By the age of 21, Jenna Ortega established herself as one of the most popular and interesting actors of her generation. From her beginnings as a child actor with bit parts in CSI: NY and Iron Man 3 to her star-making performance in the Netflix series Wednesday, Ortega has shown a level of poise and intellectual curiosity not often found even among performers three times her age.

With such an outstanding filmography under her belt, Ortega promises to have a career that anyone would envy. Find here the best Jenna Ortega movies and TV series to date.

1. The Fallout (2021)

For some former child actors, the audience’s familiarity with previous kiddie work might prove an impediment. However, that familiarity helps make The Fallout all the more powerful.

Written and directed by Megan Park, The Fallout follows teens Vada (Ortega) and Mia (Maddie Zeigler) after a gunman attacks their high school. Park’s script shifts from moments of obnoxious teenager goofiness to scenes of pure horror and pathos. While such changes fit the subject matter, most viewers could not go along with them without Ortega’s nuanced and natural take, capturing the inexplicable weight of going through such an unnatural experience. 

2. X (2022) 

For whatever reason, child actors often signal the adult phase of their career by doing a movie with more mature subject matter. At first glance, X looks like a Jenna Ortega movie designed to do just that.

Written and directed by Ti West, the mind behind slow-burn horrors such as The House of the Devil, X follows a group of filmmakers who gather to shoot an adult movie in 1979 Texas, before getting attacked by a surprising assailant. As mic operator Lorraine Day, Ortega toes the line between innocence and experience, even before she must defend herself from a knife-wielding attacker. However, instead of shocking viewers with heretofore taboo material, X shows the range Ortega can bring to a complex character. 

3. Scream (2022) 

Scream shouldn’t have worked. Coming almost a decade after the last franchise entry, Scream IV, and without the involvement of original creators Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson, the fifth Scream movie faced a heavy dose of skepticism. 

While lured back fans by reuniting the original cast — including Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, and David Arquette — the series appealed to new fans with some fresh faces, such as Melissa Barrera and Ortega as sisters Samantha and Tara Carpenter. From her first scene, which hearkened back to Drew Barrymore‘s shocking death in 1996’s Scream, Ortega proved that she belonged, offering a character at once classic and modern. 

4. Jane the Virgin (2014 – 2019)

From her first major parts on Disney and Nickelodeon shows, Ortega has portrayed a self-possession that feels at once playful and mature. That quality makes her a perfect choice to portray Jane Gloriana Villanueva as a child on the CW series Jane the Virgin.

Where Gina Rodriguez played the titular character as a devout woman dealing with her unenviable situation with grace and humor, Ortega played Jane as a kid full of life and energy, with a whole perfect existence ahead of her. The contrast makes for not only some good gags from creator Jennie Snyder Urman but also for a moving look at the difference between our expectations and reality. 

5. Wednesday (2022)

Of course, Ortega is not the first actor to portray Wednesday Addams, the older daughter in the Addams Family. Lisa Loring first portrayed the character when The Addams Family brought the Charles Addams cartoons to live action in the 1960s, as did Christina Ricci in the beloved The Addams Family films from the 1990s.

But as the titular character of the recent Netflix series Wednesday, Jenna Ortega plays the most realized version of the murderous moppet. Rather than just portray a goth girl with a wicked sense of humor, Ortega’s Wednesday has a wounded quality that makes her more relatable to audiences who see themselves in the dark, misunderstood hero. 

6. Scream VI (2023)

With most of the original cast written out or underbid to the point that they would not return, Scream VI had to stand on its own more than any other entry in the franchise.

Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett and writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick distinguish their film by moving the setting from Woodsboro, California and by focusing on the new cast, including the Carpenter sisters. With more space to work, Ortega helps further define her character as a teen who does not want the tragedy of the first movie to define her, making for a unique conflict for the series all the way up to its shocking climax. 

7. Yes Day (2021) 

Ortega has the most thankless role in the Netflix movie Yes Day, directed by Miguel Arteta and written by Justin Malen, based on the kid’s book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld.

