Jenna Ortega is an indomitable young star on the rise. Here we list all of her movies and shows, ranked from worst to best.
Countless rising stars have emerged to prominence in Hollywood over the decades, only to later find themselves lost in the shuffle when their star fades and their opportunities dwindle. Few survive the movie star meat grinder, but Jenna Ortega appears primed to succeed as the ‘It Girl’ of the Gen-Z generation.
At only 22, Ortega has already worked with a range of accomplished and respected actors and filmmakers, and as a young actor both mature beyond her years and captivated by the artistry of her industry, it’s no surprise to see the sheer amount of intriguing projects currently in the works with Ortega’s name attached.
With Death of a Unicorn debuting back in March and Hurry Up Tomorrow set to be released soon, here’s our list of Ortega’s career work (all featured movies and shows post-breakout, circa 2019) thus far, ranked from worst to best.
15. Miller’s Girl
Director: Jade Halley Bartlett
Co-Starring: Martin Freeman, Bashir Salahuddin, Gideon Adlon
Release Date: 2024
Cairo Sweet sounds like a name ripped straight out of a YA fantasy novel, but in Miller’s Girl, it’s the name of Ortega’s character, a world-weary teenage student with aspirations of grandeur who enters into an inappropriate situation with her creative writing teacher (Martin Freeman), who is 31 years her senior.
Miller’s Girl is a strange film. It was subject to scrutiny on social media prior to its release because of the central age gap and the seemingly racy subject matter, but in reality, the movie is a hotchpotch of muddled themes and cinematic styles. It’s not a romance piece, nor is it an erotic thriller or a femme fatale takedown. Flowery dialogue and scattershot characterisations are the name of the game, and an unsatisfactory conclusion ties a ribbon on what is essentially an uncomfortable experience that fails to dig any deeper than a surface-level visually appealing veneer.
14. Studio 666
Director: BJ McDonnell
Co-Starring: The Foo Fighters
Release Date: 2022
It’s hard to imagine there’s any other genre more amenable to bizarre experimentation than horror, and Studio 666 is a fine example of that. American rock band The Foo Fighters, starring as fictionalised versions of themselves, are tasked with recording their new album from within a mansion where previous band Dream Widow were found murdered. Frontman Dave Grohl discovers a basement containing satanic objects, and it’s not long before the mansion plays host to more mysterious, murderous shenanigans.
Ortega is barely in Studio 666, appearing as one of the murdered band members in the cold open sequence and disappearing before her name is even credited on screen. Appearing in the quirky comedy horror lends her reputation as a modern scream queen more credence, but beyond her short cameo, we’re primarily left with a group of musicians with limited acting talent. Grohl does the best he can by wisely taking up the lion’s share of the dialogue, but Studio 666 quickly wilts when its gimmick wears thin, all while stumbling into every possible genre cliché along the way.
13. American Carnage
Director: Diego Hallivis
Co-Starring: Jorge Lendeborg Jr, Allen Maldonado, Bella Wholey Ortiz
Release Date: 2022
American Carnage is a politically charged horror comedy inspired by a post-Trump White House tenure. Following an executive order to arrest the children of undocumented immigrants, a group of detained Latinx youths are given the opportunity to work in an eldercare facility to have the charges against them dropped. Once inside though, it quickly becomes apparent that things are not all they seem.
American Carnage is entirely built around social commentary and themes that remain prevalent in a divided America, but the execution of those messages often leaves us wanting. The movie frustratingly fails to lean into the grotesque body horror quite as hard as it needed to, nor does it adequately explore its pointed themes of racial discrimination and how society turns a blind eye to its elderly. Ortega is a wise-cracking member of the disenfranchised and her co-stars are equally compelling, but there’s not enough meat on the bones for us to chew on as the time passes.
