Credit: Nuestro Stories
Jenna Ortega! Jenna Ortega! Jenna Ortega!
Latina actress Jenna Ortega, the Gen Z queen of teenage goth, is stepping into yet another iconic role. And we didn’t even have to say her name three times (but we did).
To the delight of many, the 20-year-old is joining the cast of Beetlejuice 2, alongside stars Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder, to reprise the role of the misunderstood teenager Lydia Deetz (which Ryder made famous in the original 1988 cult classic). Film critics are already saying the role of Lydia is perfect for the Latina star of the big-screen horror and drama films Scream VI, X, and Fallout.
“I feel more like a public figure than I ever have. And that’s like really stressful,” Ortega admitted in a recent interview.
Jenna Marie Ortega was born in Coachella Valley, California in 2002 to a father of Mexican descent and a mother of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent. She gained fame as a child actress on several shows including a young Jane in the CW’s Jane the Virgin, and then in her breakthrough role as Harley Diaz, the lead (middle child) in the Disney channel’s Stuck in the Middle.
With a chic Wednesday/Beetlejuice style of her own, Ortega is becoming an undisputed fashion icon and influencer off-screen as well. As the “brand ambassador” for skincare giant Neutrogena, for example, Ortega challenged her 21.1 million TikTok followers to a “#MakeaSplash” challenge, garnering over 61 million views and 7.1 million likes.
What’s Ortega really like? She describes herself as a “pretty introverted, sarcastic, and curious person.”
Ortega and her fellow star-studded cast are currently filming Beetlejuice 2, which will debut in theaters on September 6, 2024. Netflix has also been renewed for a second season.
