• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Jenna Ortega opens up about negative impact of having to wear schoolgirl costume

Home> Entertainment> Celebrity

Published 12:09 29 May 2025 GMT+1

Jenna Ortega opens up about negative impact of having to wear schoolgirl costume

She says its put her in a difficult spot in her career

James Moorhouse

James Moorhouse

Jenna Ortega has spoken about the 'very patronising' schoolgirl costume she wears in her starring role as Wednesday Addams in the popular Netflix show.

The 22-year-old actor, who has also featured in Beetlejuice 2 and fellow Netflix series You, has established herself as one of the most recognisable faces in TV and film, for the younger generations at least.

Ortega, who also had a brief cameo in a Marvel film, made her debut as the morbid and macabre Wednesday Addams in Netflix's Wednesday back in 2022 and nearly three years on, fans are now eagerly waiting for season two to drop.

Advert

Despite the classic character being just six-years-old in the original TV series and between 12-13 in other film portrayals, Ortega's version is still in high school and is thought to be around 16.

But despite this, the Death of a Unicorn star has criticised the costume choices from the show, suggesting that she doesn't feel she will be taken seriously as an actress, especially as she is just 5 foot 1.

She told Harper's Bazaar: "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 patronising.

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

Advert

Although we're not at the levels of Grease where we had people in their mid 30s playing high school kids (before the modern day skincare routines it must be added) Ortega is 22 now and will be wary that she cannot play a schoolgirl forever.

Wednesday Addams is returning this August (Netflix)
Wednesday Addams is returning this August (Netflix)

She added: “I’m doing a show I’m going to be doing for years where I play a schoolgirl. But I’m also a young woman.”

The 22-year-old also spoke honestly about the gender divide as a young celebrity, suggesting that boys have it far easier when it comes to growing up in the public eye.

She said: “But girls, if they don’t stay as this perfect image of how they were first introduced to you, then it’s ‘Ah, something’s wrong. She’s changed. She sold her soul.

Advert

"But you’re watching these women at the most pivotal times in their lives; they’re experimenting because that’s what you do.”

Having grown up as a kid on the Disney Channel, she's seemingly faced backlash for her change in style, which seems to identify her as the ideal candidate to play Wednesday in fairness.

Jenna Ortega has opened up about changing the way she wants to be perceived (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
Jenna Ortega has opened up about changing the way she wants to be perceived (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)

She concluded: “I definitely feel like I have a bit more Gothic taste than I did when I was a teenager.

“I’ve always been into dark things or been fascinated by them, but I was a Disney kid, and the whole thing is being bubbly and kind and overly sweet.”

Advert

While Ortega hasn't exactly been short of work in the years since Wednesday first dropped, also starring in a thriller alongside Barry Keoghan and The Weeknd, it seems as if she wants to evolve as an actress, and that might mean leaving the schoolgirl roles behind her.

Anyway, Wednesday season two drops on Netflix in August, with season three production reportedly set to begin in November of this year.

Featured Image Credit: Netflix

Topics: Jenna Ortega, Netflix, TV, Film

James Moorhouse
James Moorhouse

James is a NCTJ Gold Standard journalist covering a wide range of topics and news stories for LADbible. After two years in football writing, James switched to covering news with Newsquest in Cumbria, before joining the LAD team in 2025. In his spare time, James is a long-suffering Rochdale fan and loves reading, running and music. Contact him via [email protected]

X

@JimmyMoorhouse

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

4 hours ago
5 hours ago
  • 4 hours ago

    Antiques Roadshow guest told jacket is worth £200,000 after it was worn by one of world's most famous men

    The jacket was given a six-figure valuation by an expert

    Entertainment
  • 4 hours ago

    Reason why Netflix introduced ‘diabolical’ new update as fans threaten to cancel subscriptions

    The people have spoken... and they don't like change

    Entertainment
  • 5 hours ago

    Stifler actor revealed major effects American Pie character had on him after revealing comeback stance

    The actor has had a new film added to Netflix and it will be sure to have people wondering if he'll come back as Stifler

    Entertainment
  • 5 hours ago

    Sabrina Carpenter defends her image after X-rated album cover faces major backlash

    The singer's reliance on retro aesthetics and raunchy lyrics has proven controversial

    Entertainment
  • Jenna Ortega recalls moment actor Cameron Boyce stopped an intimate joint audition as he felt uncomfortable
  • Jenna Ortega was blown away by bizarre tattoo of Wednesday Addams
  • Jenna Ortega says she doesn't ever plan on talking about person she's dating
  • Jenna Ortega wants Wednesday Addams to be even darker for season two