The Gen Z superstar already has an impressive résumé. Ranking Jenna Ortega's best TV shows and movies, from Wednesday to Scream

The Gen Z superstar already has an impressive résumé.

Ranking Jenna Ortega's best TV shows and movies, from Wednesday to Scream

The Gen Z superstar already has an impressive résumé.

By Declan Gallagher

and Kevin Jacobsen

Published on August 5, 2025 08:15AM EDT

Leave a Comment

Jenna Ortega as Tara Carpenter in 'Scream'; Jenna Ortega as Astrid Deetz in 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice'; Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams on 'Wednesday'. Credit:

Brownie Harris/Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group; Warner Bros. Pictures; Jonathan Hession/Netflix

At a time when Hollywood stars are barely being made like they used to, Jenna Ortega has arrived as a beacon of hope. The massive success of Netflix's *Wednesday*, in which she stars as Wednesday Addams, has helped turn Ortega into one of the preeminent faces of her generation, with her moody, thoughtful screen presence resonating with her primarily Gen Z audience.

But Ortega has been acting since she was a tween, starting out on shows like *Jane the Virgin* and *Stuck in the Middle*. She entered a new era of recognition in 2022, thanks to her shattering performance in the HBO Max movie *The Fallout*, starring role in the fifth *Scream* movie, and a supporting turn in *X*. Since then, her career has thrived, and even when her projects aren't the greatest, she tends to stand out as a saving grace.

So, in honor of *Wednesday*'s return on Aug. 6, join us as we revisit Jenna Ortega's best TV shows and movies (so far), ranked by the weight of her performance.

12. The Babysitter: Killer Queen (2020)

Jenna Ortega as Phoebe Atwell and Judah Lewis as Cole Johnson in 'The Babysitter: Killer Queen'.

After surviving a killer cult in 2017's *The Babysitter*, Cole Johnson (Judah Lewis) is enrolled in a psychiatric facility by his parents, who don't believe his version of events from the first film. Cole escapes along with a group of friends to attend a lakeside retreat, but the resurrected cult members aren't far behind. With the help of new student Phoebe Atwell (Ortega), Cole must make his best efforts to save the day yet again.

Ortega's character in *Killer Queen* is the proto-final girl role. Phoebe isn't allowed the agency of Tara in *Scream* or even Lorraine in *X*, but Ortega's showing all the shades of her eventual horror bona fides here. Her performance is relatively strong, particularly when you consider the sheer amount of stunts and pyrotechnics on display. (It is, after all, a film by McG.) But what sells it is how Ortega injects her first lead role in a major studio project with personal flourishes that tether Phoebe to a recognizable reality. —*Declan Gallagher*

11. American Carnage (2022)

Jenna Ortega as Camila Montes in 'American Carnage'.

Imagine, if you will, *Get Out* (2017) crossed with a tonally consistent version of *The New Mutants* (2020). That's more or less the hook of Diego Hallivis' jocular comic thriller, which posits a world in which the children of illegal immigrants are branded criminals and have warrants issued for their arrest. After detaining them, the powers that be offer the teenagers a chance to commute their sentence by volunteering in an elder-care home, but it becomes increasingly apparent that this is a ruse to obscure a much darker plan.

For whatever *American Carnage *might lack in subtlety, it more than makes up for in its retro go-for-broke-ness. At its best, Hallivis' movie recalls the zany straight-to-video teen thrillers of the late-'80s and early-'90s.

*Carnage *was the fourth of Ortega's horror projects to be released in 2022 alone, and here she shows a different side to the relatively subdued characters she played in *Scream* and *X*. As Camila Montes, the spitfire of the incarcerated group, Ortega is able to sink her teeth into a character that foreshadows the edgy intensity and finely honed comedic chops that viewers got to see, just a few months later, in her portrayal of Wednesday Addams. —*D.G.*

10. Jane the Virgin (2014–2019)

Jenna Ortega as Young Jane on 'Jane the Virgin'.

Jane Villanueva (Gina Rodriguez) is a good girl who's determined not to repeat her mother's mistake of having children too young, but that doesn't stop her from suddenly and inexplicably becoming pregnant with the child of her boss Rafael Solano (Justin Baldoni). As her world is turned upside down, Jane must face difficult decisions and absurd trials that threaten the perfectly planned version of her life.

Ortega plays the young version of Jane in 30 episodes of this effervescent comedy series, a role that helped launch her into Disney Channel stardom and more. It's easy to see why she would appeal to Disney execs, but what most stands out about Ortega's time on *Jane the Virgin* is how she eschews the trappings of a typical child actor. She's knowing without being cute, her delivery natural and, at times, tossed off in a way that veteran performers struggle to master. —*D.G.*

9. Miller's Girl (2024)

Jenna Ortega as Cairo Sweet in 'Miller's Girl'.