As the older sister in a middle-class family that agrees to say “yes” to every proposition pitched to them, Oretega’s character gets none of the cuteness reserved for the actors portraying her little siblings, nor does she get the character arcs reserved for her parents, played by Jennifer Garner and Édgar Ramírez.

However, Ortega never gives in to the broad, sitcom-like approach taken by Arteta, a long way from his earlier provocations like Chuck & Buck. Instead, she grounds her character in a reality that makes the movie’s pathos feel earned. 

8. You (2019)

Given the many projects that she has done for Netflix, it should come as no surprise that Ortega joined the cast of the thriller You when it moved to the streamer from the Lifetime network for its second season. Ortega’s whip-smart but still teenaged Ellie helps Joe, the intellectual serial killer played by Penn Badgley create a new identity while trying to escape his crimes. Ortega proves a worthy screen partner with Badgley, which ups the stakes for her character’s final fate. 

9. Studio 666 (2022)

Even the biggest Jenna Ortega fan would have to admit that she’s not the reason to watch Studio 666, the horror comedy directed by B. J. McDonnell and written by Jeff Buhler and Rebecca Hughes. Rather, the draw is the man who came up with the movie’s story, rock musician Dave Grohl and his band the Foo Fighters.

The Foo Fighters play exaggerated versions of themselves in Studio 666, who record an album in a cursed studio. That said, Ortega does serve a key function in the film, the first victim killed by a possessed killer in the opening scene set thirty years in the past.

10. Stuck in the Middle (2016 – 2018)

Despite all the work she does for Netflix, Ortega got her first real break on a Disney show, the sitcom Stuck in the Middle. Ortega plays Harley Diaz, the middle child in a family of nine. To deal with her position, Harley creates outrageous inventions and talks to the camera, freezing time like a modern-day Zack Morris from Saved by the Bell.

Stuck in the Middle creators Alison Brown and Linda Videtti Figueiredo have no interest in recreating the genre, so Ortega must only be a smart adult in a kid’s body, which she achieves by going as broad as possible. The show may not be to everyone’s tastes, but it does prepare Ortega for the more complex work she’ll do later in life.

11. Elena of Avalor (2016 – 2020)

By 2016, Ortega had plenty of children’s entertainment credits, which makes her a perfect addition to the cast of the Disney Junior animated show Elena of Avalor, created by Craig Gerber.

Ortega voices Princess Isabela, the title character’s little sister and occasional sidekick. The part requires Ortega to go big, inviting kids to participate in her character’s adventures without overshadowing the star, Elena (voiced by Aimee Carrero). Ortega relates Isabela’s verve in a way that’s charming, without ever drifting into cloying. 

12. The Little Rascals Save the Day (2014)

Long before Jenna Ortega graced the screen as a little girl, five-year-old Mary Ann Jackson appeared in the Our Gang shorts by Hal Roach, joining Spanky and Alfalfa from 1928 to 1931. In the direct-to-video movie The Little Rascals Save the Day, Ortega takes over from Jackson as Mary Ann, one of the kids trying their best to savor their last day of summer vacation.

Directed by Alex Zamm, a veteran of kids’ entertainment, and co-written by William Robertson, The Little Rascals Save the Day replicates the easy-going energy of the Hal Roach shorts. To that end, Ortega fits right in with the cast, bringing her own energy and charm to the story. Hardly the best of Jenna Ortega movies, her performance does hint at the talent she would show in later projects.

13. Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (2020 – 2022)

On paper, an animated Jurassic World cartoon for kids sounds like a no-brainer. Keep the dinosaurs kids love with the name recognition that grabs eyeballs, but remove the visceral stuff that will keep them up at night.

Netflix achieves this balance in the animated show Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous. Ortega’s pink-haired social media star Brooklyn is a fine addition to the cast, an upbeat and fame-obsessed team who gives her followers more than they expected when things get wild on the camp. Of course, the cartoon doesn’t get as dark as a film might, but Ortega doesn’t let that limit her performance. 

