How did Jenna Ortega get so famous?

Jenna Ortega has become a sapphic icon, embracing playing queer and queer-coded characters with open arms. Here’s how the rising star came to such widespread fame.

Having had small parts in TV series such as CSI:NY and 2013’s big-screen hit Iron Man 3, her acting career really took off while she was still a teenager, winning an award for her performance as Harley in Stuck In The Middle.

She also starred in Jane the Virgin, and nowadays, she’s known as the new face of Wednesday Addams in cult Netflix series Wednesday. Rumours of lesbianism have followed her ever since she played the role of Vada in 2021’s The Fallout, during which she engaged in some steamy scenes with co-star Maddie Ziegler.

Although Ortega has never labelled her sexuality, LGBTQ+ fans have continued to go wild for her since she took on the role of Addams, who enjoys a close relationship with roommate Enid Sinclair, played by Emma Myers.

Fans pointed to the chemistry not only between Ortega and Myers, but also between her and Gwendoline Christie, who plays Principal Weems.

“My woman, I love you”, Ortega said of her elder co-star in an interview. “Sorry, that might be disrespectful but that is my nickname for her, because she is my wife.”

One fan said they respected her “efforts to queer code every single character she’s ever played”, with Ortega further pleasing fans by writing “lesbian rights :)” on an important day in sapphic history.

Ortega has also gone on the record and responded to fans who think that Wednesday is gay.

She “isn’t out to please anybody and that’s a really powerful thing to see… people wanna see powerful women with powerful women”, she told reporters.

One fan wrote: “Liking boys doesn’t necessarily mean straight. But we say she’s gay because of her close relationship with Enid, because in the show you can clearly see that she has more chemistry with her than she has with either Tyler or Xavier.”

• Dec 31 2024

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