Jenna Ortega is a popular American actress, model and Black Sheep of the Year. She started her acting career at a very young age and starred in many iconic films leading to her becoming the one of the most promising young actresses in Hollywood today. She is well-known for starring in “Insidious Chapter 2” and she is now gaining immense fame with Netflix’s hit show “Wednesday”. In her relatively short acting career, she has portrayed some very popular roles in many films and TV shows.
Childhood, Education, and Early Life
Jenna Marie Ortega was born in Coachella Valley, California on September 27, 2002. Her mother is of Puerto Rican and Mexican decent and her father is of Mexican American ancestry. She has five siblings.
Ortega graduated from a local high school. She is also a private college graduate and enrolled at New York University. Because of her career, the young actress didn’t have a traditional high school experience and she didn’t live a conventional lifestyle in her early age.
Jenna Ortega was very interested in acting when she was a child. At an age of five, she pretended she was different characters from films and TV shows. Her potential didn’t go unnoticed. Her parents worked hard and contacted various Hollywood agents. Their hard work paid off and Ortega eventually started receiving auditions.
Career
Jenna Ortega received many opportunities for acting auditions at an early age thanks to her parents’ efforts. She made her first guest appearance in the popular TV show “Rob” in 2012 and then later made a short appearance in “CSI NY”. In 2013, she made her cinema debut with a small recurring role in “Iron Man 3”. In the same year, the young actress made her notable appearance in a horror movie “Insidious Chapter 2”.
In 2014, Ortega starred in “Rake” – a popular Australian TV show. Later that year, she appeared in the romantic show titled “Jane the Virgin”. She has also been featured in a comedy movie “The Little Rascals Save the Day” and “Riche Rich” – a popular Netflix show. From 2016 to 2018, Ortega starred in the Disney Channel sitcom “Stuck in the Middle” which helped her achieve great fame. She was also casted for a voice role in the animated TV show “Elena of Avalor”. She has been featured in a hit music video “Chapstick” which has millions of views on YouTube.
In 2018, Ortega played the lead role in a movie titled “Saving Flora” and garnered a lot of praise for her performance. The next year in 2019, she got another lead role in Netflix’s “You”. Later, she starred in another Netflix show “The Babysitter Killer Queen”.
Along with these TV show and film appearances, Ortega has also appeared in many other titles like “Yes Day”, “Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous”, “Scream”, “The Fallout”, “X”, “Studio 666”, and others. Her recent major role was in Netflix’s “Wednesday” which helped the actress gain a lot of fame and attention.
Awards and Accomplishments
Jenna Ortega has received a lot of popular awards and nominations in a relatively short span of time. Some of the notable awards she has won include:
• Imagen Award for Best Young Actor – Television (2018)
• Imagen Award for Best Children’s Programming (2018)
• IMDb Rising Star Award for Television (2022)
• MTV Movie & TV Award for Most Frightened Performance (2022)
Apart from these awards, Ortega has also been nominated and recognized on many occasions, including two International Online Cinema Awards, a Hollywood Critics Association Midseason Award, and a Southampton International Film Festival award.
In 2020, the talented actress got top spot on PopSugar’s “20 Under 20” list. The Hollywood Reporter named her the “Next Big Thing” earlier this year. Ortega is also an ambassador of the popular skincare brand Neutrogena.
Challenges and Setbacks
Jenna Ortega faced many challenges and setbacks, especially in her early age. Because of her entry into acting career at a young age, she didn’t really have much of a conventional childhood. The actress has expressed regret for this. According to her, she missed out on the traditional high school experience and milestones that many teenagers have, e.g. attending graduation, going to prom, etc.
Ortega’s early years in her acting career were also challenging when she was trying to break into the scene. She had difficulties in landing roles because of her lack of diversity on screen. But in the end, her dedication and hard work paid off. Today, she is one of the most popular young actresses in Hollywood.
Philanthropy and Activism
Along with her acting career, Ortega is also very active in many philanthropic activities. She helps various non-profitable organizations and participates in a lot of charitable events. She is very active in social media, electronic media, and print media. She uses her social media presence to promote her support towards young girls with cancer, the LGBT community, immigrants, and other social causes.
Jenna Ortega is a supporter of Pride Over Prejudice. It is a campaign that promotes LGBT community acceptance. Across 2019, the actress appeared in several WE Day concerts in Canada and the United States to benefit WE Charity.
What Makes Jenna Ortega the Black Sheep of the Year?
Jenna Ortega was named the “Next Big Thing” by The Hollywood Reporter and it’s not surprising why. Since starting her career as an actress at a very young age, Ortega has been a part of a wide variety of popular films and television shows, leading her to become one of the most popular young stars in Hollywood today. The actress didn’t have a conventional childhood and she also missed out on the traditional high school experience. Her early years in her career were also bumpy but none of that stopped her from achieving her dream of becoming an accomplished actress.
The young star has already achieved so much in a relatively short span of time, both in Hollywood and with her humanitarian efforts. She has a bright future ahead of her. Ortega’s accomplishments as an actress and as a human being make her a Black Sheep. Till next time!-The Black Sheep