14. American Carnage (2022) 

In the years following the excellent Jordan Peele film Get Out, horror movies about social issues gained more attention. Set in an alternate America in which undocumented immigrants and their families get sent to prison, American Carnage follows a group of teens who work in a retirement home as part of their sentence.

Writers and directors Diego and Julio Hallivis have a compelling lead in Jorge Lendeborg Jr., and Ortega makes an impression every time her rebellious character Camila gets a moment on screen. However, the film’s overstuffed concept and heavy themes sometimes distract from the point it wants to make.

15. After Words (2015)

Don’t let the billing on the movie’s poster fool anyone. Ortega has just a handful of scenes in After Words, a midlife crisis drama from writer and director Juan Feldman. Ortega plays the cute urchin daughter of a charismatic, but down on his luck, Costa Rican tour guide (Óscar Jaenada) who falls for a frumpy American tourist (Marcia Gay Harden).

After Words unfolds at a pleasing, if unsurprising pace, and little Ortega does indeed charm everyone she meets. But there’s little to recommend to either fans of the actor or anyone looking for a compelling film.

16. Rake (2014)

Ortega’s first recurring role came in Rake, a dramedy that starred Greg Kinnear as self-destructive criminal defense attorney Keegan Deane. Based on an Australian series by the same name, Rake ran for one season, despite receiving okay reviews.

The thirteen episodes don’t have much for the very young Ortega to do as Zoe Leon, daughter of Keegan’s best friend Ben. She most often serves as set dressing to establish Ben’s stable family life as a contrast to Keegan’s reckless behavior. However, the show does allow Ortega to work with John Ortiz as Ben, who will later play her father again in The Fallout.

17. Wyrm (2019)

Anyone glancing over Ortega’s filmography might assume that she does nothing but sitcoms, kid’s shows, and horror movies, and might jump at the chance to watch Wyrm. Between the odd title and its heightened reality, in which high schoolers must wear electric collars until they complete a course that requires them to kiss someone, Wyrm presents itself as a compelling art film.

However, writer and director Christopher Winterbauer covers a lot of ground already explored by films about strange teens, from Harold and Maude to Napoleon Dynamite. At best, Wyrm works as Yorgos Lanthimos for adolescents, but even that isn’t enough reason to watch the film, nor is Ortega’s brief supporting part.

18. Finestkind (2023)

By 2023, Ortega has shown off much of her range and skill as an actor. But could she do a heavy Boston accent?

Fortunately, that question remains unanswered in Finestkind, as Ortega chooses not to adopt the same cartoonish accent that her cast mates attempt. However, Ortega cannot escape the terrible dialogue from writer and director Brian Helgeland, whose stylistic take on blue-collar fisherman condescends to the subject matter. Ortega does her best to ground the role in some sort of reality, but she lacks co-star Tommy Lee Jones’s disdain for the material, which allows him to escape Finestkind with some dignity.  

19. Richie Rich (2015)

Before jumping to Disney for Stuck in the Middle, Ortega joined the main cast of Richie Rich, a sitcom based on the Harvey Comics character from the 1950s.

Despite running for two seasons, Richie Rich met with atrocious reviews, and with good reason. Everything about the show created by Brian Robbins and Jeff Hodsden seems misjudged, with a grating lead character and lame, forced jokes, even by the standards of a sitcom for kids. Ortega does get to have a bit of fun as Richie’s bad influence best friend Darcy, but only those with great patience should try to sit through the show to see her. 

20. The Babysitter: Killer Queen (2020)

The Netflix movie The Babysitter: The Killer Queen might be the greatest testament to Jenna Ortega’s charisma as an actor.

Not because it’s good. Quite the opposite.

Director McG somehow made a film even more irritating than the 2017 original The Babysitter, an incredible feat he accomplished with co-writers Dan Lagana, Brad Morris, and Jimmy Warden. The four screenwriters take a solid premise, in which living and undead cult members try to sacrifice teen Cole (Judah Lewis), into an obnoxious string of tired jokes and occasional, ineffective scares. Somehow, Ortega and her future Scream VI co-star Samara Weaving maintain their dignity amidst the nonsense, making her generic cool girl feel like a real person.