Side-By-Side Pics Of Jenna Ortega's Face Transformation Are Jarring

Jenna Ortega has proven that she can play characters that are worlds apart, whether they're charming, unsettling, or anything in between. In fact, it only speaks to Ortega's stunning transformation over the years and equally impressive acting chops that you can catch her playing the macabre and monotone Wednesday Addams in Tim Burton's Netflix series one minute, and then watch as she shrieks her way through slasher films like "Scream VI" and "X" the next. But acting is not the only department where Ortega has shown her range. 

Side by side photos reveal that she's also prone to undergoing some pretty dramatic physical transformations. Shots from the 2026 Sundance Film Festival have the internet doing a collective double-take, especially when you put them next to her look from just a few years prior, when the actor was only getting started in Hollywood.

Amy Sussman & Dia Dipasupil/Getty

Those bleached eyebrows are the most obvious change, of course. Or rather, it's their conspicuous absence that has fully altered her look. But the softer contours of Ortega's face, back in 2020, have also given way to more defined cheekbones, leading to speculation that she might have gone the buccal fat removal route. The upper cheeks are also noticeably more defined, though whether that's the natural byproduct of removing fat from below or from injecting a little cheekbone filler for good measure is anyone's guess.

The chatter around Jenna Ortega's changing look has been building ever since the promo campaign for "Wednesday" Season 2. When the young actor appeared on red carpets and interview panels with her face looking significantly more contoured than usual, it threw her fans off. The viral buccal fat removal procedure that experts warn against is claiming more victims in showbiz by the day, and the "Death of a Unicorn" star refusing to weigh in — even though Ortega has been known to laugh off wild rumors about herself in the past — isn't helping matters.

Of course, it's worth bearing in mind that natural maturation between the ages of 18 and 23 can be just as dramatic as any cosmetic surgeon's work. Ortega was blessed with striking features from the start, boasting the kind of bone structure that always makes her face look sculpted by the gods from different angles. Still, the transformation is so jarring that it's safe to assume the conversation won't die down anytime soon. Scalpel-assisted or not, the actor has previously discussed how the industry affected her self-esteem and how she worked to neuter that influence. 

"I thought, I don't want other young girls to look up at the screen and feel like they have to change their appearance to be deemed beautiful or worthy," Ortega explained to Harper's Bazaar in 2023. Jenna Ortega is naturally beautiful, and looks just as gorgeous without any makeup or cosmetic tweaks, but that statement is still powerful coming from someone who understands the pressure firsthand, regardless of how she's chosen to navigate it.