12. Winter Spring Summer or Fall
Director: Tiffany Paulsen
Co-Starring: Percy Hynes White, Marisol Nichols
Release Date: 2024
Romantic comedies, be they inventive or conventional, are liable to be sunk in an instant if no reasonably believable alchemical connection can be struck up between the actors portraying the “will they, won’t they” couple. Thankfully, Ortega and her Wednesday co-star Percy Hynes White do have convincing chemistry with one another in Winter Spring Summer or Fall, which provides us with a vantage point from which to engage with their whirlwind relationship despite the film’s evident narrative shortcomings.
Everything that works stems from Ortega, White, and how the two communicate with each other, framed from the perspective of Gen-Z teens trying to live in the present while contemplating where their respective futures might take them. Writer Dan Schoffer leans on the conceit of seasons passing to examine the central relationship, but at no point does that structural decision (and, as a result, the movie’s title) ever feel justifiably paid off. Ortega and White stumble through the heartbreak that often partners young love with conviction, pulling away before invariably rushing back, but the film itself never manages to appeal beyond the streaming exclusive, love-story-of-the-week storytelling model we’ve quickly become despairingly accustomed to.
11. Death of a Unicorn
Director: Alex Scharfman
Co-Starring: Paul Rudd, Richard E. Grant, Will Poulter, Téa Leoni
Release Date: 2025
Caught between wanting to embrace creature feature thrills and trying to appease those who seek social satire and pointed comedy from a horror movie about vengeful unicorns, Death of a Unicorn is a bizarre genre piece that skewers its characters with little discernible success. Paul Rudd and Ortega are a father-daughter duo with a convincingly fraught relationship, who after accidentally running down a unicorn foal while on their way to the rich Leopold family’s country estate, are stalked along with the Leopolds and their staff by the violent parents of the mythological horse-like creature.
Richard E. Grant, Téa Leoni and Will Poulter round out the cast as the eccentric upper-class family whose home plays host to the bulk of the action, and all three are exceptionally cartoonish to an absurd degree. Death of a Unicorn isn’t subtle with its satire, painting the elite as uncaring false philanthropists with little care for their actions, as they seek to exterminate the adult unicorns so they can profit from the magical properties associated with them. Neither embracing the sequences of tension enough to pass as a compelling horror piece nor nailing the correct comedic tone to elicit laughs, Death of a Unicorn feels trapped in no man’s land, failing to convince as anything but a tonal misfire.
10. Yes Day
Director: Miguel Arteta
Co-Starring: Jennifer Garner, Edgar Ramírez, Julian Lerner
Release Date: 2021
In recent times, Ortega’s image has become inseparable from that of Wednesday Addams, her most famous role. She’s been pigeon-holed as a mature-beyond-her-years soul, sharing Wednesday’s fondness for dark attire. Yes Day, a family-friendly Netflix Original comedy from director Miguel Arteta, showed the young star in an entirely different light. Appealing to a broader demographic, Yes Day is a formulaic coming-of-age piece that highlights Ortega as your typical movie teenager; desperate to “grow up” and become independent, but equally scared about branching out and moving away from parental safety nets.
Yes Day is a harmless film filled with emotional tenderness, a predictable plot and plenty of cringe-inducing moments of attempted comedy, but it offers a satisfactory viewing experience for those looking for an endearing family unit to follow over the course of slightly less than 90 minutes. Jennifer Garner and Édgar Ramirez star as Ortega’s parents and are the most stereotypical yin and yang figures in her life, providing guidance in the smaller, more sincere moments, and lessons in the perils of helicopter parenting in the more pointed sequences of teenage rebellion. Yes Day is an affable, easily digestible, streaming exclusive product that lacks cultural staying power, but it tastes sweet and it goes down easy.
