The Stunning Transformation Of Jenna Ortega

In her relatively short life so far, Jenna Ortega already looks set for taking Hollywood by storm. Since her acting career began when she was a child, Ortega has already hit several major career milestones. She got her very own Disney Channel show as a teen, she voiced the first Latina Disney princess, and she took on a memorable role alongside Penn Badgley in the popular Netflix thriller "You." Most recently, she's made headlines by taking on the role of Wednesday Addams in an upcoming Netflix series. And by the sounds of things, these career highs are just the beginning for the young actress.

In addition to her impressive acting CV, Ortega has also made a name for herself as an activist on social media. The success of her positive, proactive platform even led to a self-help book called "It's All Love: Reflections for Your Heart and Soul," released in 2021.

So how has Ortega manage to achieve all of this at such a young age? It turns out, the star comes from a relatively normal family who never dreamt she'd become the superstar she is today. Curious to find out more about her journey? Here is the stunning transformation of Jenna Ortega.

Jenna Ortega's upbringing was normal in many ways for a young girl in California. However, when it came to language, things were a little different in her family. As she once explained in an essay for PopSugar, she is 75% Mexican and 25% Puerto Rican. Apparently, her father is 100% Mexican, but he doesn't speak Spanish fluently. Nevertheless, Ortega's mother was keen that their kids grew up speaking Spanish — so, she and the kids frequently spoke Spanish together, leaving her father a little clueless as to what was going on. Sounds like an interesting situation!

For Ortega, her Hispanic heritage is an important part of her identity. In a 2016 special for the Disney Channel, Ortega introduced her Hispanic family. "I'm very proud of where I come from. I was always brought up with certain traditions from Mexico," her mom explained. Sounds like Ortega has always been very in touch with her roots!

Pretty soon, Jenna Ortega started getting professional acting work. Her first TV role was a small part in an episode of in Rob Schneider's show "Rob" in 2012. This was followed in quick succession by small guest roles in "CSI: NY," "Days of Our Lives," "Deadtime Stories," "Rake," and more (via IMDb).

Her big break came in 2014 when she played young Jane on Jane the Virgin. As she told Grumpy Magazine, starring in the show alongside Gina Rodriguez and the rest of the cast taught her a lot. "They are all so amazing. They are the sweetest and nicest people," she gushed. At the time, she didn't realize the role would be so important in defining her career. "I didn't know what could come out of 'Jane the Virgin' and that it was going to be such a big deal for me," she said. Luckily, the role led to some pretty big things.

Eventually, in 2016, all of Jenna Ortega's dreams came true — she landed the lead role on the Disney Channel show Stuck in the Middle. As Ortega explained to Grumpy Magazine, she had always wanted to be on the Disney Channel. In fact, it had been her goal. The audition process was a long one. Initially, the lead character on 'Stuck in the Middle' was a blonde girl called Hillary. Despite that, when Ortega auditioned, she got the role.

"That was definitely a journey," Ortega recalled. "When I found out that I booked it, I cried. I don't think I've ever cried so much in my life, I was so happy," she went on.

In an interview with Nuke the Fridge about the show in 2016, Ortega said that she was still getting used to being a leading lady on a Disney show. "It all seems so unreal," she confessed. "I mean it's something I've been wanting to do my whole life ... so it's definitely something different. It's a new journey."

Jenna Ortega has become a prominent force for good on social media. However, when she started out, she was just like any other teen. As she told Loving Series, "I started on social media because I just wanted to be like everyone else at school." As she went on to explain, she wasn't allowed to start an account until she was around 12 years old. As her fame grew, so did her online following — and over time, Ortega began to realize she could use her platform for good. "I try my best to spread positivity," she said.

In a 2018 interview on KTLA 5, the star explained that she had even started using her platform to promote important political issues. "A lot of people ... avoid talking about the important stuff because they don't want to offend anybody, but as a teenager with a platform, I feel like it's important for my fans to know that it's okay to speak up for what you believe in," she said. As she later put it to Forbes, "There is no excuse to not speak up."

In 2017, Jenna Ortega appeared in Jacob Sartorius' famous "Chapstick" music video as the love interest. The cute video featured Sartrorius and Ortega running around New York City.

