Jenna Ortega Reveals the Thing She Hates the Most About ‘Wednesday’ After Turning 22: “Very patronizing”

Jenna Ortega, 22, opens up about the downsides of playing a schoolgirl in pigtails in Netflix’s hit series ‘Wednesday’.

While Jenna Ortega might be the face of Wednesday, one of Netflix’s most successful shows in recent memory, she is not exactly thrilled with what that fame has brought her.

Best known for her straight-faced portrayal of the Addams Family’s only daughter, Ortgea’s career shot to the sky after Wednesday was released in late 2022.

The show was an international hit, and Ortega became a household name almost overnight.

However, she recently got candid about her growing discomfort with how people perceive her in the wake of the show’s meteoric rise.

In a Harper’s Bazaar interview, Ortega did not hold back when talking about the psychological toll of being typecast as a young girl in braids, even as she attempts to establish herself as a grown artist in the industry.

Jenna Ortega feels misunderstood by Hollywood

Despite the critical acclaim that followed Wednesday, Jenna Ortega admits that being cast as a schoolgirl has come at a personal cost.

The experience of constantly being perceived as just that one character she has played often feels frustrating, especially as people struggle to separate her from the younger, gothic character she played.

Jenna Ortega in Wednesday (Credit: Netflix).

In her May 2025 interview with Harper’s Bazaar, when the interviewer relayed a similar experience Portman has had growing up as a former child actor, Jenna got candid with her reply:

I relate to that so immensely, and it’s always been really annoying, because you just don’t feel like you’re being taken seriously.

You know, it’s like how you’re dressed in the schoolgirl costume. … There’s just something about it that’s very patronizing.

Also, when you’re short, people are already physically looking down on you.

The series’ costume design, specifically Wednesday’s uniform and signature pigtails, has intensified this effect, making it harder for Ortega to be seen as an adult woman off-screen.

She even got honest about her mental state after the filming for the first season wrapped up, highlighting how taxing the aftermath of sudden fame can get.

Ortega recalled:

To be quite frank, after the show and trying to figure everything out, I was an unhappy person.

After the pressure, the attention—as somebody who’s quite introverted, that was so intense and so scary.

Interestingly, her The Gallerist co-star, Natalie Portman, also a former child actor, echoed these sentiments, expressing how being short in Hollywood can be quite patronizing and frustrating.

For Ortega, these comments seem to help validate her own experiences while pointing to a larger industry problem, where past roles and appearances often outweigh actual talent and maturity.

What’s next in store for Ortega?

On a determined journey to not be boxed in, Ortega will be seen taking newer, bolder roles to shift how the world sees her.

She remains eternally attached to Wednesday, owing to her brilliant portrayal of the deadpan teenager, and stepping up as an executive producer for its second installment, which is all set to drop in 2 parts starting August 6, 2025.

Jenna Ortega in Wednesday (Credit: Netflix).

But the shift comes with her diversifying her portfolio with more intricate, adult roles.

Among her upcoming works are A24’s Death of a Unicorn alongside Paul Rudd, the thriller Hurry Up Tomorrow with Abel Tesfaye (The Weeknd), and the dark-comedy The Gallerist with Natalie Portman.

Becoming a producer on the show gives Ortega a sort of creative leverage over how Wednesday evolves in a darker, bolder, and more twisted Season 2– a shift she hopes will help add layers to the character and distance her from the one-note perception of being a schoolgirl.

For Ortega, it’s about reclaiming agency and letting the industry know that even though she’s playing a schoolgirl (and probably will continue to do so for however many seasons the show gets), she is not to be mistaken for an immature, naïve person.

As she embraces adulthood, she’s also becoming a voice for other young stars stuck in the same paradox.

Wednesday is available for streaming on Netflix (USA).