Jenna Ortega has spoken candidly about the pressures of growing up in Hollywood, admitting she felt compelled to conform to certain beauty standards from an early age. The 21-year-old star of Netflix's Wednesday told Harper's Bazaar that her childhood acting career was far less glamorous than it might have appeared.
Ortega, who began performing at just nine years old, explained that her casting options were largely limited to playing younger versions of other characters or somebody's daughter. She noted that the scarcity of leading Hispanic actors meant many roles were out of reach because she did not fit a particular look, leading to frequent rejection that she found 'really hard'.
At one point, the pressure became so intense that she considered dyeing her hair blonde to emulate Cinderella. However, she ultimately decided against it and kept her natural dark brown hair. Over time, Ortega came to appreciate the value of her authentic self and the potential positive impact she could have on others, saying she did not want young girls to feel they needed to alter their appearance to be deemed beautiful or worthy.
Since those early struggles, Ortega has secured prominent roles in Disney's Stuck in the Middle, Netflix's You, and the Scream franchise. Looking ahead, she is set to expand her creative role behind the camera, serving as a producer on the second season of Wednesday. She expressed a desire to orchestrate her own future, and even admitted to requesting the chance to make mistakes in order to learn, acknowledging that making errors is difficult when so many people are watching.