9. The Babysitter: Killer Queen
Director: McG
Co-Starring: Judah Lewis, Samara Weaving, Emily Alyn Lind, Robbie Amell
Release Date: 2020
Arguably Ortega’s true breakout role for all those aware of her presence before Scream and Wednesday, The Babysitter: Killer Queen unintentionally came to define the immediate trajectory of Ortega’s future character work, allowing her to shine as a rebellious teen with an edge and attitude. A sequel to director McG’s surprise Netflix hit The Babysitter, Killer Queen is a follow-up that replicates a winning formula, once again dropping young star Judah Lewis into an impossible situation involving satanic sacrifice and violent murder, with Ortega’s Phoebe becoming Cole’s latest love interest.
Killer Queen isn’t able to recapture the lightning-in-a-bottle magic that allowed The Babysitter to transcend its conventional slasher trappings, but there’s a sense of inane whimsy to the sequel that prevents it from lacking entertainment value. Ortega’s presence adds plenty of emotional depth; Cole has someone more age-appropriate (and therefore more relatable) to interact with, while Phoebe’s own dark history adds mood and allows us to connect with the characters on a deeper level. Game performances and a sweet soundtrack deliver further flavour, but Ortega’s personality-bursting star turn will always be associated with a film that ultimately can’t surpass or measure up to its pitch-perfect, guilty pleasure, background piece predecessor.
8. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Director: Tim Burton
Co-Starring: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Willem Dafoe
Release Date: 2024
Given Ortega’s rapid ascent to inspirational goth girl status, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice seemed like a natural fit upon her casting announcement, with the film’s quirky tone matching her carefully cultivated image. Reteaming with Tim Burton, Ortega joined the star-studded cast of the long-awaited sequel to 1988’s Beetlejuice, playing yet another rebellious teenager, this time named Astrid, and the daughter of Winona Ryder’s iconic Lydia Deetz. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a cacophony of individual moments that are effective singularly, but that feel mostly discordant as pieces of a muddled narrative.
Michael Keaton shows no sign of ring rust as the titular mischievous ghost, returning to the role with confidence and exuberance as Betelgeuse has more conniving schemes up his two-toned, striped suit sleeve. Unfortunately, Keaton’s full-of-flair command over his most famous original character can’t prevent Beetlejuice Beetlejuice from almost buckling under its own weight. Burton bombards us with side plots, attempting to share screen focus between Keaton, Ortega, Ryder, Willem Dafoe, Catherine O’Hara and Monica Bellucci. There’s too much going on, and while the best moments explode with colour like the dangerous sandworms bursting skyward, the overall experience shows signs of excessive narrative compression.
7. Finestkind
Director: Brian Helgeland
Co-Starring: Ben Foster, Toby Wallace, Tommy Lee Jones, Aaron Stanford
Release Date: 2023
Blue-collar crime thriller Finestkind leans on familiar tropes and story beats executed ad nauseum by its contemporaries, but there’s a certain alchemical charm to the low-down situation our cast of New Bedford fishermen find themselves embroiled in. Ortega plays Mabel, the love interest of greenhorn Charlie (Toby Wallace), and a small-time drug dealer to boot, who connects the crew of fishing boat Harmony (and later, Finestkind) with shady heroin smuggler Weeks (Clayne Crawford) as they desperately seek quick cash, only for the deal to predictably go south.
Finestkind is a gritty, somewhat unflinching take on small-town crime and the desperate scenarios that could drive ordinary working-class people to undertake immoral practices in the name of protecting the interests of their loved ones. Director Brian Helgeland grounds the emotional weight of the film in the lives of the characters, their relationships with one another and the baggage they each carry. What starts as a compelling character piece devolves and becomes more formulaic once we move into the more suspenseful third act, but the film never loses sight of what it wants to say about familial bonds, and it allows the entire cast to breathe fresh life into the complex characters they inhabit.
