Talking about her race/ethnicity, Jenna Ortega is Hispanic/Latin. And she is not Filipino as she was born in the United States. Despite the fact that the Wednesday cast was born in America, her parents are from Mexico and Puerto Rico.
In Wednesday, the Netflix adaptation of American cartoonist Charles Addams‘ Addams Family, certain people have special abilities and are known as the outcasts. The normies are the members of the human population who do not have any powers. The titular character Wednesday Addams, a psychic like her mother Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones), enrolls in Nevermore Academy, a school for outcasts in Jericho, New England.
Jenna Ortega plays the lead role of Wednesday in the Netflix series. Given the popularity of The Addams Family, playing one of the most prominent and beloved characters must be a difficult task. Many have praised Jenna’s performance as the gothic daughter of Gomez and Morticia Addams.
Jenna’s work in horror comedy is far from her first as an actress, and it has certainly helped her gain a large number of fans. Naturally, the general public is interested in learning more about her, including her race. Here is everything we know.
Jenna Ortega’ Race/Ethnicity: American by Nationality, the 20-Year-Old Star Is Hispanic/Latino!
Jenna Ortega (@jennaortega) is an actress from the United States born on September 27, 2002, in Coachella Valley, Palm Desert, CA to her parents Natalie and Edward Ortega. She is American by nationality. For those, who wondered if she was a Filipino, now have your answer. However, her father is of Mexican origin and her mother is half Puerto Rican and half Mexican (Sinaloa ancestors) which makes her Hispanic/Latino by ethnicity/race.
Jenna, a Mexican -American who identifies as Latin American comes from a diverse family and is proud of her heritage. In an interview with PopSugar, she stated,
I am 75 percent Mexican and 25 percent Puerto Rican. My great-grandma on my mother’s side migrated from a small ranch near Sinaloa, Mexico. She came to the United States as an illegal immigrant in hopes of making a better life for her four daughters. My father is 100 percent Mexican, but his family moved to California generations before he was born.
Meanwhile, Jenna is known for using her celebrity to speak openly about social issues that she is passionate about. Immigration is a particularly personal issue for her, and she despises the discrimination that often follows immigrants and their children. Jenna told Teen Vogue in 2016, “It’s important to embrace your culture today because America has so many different ethnicities”.
The Wednesday star is also well-known for her charitable efforts, having raised funds for cancer patients. The actress was named a Neutrogena brand ambassador in 2020, which she was overjoyed about. Jenna has also been outspoken about her views on abortion, strongly condemning the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June 2022. She has also supported organizations such as Planned Parenthood.
Furthermore, Jenna Ortega has been interested in acting since she was six years old. Her parents, particularly her mother, were enthusiastic about it and even enlisted the assistance of various agents to open up any possible avenues. Jenna’s efforts were rewarded when she began receiving auditions at the age of eight, leading to a minor role in Rob in 2012. In the same year, she was cast as Aimee Moore in CSI: NY. Her first film appearance was in Iron Man 3 in 2013, in which she played the daughter of the US Vice President. She also appeared as Annie in Insidious: Chapter 2 in 2013.
Jenna has worked in various film and television genres over the years. Her portrayal of the younger Jane Villanueva in Jane the Virgin was certainly memorable. She has also appeared in Richie Rich, Stuck in the Middle, and You, as well as several voice roles. Her performances in Scream and X cemented her reputation as a scream queen. In fact, her portrayal of Tara Carpenter in Scream earned her the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards for Most Frightened Performance. On the other hand, Jenna works hard to diversify her work portfolio and avoid becoming typecast.
Fans of The Fallout have also praised Jenna Ortega’s performance as Vada Cavell in the 2021 film. The California native will also appear in Scream 6. Jenna has been nominated for and won several awards. She was nominated for Imagen Awards’ Best Young Actor – Television award in 2016 for her role in Stuck in the Middle, and she won the award in 2018. She also won the Imagen Awards’ Best Children’s Programming award in 2018 for Elena of Avalor.
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