As Ortega later explained to Younger Hollywood, she ended up appearing in the video because she and Sartorius were already friends. "Yeah, he sent [the song] to me and was like, 'What do you think, I'm working on this,' and I'm like, 'I love it, that's really cool,'" she said. Apparently, the pair later bumped into each other at an event and Sartorius asked her if she would like to come to New York to film the video. "I was like, 'Yeah, for sure, anything for a friend,' you know," she said. "I love New York ... we got to go to some of the coolest parts, it was a lot fun." 

Sounds like Ortega had a blast filming the video!

While "You" gave Jenna Ortega the chance to try a new, more serious style of acting, it also introduced her to Penn Badgley. As the actress explained in an interview with Insider, Badgley ended up teaching her a lot during the shoot. "You know, that man is so incredibly smart," she gushed. "He's such an intellectual, and I honestly feel that anytime we got to have a conversation I would learn something from him." Apparently, the actor gave her tips on activism and education, as well as memes too!

Plus, she learned a little about acting from the "Gossip Girl" star, too. "When you're in a scene with somebody who makes you better or pushes you to do better it helps you out in the end," Ortega shared. Sounds like working with Badgley was an incredibly informative experience for Ortega!

Jenna Ortega proved her comedy skills in "Stuck in the Middle" and then her dramatic skills in "You." And in 2020, her casting in the fifth "Scream" movie shows us that she seems to have some talent for horror, too! As she revealed to Fault magazine, horror has always been on her list of dream genres. "One of the first questions my agent asked when I signed with her was what genre I was interested in," she said. "I told her all of them!!! But that horror would be a really fun one," she went on.

She also explained that it was a little intimidating joining such a famous franchise. "It has left such a massive impact on the genre and means so much to ... such a large quantity of people, I want this character to be someone they can embrace and accept into their community," she said. 

Jenna Ortega may still be young, but that doesn't mean she doesn't spend time on her skin. In fact, in 2022, the actress revealed that she had been investing in her skin since she was just 10 years old. "I had just started acting and I was doing headshot photoshoots or I was working on a commercial shoot and they would put foundation or concealer on me, which is kind of crazy to think about because I was so young," she told Teen Vogue in 2022. "I grew up in a household with a lot of women and my mom always emphasized the importance of taking care of yourself."

Apparently, Ortega was inspired by her older sister, who taught her that if you're going to wear makeup, you have to "take it all off." "I think that I kind of did the big sister, little sister thing with her where I mimicked her movements and would steal her products," Ortega said. "It became something that was always around in my childhood." It seems like her early introduction to skincare has totally paid off.

After "You," Jenna Ortega was already a TV icon — but in 2022, she cemented her icon status when she took on the famous role of Wednesday Addams from "The Addams Family," in the Netflix series "Wednesday" by Tim Burton. As Ortega told MovieWeb, she was keen to give the character her own unique spin. "I knew that I could not be ripping anybody off," she said. "She's a deadpan character. She's sarcastic and she's tough. I think there are several different paths that I or anyone could have taken to this part." According to Ortega, she worked with Burton to give the "emotionless" character a little more depth. 

While Ortega may have been worried to take on the iconic role, she did get former Wednesday actress Christina Ricci's seal of approval. "She's so good. She's so good and so wonderful to work with," Ricci told Jimmy Fallon. "And her Wednesday is, like, really an incredible, like, great modern take."

As of 2022, Jenna Ortega has four high-profile projects in the works and is officially one of the actresses to watch. However, when Teen Vogue asked her about her "It-Girl" status, she explained that paying attention to her public image isn't something she likes to do. "Honestly, I try not to read or pay attention to social media as much as possible because I feel people sway a lot," she said. "So it's either they're all in and they're all out and I don't think that it would be healthy for me." Instead, Ortega likes to focus on her work as a storyteller. 

That being said, Ortega is still appreciative that she's come this far. "I don't expect much from people ever so it's always nice to hear positive reinforcement or even just some sort of support, especially because I know my family has sacrificed so much for me to be in this position and have worked really hard and I've worked really hard," she said.