6. X
Director: Ti West
Co-Starring: Mia Goth, Brittany Snow, Scott Mescudi, Martin Henderson
Release Date: 2022
X marked Ti West’s return to his horror roots after almost a decade, and his slow-burn homage to old-school slashers proudly wears its influences for all to see. One doesn’t need to inspect too closely to see the DNA of the film’s slasher forebears, particularly Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, but West carves out his own slice of the genre with a stylish, graphic and tension-led piece that has more on its mind than senseless violence. Fear of the elderly has often been used as a cheap crutch in horror, but West explores the themes of age, untapped desire and sexual repression through his antagonists, creating dark characters with sympathetic depth behind their madness.
Ortega makes up part of the film crew who travel to rural Texas to make a pornographic movie, starring the stoic and fame-hungry Mia Goth, the effervescent Brittany Snow, and the laidback male talent Scott Mescudi. Martin Henderson charms doing his greatest Matthew McConaughey impression, and Ortega does more than fill out the cast list, operating as the meek girlfriend of the director who becomes curious as West deconstructs the taboo of sex. X lives up to its genre contemporaries with plenty of suspenseful moments, graphic kills and gratuitous nudity (a throwback indeed) but there’s so much more to unpack thematically, which explains the film’s fastly earned reputation as one of the best modern slashers.
5. You Season 2
Showrunner: Sera Gamble
Co-Starring: Penn Badgley, Victoria Pedretti, Carmela Zumbado
Release Date: 2018
From the moment Penn Badgley first spoke the ominous phrase “Hello, You” into existence, the Netflix Original show You has been all about Joe Goldberg, a pseudointellectual with a passion for books and for obsessing over unsuspecting women. Joe stalks people as if he was born to do so, and when his life becomes complicated or when roadblocks obstruct him from getting what he wants, he’s never afraid to put his murderous thoughts into action and get his hands dirty. Joe is psychotic, and despite his protagonist status, he’s not someone any of us should empathise with or admire — a point Badgley has often been keen to reiterate.
In the second season of You, Joe attempts to leave his dark past behind him by moving from New York City to sunny Los Angeles, changing his name in the process, until he finds himself falling into the same routine of romance and death. Ortega makes a splash as his new neighbour Ellie Alves, a 15-year-old rebellious teen who bonds with the secret serial killer. Ortega’s performance bursts with personality and attitude, as Ellie convincingly manages to draw a small modicum of humanity out of Joe — something few characters are able to achieve. Her role is small but impactful, and it’s a credit to her performance that she remains one of the most memorable and compelling side characters in the entire five-season run.
4. Scream (2022)
Directors: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett
Co-Starring: Melissa Barrera, Mason Gooding, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Neve Campbell
Release Date: 2022
1996’s Scream and each of the sequels directed by Wes Craven are revered horror classics, so one can only imagine the pressure both Ortega and Melissa Barrera felt stepping into the shoes of those who came before them as they attempted to take the slasher franchise forward. Ortega is a pivotal part of the Scream soft reboot, setting the tempo as the victim of a cold open assault that leaves her in terrible physical shape for the remainder of the film, as her friends and estranged sister desperately attempt to discover the new identity of the person or persons behind the famed Ghostface mask.
Returning to Woodsboro after 11 years away, and this time without the steady guidance of Craven behind the camera, Scream was a surprising success and an almost flawless reinvigoration of the beloved horror IP, smoothly transitioning from the old guard to a new generation of young people who took the concept forward. Self-referential meta-commentary comes part and parcel with the Scream franchise and this filth film does a superb job at honouring that history, providing sharp and witty analysis of the current climate within the horror space, balancing dark comedy but never forgetting to be a slasher first and foremost.
3. Wednesday Season 1
Showrunners: Alfred Gough & Miles Millar
Co-Starring: Emma Myers, Gwendoline Christie, Luiz Guzmán, Catherine Zeta-Jones
Release Date: 2022
Tim Burton, Jenna Ortega and The Addams Family intellectual property always seemed like a match made in heaven. Still, none could’ve predicted the seismic cultural impact Ortega would have as morbid teenager Wednesday, donning her signature monochromatic wardrobe and black plaited pigtails. Wednesday unsurprisingly focuses primarily on the youngest daughter of Morticia and Gomez as she moves to a new high school, Nevermore Academy, where she’s forced to adjust quickly to a new world of dark creatures, murderous mysteries and the universal experience that is teenage angst.