Zac Popik/Lionsgate

Ortega tackled tricky material with this erotic thriller opposite a 31-years-her-senior Martin Freeman. The film centers on Cairo Sweet (Ortega), an 18-year-old high school student tasked with writing a college admission essay about her "greatest achievement to date." Her friend persuades her to have an affair with her creative writing teacher, Jonathan Miller (Freeman), with whom she has a strong connection.

Cairo and Miller eventually kiss, but after she writes him an erotic short story that he deems inappropriate, she takes revenge, leveraging their fraught dynamic by sending the story to the principal, leading to serious consequences.

On the *20 Questions on Deadline* podcast, Ortega cited Cairo as "the most complex character that I've ever played," and it's easy to see why. The moral gray area between this student and teacher makes for a fascinating dynamic, and the actress uses her reliably quiet power to turn in a decently compelling performance. Yet, the film's commitment to vague ambiguity ultimately leaves us cold, neither going all-out with its perverse themes nor weaving a smart critique of power dynamics. —*Kevin Jacobsen*

8. Death of a Unicorn (2025)

Jenna Ortega as Ridley Kintner in 'Death of a Unicorn'.

Balazs Goldi/A24

Following *Wednesday* and the *Scream* films, *Death of a Unicorn* is another Ortega-led horror project with a comedic twist. Ortega stars as Ridley, a teenage girl traveling with her father, Elliot Kintner (Paul Rudd), to the latter's billionaire boss' estate. Their trip quickly hits a bumpy patch when Elliot accidentally hits a unicorn with his car, a mistake that will come to haunt him.

Upon their arrival at the estate, they discover the unicorn's healing properties, which the boss (Richard E. Grant) hopes to exploit and monetize for his own gain. But Ridley is the voice of reason, arguing against doing so, which proves correct when the dead unicorn's parents arrive to get their revenge.

While the satirical horror comedy has an undeniable premise, the execution is a bit lacking overall. And though Ortega — who also serves as an executive producer on the film — often gets overshadowed by her wacky surroundings and over-the-top violence, she delivers a solid performance as our audience surrogate. —*K.J.*

7. You, season 2 (2019)

Jenna Ortega as Ellie Alves and Carmela Zumbado as Delilah Alves in season 2 of 'You'. Beth Dubber/Netflix

The second season of Netflix's acclaimed, deeply perverse serial thriller moves protagonist Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) to Los Angeles, where he falls for — and obsesses over — Love Quinn (Victoria Pedretti) while navigating relationships with his next-door neighbor, investigative reporter Delilah Alves (Carmela Zumbado) and her 15-year-old, film-obsessed sister, Ellie (Ortega).

*You* was the first role that broke Ortega out of her kiddie Disney star persona, putting her in some fairly harrowing situations (none more so than having Chris D'Elia as a scene partner), but it's all handled in that gauzy, we're-just-joshing vibe that *You* so perfectly masters. Ortega's performance makes it clear why she's become a favorite of horror filmmakers: She grounds the terrors of assault and deception with a genuine charisma that translates into pure anxiety when her character is imperiled. —*D.G.*

Every 'The Addams Family' adaptation, ranked

'Wednesday' season 2 cast: Greet the ghouls and outcasts joining Jenna Ortega in Netflix's morbid horror-comedy

6. Scream VI (2023)

Jenna Ortega as Tara Carpenter in 'Scream VI'. Philippe Bossé/Paramount

In the sixth *Scream *installment, Carpenter sisters Sam (Melissa Barrera) and Tara (Ortega), along with Meeks-Martin twins Chad and Mindy (Mason Gooding and *Yellowjackets *MVP Jasmin Savoy-Brown, respectively), attempt to escape the specter of 2022's massacre by leaving Woodsboro for the Big Apple. Who could have guessed, though, that a new wave of Ghostface murders would begin immediately upon their arrival?

Whether intentional or not, *Scream VI* plays exactly like many of the post-*Scream* slashers from the '90s and early-aughts, such as *Urban Legend* (1998) or *Wrong Turn* (2003). It's a blatantly silly movie, lacking the focused intent and unpredictability of returning directors Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin's 2022 installment, though this may be by design. (What is a slasher sequel, after all, if not a slightly more fun but equally empty retread of itself?)

*Scream VI* belongs to Ortega, who appears in nearly every scene and is at all times guiding the audience through the increasingly deranged plot mechanics. She takes a more central role here than she did in 2022's *Scream*, and one of the great pleasures of this sequel is that it lets Tara breathe and have a bit of fun — despite still processing the savage murder of several of her friends. Plus, her budding romance with Gooding's character is a well-tuned grace note amid the 122 minutes of escalating carnage. —*D.G.*

5. Scream (2022)

Jenna Ortega as Tara Carpenter in 'Scream'.

Brownie Harris/Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett became the first directors post-Wes Craven to wade into the *Scream* franchise with this critically acclaimed legacy sequel (or "requel"). Twenty-five years after Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) was targeted in Woodsboro, she, Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox), and Dewey Riley (David Arquette) unite with a new cast of characters — including the Carpenter sisters, Sam (Melissa Barrera) and Tara (Ortega) — to unmask the latest Ghostface killer(s).

