Everyone with an eye for talent could tell from the get-go that Jenna Ortega was destined for greatness. She cemented this with her performance in Stuck in the Middle as a 14-year-old. About six years later, she got people talking again with her role as Wednesday Addams. Now 22 years old, Jenna is no more the Disney kid we fell in love with and she has proven that she has all it takes to be the number one actress in the world.
What was Jenna Ortega’s Age in Stuck in the Middle
Stuck in the Middle started airing in 2016, meaning that Jenna Ortega was 14 years old at the time. She clinched the lead role of Harley Diaz in the Disney Channel production even though at the time, she was only acting professionally for four years. Needless to say, she was a part of the production from 2016 until its third and final season in July 2018. This means that in the second season of the series in 2017, she was 15 years old, while during the third season, she was 16 years old.
Her role in the production is that of a young teenager who is the middle child in a family of 7 kids. With a father who is a scientist and an inventor, Harley becomes an inventor herself and invents gadgets that would make life easy for her looking at her very large family. The character of Harley in this production became the real breakthrough for Jenna on the Disney Channel.
Four years into the series and when Jenna was 16 years old in 2018, she was awarded the Imagen Awards thanks to her role in the series for Best Young Actor in television production. She was recognized with the same award in the same category in 2019.
It was also at the same age that she landed her role in Stuck in the Middle that Jenna appeared in some other works including Elena of Avalor and Elena and the Secret of Avalor in which she voiced Princess Isabel for both the animated film and the TV show.
How Old is Jenna Ortega On Wednesday?
Wednesday was released in 2022, the year Jenna Ortega turned 20 years old. She played the role of Wednesday Adams, the lead character of the series at age 20 and she is now 22 years old.
She plays the role of Wednesday Addams, a young lady who landed in Nevermore Academy, a school for outcasts after she was expelled from her former school after she dumped live piranhas in the pool of the school because her brother was bullied by the boy’s water polo team. While she is a very rebellious kid who is also cold and with no emotions, she has some special gifts.
This is the biggest appearance of the actress thus far as it earned her many awards such as the Critics’ Choice Super Awards in the Best Actress in a Horror Series category, MTV Movie & TV Awards in the Best Performance in a Show category, and Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards in the Favorite Female TV Star (Family) category. More so, she has been nominated for the Primetime Emmy Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, and Golden Globes Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series thanks to the series.
Other productions she appeared in at the age of 20 in 2022 include American Carnage, Studio 666, and X.
How Old Was Jenna Ortega in Jane the Virgin?
Jenna Ortega was 12 years old when she started appearing in Jane the Virgin in 2014. This was the show that gave her the platform to become the actress she is today. Interestingly, Jenna was 12 years old playing the younger version of the lead character who was 10. But regardless of the little age disparity, we can all agree that she nailed the role.
At the same age that Jenna got her role in Jane the Virgin, she also appeared in works such as the film, The Little Rascals Save the Day, and then the TV series Rake. Jenna practically grew up on these projects, most notably Jane the Virgin which she was a cast member until 2019 when she turned 17.
How Old Was Jenna Ortega in Scream?
Jenna Ortega’s age was 20 years old when she appeared in Scream VI. The film was an American slasher film that premiered in 2022 and had Jenna as one of the main stars, Playing Tara Carpenter. She was not part of the earlier part of the Film series which began in 1996, 6 years before she was born. The second film Scream 2 was released in 1997, Scream 3 came in 2000, and then Scream 4 in 2011.
After her appearance in the 2022 release, she was back again a second time in the sequel in 2023 when she was 21 years old. She again took the role of Tara Carpenter, a high school student who got attacked at home by Ghostface but manages to survive only to face fresh problems as she tries to get her life back together.
The film earned her an MTV Movie & TV Award in the Most Frightened Performance category. It also got her a Fangoria Chainsaw Award nomination for Best Supporting Performance.
Jenna Ortega’s Age in YOU
In 2020, Jenna got another major role in the American psychological thriller TV Series, You. She played Ellie Alves in the second season. The show dropped on December 26, 2019, which means she was still 18 years old when she was featured in the show. The complete 10 episodes of the series were released on the same day.
While she was 18 years old at the time, the actress played the role of Ellie who is 15 years old. The series tells the story of a bookstore manager who lives in a home that is leased to him by Delilah Alves, Ellie’s older sister, and an investigative reporter.
Apart from You, other productions that she took part in at that age are the film Wyrm and the series Big City Greens, which she joined in 2019. She also made her final appearance in Jane the Virgin at the same age.