Ortega finds the perfect balance between typical teen drama and a macabre comedic tone, bringing Wednesday to life with unblinking, muted enthusiasm. Wednesday explores a compelling eight-episode arc that flirts with spooky horror elements and a plot that bursts with grim intrigue, but Ortega’s virtuoso performance steals the spotlight, whether she’s inadvertently creating the next viral dance sensation or showing off her impressive ability with her midnight black cello. Wednesday can be seen as a love letter to the outcasts; the people who act differently from the status quo and who are proudly themselves. But it’s also a highly digestible season of television, and one that both entertains and hints at even more captivating mysteries to come.
2. Scream VI
Directors: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett
Co-Starring: Melissa Barrera, Mason Gooding, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Courtney Cox
Release Date: 2023
Expanding upon the framework established in 2022’s Scream, the New York City-set Scream VI ups the slasher ante, introducing a new Ghostface threat who’s more vicious and prone to gory violence than ever before. Ortega is promoted to co-lead alongside Barrera and both carry the torch confidently, with legacy final girl Sidney (Neve Campbell) not appearing for the first time in the franchise. Scream VI retains the soul of the series, yet it finds opportunities to branch out, making bold, subversive changes to the formula that may alienate purists but that also hint at the filmmakers’ willingness to do more than simply rest on their laurels.
Scream VI uses the sisterly relationship between Ortega’s Tara and Barrera’s Sam as the launching point for compelling character drama, while Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown also return to round out a warm cast, each of whom rushes to support their fellow survivors through their shared trauma and renewed hardship. Filmmaking collective Radio Silence take care to honour the movies that set the platform for their success, lending credence to characters and events from the past while forging their own path forward, placing the heart of the film on Ortega and Barrera’s shoulders. It’s a triumphant sequel packed with meta-commentary, violence, suspense and effective emotional stakes, and it’s certain to whet the appetite of those with long-term franchise mileage.
1. The Fallout
Director: Megan Park
Co-Starring: Maddie Ziegler, John Ortiz, Julie Bowen, Shailene Woodley
Release Date: 2021
Gun violence is the perennial hot-button issue in the United States. Countless shootings take place each year; there are so many mass killings that we’ve become desensitised to the untold devastation they yield, and it takes films like Megan Park’s heart-wrenching drama to remind us how we actively choose to traumatise our children. The Fallout is a crushing coming-of-age film that moonlights as a primal scream in opposition to gun lobbies, spearheaded by performances so vulnerable they knock the wind out of us.
Ortega plays Vada, a young girl struggling to adapt in her post-shooting world, where avoiding a toilet stall is a non-negotiable, and the sudden crunch of a Coke can strikes fear into her heart. She’s magnificent, maintaining her character’s emotional state on a knife edge; Vada can’t feel, she doesn’t know how to connect, and she’s unable to direct the bubbling emotions within her. All she can do is attempt to manoeuvre around her tempestuous feelings, putting mental stock in burgeoning friendships to hold back the tide.
John Hughes was famed for having a profound ability to tap into the teenage psyche, and Park does the same for a modern generation of young people, best captured through the stitled way Ortega and fellow survivor Maddie Ziegler communicate. The Fallout says plenty without needing to say much at all; it’s a beautifully constructed piece that highlights a heartbreaking truth of modern American, bolstered by sublime performances and a spectacular sombre score. It leaves us with a final emotional stinger that should give everyone pause — The Fallout is a staggeringly impressive debut from Park, and as of right now, the greatest project Ortega has put her name to.
Season 2 Part 1 of Wednesday will be available to stream on Netflix from August 6, 2025.