Despite its regrettable title, 2022's *Scream* (why not *5cream*??) ranks solidly as the third-place holder for the best of the franchise. It returns the series to its properly grisly, so-violent-you-can't-believe-it roots and does an admirable job of mixing new faces with legacy characters. It's also the only installment aside from the first to attain genuine life-or-death stakes: You truly believe that anyone could die (or be revealed as the killer) before the final credits roll.

Ortega's inclusion in the film is itself a piece of meta-winking. Her appearance in the cold open — the sequences known in this franchise for their brutality and star power — likely caused many audience members to query who exactly this person was. "Don't worry," the movie seems to say, "in about a half-hour you'll know her all too well." Ortega's Tara became the first (and still, only) character to survive the beginning of a *Scream* movie, and she quickly went on to become one of the franchise's most indispensable figures. —*D.G.*

4. X (2022)

Jenna Ortega as Lorraine Day in 'X'.

Kicking off A24's first franchise, a group of aspiring actors and filmmakers, including self-anointed "sex symbol" Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) and wallflower boom operator Lorraine Day (Ortega), set out to film a porno on a rural estate in the Texas hills. Troubles arise, however, when the elderly couple who own the property — Howard (Stephen Ure) and Pearl Douglas (Goth, so successfully disguised you wouldn't recognize her) — take issue with the low-budget film's content.

Ti West (*House of the Devil*, *The Sacrament*) hit his professional stride with this gooey, impeccably designed throwback to '70s exploitation movies. It's both an embrace and a subversion of slasher tropes, featuring reliably brilliant work from Goth (star of the 2022 prequel *Pearl* and 2024 sequel *MaXXXine*) and, of particular note, a fearlessly barnstorming turn from Brittany Snow as onscreen talent Bobby-Lynne Parker.

As the initially sheepish Lorraine, Ortega does some of her most subtle work here. She exists for the first third on the periphery of the narrative before emerging to enact the most compelling, complicated character arc in the entire film, which we won't spoil if you haven't seen *X* for yourself. —*D.G.*

3. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)

Jenna Ortega as Astrid Deetz in 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice'.

Warner Bros. Pictures

After working with Tim Burton in the first season of *Wednesday*, agreeing to do *Beetlejuice Beetlejuice* was a no-brainer for Ortega. The Burton film finds the Gen Z actress joining forces with such A-list talent as Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O'Hara, all reprising their roles from the 1988 horror comedy classic.

*Beetlejuice Beetlejuice* centers on a grown-up Lydia Deetz (Ryder), who now hosts a paranormal talk show. After hearing word of her father's death, she returns to the iconic Connecticut house from the first film for the wake, bringing along her daughter, Astrid (Ortega). While there, Astrid discovers she shares her mother's psychic abilities and encounters the ghostly trickster Betelguese (a.k.a. Beetlejuice, played by Keaton).

While the film is overstuffed with characters and storylines, Ortega finds room to craft Astrid into someone compelling from what could have felt like a stereotypical moody teen. Her chemistry with Ryder is evident, and there's something so fitting in watching them thrive onscreen together, considering Ryder's history with Burton and her status as a teen icon for Generation X. —*K.J.***

2. Wednesday (2022–present)

Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams on 'Wednesday'. Netflix

Enrolled against her will at Nevermore Academy, Wednesday Addams (Ortega) finds herself embroiled in a series of murders, as well as a mystery that vexed her parents, Gomez (Luis Guzmán) and Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones), decades ago.

In many ways, Tim Burton's *Wednesday* was the perfect vehicle for Ortega when she landed the role. It reminded audiences all over the world that she was ready to be seen as more than a scream queen, but was macabre enough so as not to alienate genre fans that the actor had amassed over the previous year.

The show is a technical and stylistic marvel, with Ortega at the center, effortlessly moving through each set piece with the range and bravado similar to that of, well, a young Winona Ryder. —*D.G.*

1. The Fallout (2022)

Jenna Ortega as Vada Cavell in 'The Fallout'. HBO Max

After surviving a horrific school shooting together, Vada Cavell (Ortega) and Mia Reed (Maddie Ziegler) forge an unlikely bond. As Vada struggles to reacclimate to her family life, she explores her friendship with Mia while finding solace in fellow survivor Quinton Hasland (Niles Fitch), whose brother was killed in the massacre.

Megan Park's searing drama features Ortega's finest work to date, a thoroughly inhabited performance that combines all of her singular skills as an actor. That *The Fallout *as a whole matches the quality of Ortega's craft is a tremendous bonus. Park's film is restrained and sensitive without pulling punches. The weight of the scenario is never discounted, but the film somehow manages to be light and breezy (the 92-minute running time helps that) and errs on the side of hopeful.

It is assuredly the first of many notable films from Park — and one of Ortega's early seminal movie performances. —*D.G.*

Original Article on Source

Source: "AOL TV"

Read More

---

Source: Astro Blog

Full Article on Source: Astro Blog

#LALifestyle #USCelebrities