Key Facts About Jenna Ortega’s Age
| Movie/TV Show | Year Released | Jenna Ortega’s Age at Release |
|---|---|---|
| Iron Man 3 | 2013 | 10 years old |
| Jane the Virgin | 2014-2019 | 11-16 years old |
| Stuck in the Middle | 2016-2018 | 13-15 years old |
| Elena of Avalor (Voice) | 2016-2020 | 13-17 years old |
| You (Season 2) | 2019 | 17 years old |
| The Babysitter: Killer Queen | 2020 | 18 years old |
| Yes Day | 2021 | 18 years old |
| Scream | 2022 | 19 years old |
| X | 2022 | 19 years old |
| Wednesday | 2022 | 19 years old |
| Scream VI | 2023 | 20 years old |
How Old Is Jenna Ortega Now?
Jenna Ortega’s age is currently 22 years old as she was born Jenna Marie Ortega on September 27, 2002. She was birthed as one of the youngest members of her family, being the fourth of the six children of her parents; Natalie Lopez Ortega and Edward Ortega.
The older siblings of the actress are Isaac Ortega who is 27 years old as he was born in 1998; Mia Ortega who was born on May 15, 2000, which means she is now 24 years old; and Mariah Ortega whose age is not known. Her younger siblings are Markus Ortega and Aliyah Ortega who were both born in 2004, which means they are now 21 years old and two years younger than the actress.
Because she started her career very early, the actress has not had a normal academic journey. This has caused her to miss out on things such as high school experience, prom, and graduation. When she turned 18, Henna revealed that she regrets not having such experiences.
Where was Jenna Ortega Born?
Jenna Ortega was born in Coachella Valley, California, United States. The actress was also brought up there by a father who was a businessman and a mother who worked as a nurse and social media influencer with more than 120,000 followers on Instagram.
Of American nationality, the actress has Latin roots from both sides of the parents. Her father is of Mexican ethnicity while her mom is of Puerto Rican descent, even though she also has Mexican roots. The actress made it known that as regards her ethnicity, she is 75 percent Mexican and 25 Puerto Rican.
Her father’s family came to the United States even before he was born and the family settled in California. Because of this, a better part of the family culture including his level of understanding of the Spanish language.
Although she was born in the United States, the actress takes everything that has to do with her Latinx heritage seriously. She was brought up to love her culture in an environment that is filled with Hispanics and she was not subjected to any kind of shame or make to fear about her culture.
She has made it known a number of times that she is not happy with the way people from the community are being disrespected. According to Jenna, while most people of the Latinx community are not shown on camera as much as they deserve, they are hardly even portrayed in a good light. This is why she has vouched never to take any role that will disrespect her heritage including roles that will have her play a cartel’s daughter or a maid.
What Is Jenna Ortega’s Zodiac Sign?
Born on September 27, 2002, the Zodiac sign of Jenna Ortega is Libra. This means that she is of the air element of Astrology. What this means for her is that people can easily expect her to have a balanced approach to life and living, as it is the dominant characteristic of Libras.
Another significant thing about her judging by her Zodiac sign is that she is a lover of peace and she has a good sense of justice. She will easily stand for others who she feels are weaker and defenseless. The actress is believed to choose her words carefully and be tactful in whatever she does, as expected of people who share her Zodiac sign.
When Did Jenna Ortega Start Acting?
Jenna started acting professionally at the age of 12 but her journey began six years prior to that. She fell in love with acting when she was a little child, but her interest bloomed at the age of 6 when she started begging her mom to allow her to become an actress, something that her mom was very reluctant right from the start.
For the next two years, her mom continued to ignore her plea to be allowed to act but everything changed when she saw Jenna’s persistence. Natalie Lopez Ortega would later share a dramatic monologue that the then-8-year-old Jenna did on Facebook and it gained so much attention. Natalie’s friend shared it with an agent who was impressed by what he saw and that became how Jenna managed to get her first agent and after only three months, she was invited for her first audition.
Jenna Ortega’s age was 12 when she got her first acting gig on TV. This means that she had to wait close to two more years after her first audition to land her first role as an actress. Her first appearance was on the TV series, Rob in the episode of The Baby Bug, where she was offered the role of a girl. In that same year, she was on CSI: NY in the Unspoken episode. She took the role of Aimee Moore in the production.
By the next year when she was 11, the young actress landed her first role in a movie when she appeared in several films including Iron Man 3, and Insidious: Chapter 3. At that age, she also appeared in more TV shows including an episode of the iconic Daytime Emmy-winning TV series, Days of Our Lives.
By the time she turned 18 in 2020, she had already had many roles to her name in both TV and film. This includes Richie Rich in 2015, as well as The Babysitter: Killer Queen and Home Movie: The Princess Bride both in 2020.
In 2022 when she was 20 years old, Jenna Ortega revealed that at some point in her life, she came very close to dropping out from acting. This was because of her passion for playing soccer as she revealed that she wanted to play professionally in the attacking position. The actress also made it known that she could also play as a midfielder. A strong fan of Barcelona F.C. and Argentine legend, Lionel Messi, she used to be a part of the American Youth Organization when she was a child.
She was still 22 years old in 2023 when she became the executive producer for the drama, Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall, which she also starred in. The film marked her start as a film producer based on IMDbs records.
