follow everyone's theories about the show, and I cannot get enough of it."
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She published her first book in 2021.
Released in early 2021, Ortega's first foray into book publishing offers a collection of personal stories and quotes with insights into her experience as a Latina in Hollywood.
While there are tales of being passed over for roles, the book also discusses more universal experiences readers are likely to relate to, including crushes, faith, friendship, managing self-confidence, and depression.
"When I'm working, I try to bring love and positivity to the set with me every day," she wrote. "I love my craft, and I'm so grateful that I get to follow my passion. I let that love pour out in small ways and big ways: doing nice, thoughtful things for the people I'm working with goes a long way."
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Ortega landed her first fashion campaign in 2021.
Ortega landed her first-ever fashion campaign for American Eagle in 2021, promoting the apparel brand alongside mega-influencer Addison Rae, "Outers Banks" actors Chase Stokes and Madison Bailey, and "Strangers Things" actor Caleb McLaughlin.
"The clothes are very soft and comfortable, so I felt more relaxed than I usually do at photoshoots," Ortega told Nylon about American Eagle. "It's also rare I get to work with people my age, so reconnecting with my old friend Caleb and meeting the others was pretty cool for me."
When it comes to finding fashion inspiration in general, Ortega keeps it simple.
"I just try to pay attention to what I feel my best in," the actor added. "As long as I feel good, I think that's all that matters."
Disclosure: Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, is a Netflix board member.
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