10 Best Jenna Ortega Movies & TV Shows, Ranked

The entertainment industry chews up and spits out child stars like they're tough pieces of jerky (look at how "iCarly" actor Jennette McCurdy disappeared from Hollywood for instance). Resultantly, it's surprising when these young prodigies survive Tinsel Town's subliminal hit jobs and go on to have successful careers as adults. Jenna Ortega is one of the few who made it in this regard. She cut her teeth on everything from the soapie "Days of Our Lives" to the it-must-have-been-a-fever-dream "Richie Rich" series on Netflix. Then, she ascended to the lead in Disney's "Stuck in the Middle" and an important supporting role in season 2 of the I'm-certain-it's-a-"Gossip Girl"-prequel "You."

For Ortega, her acting career has only been on a meteoric rise, as she continues to grow in popularity and feature in bigger TV shows and movies, such as "Wednesday" and "Scream." But how do we determine and rank her best projects? That's easy. It's based on the two-prong factor of how much of an influence the role had on Ortega's career and the audience's overall enjoyment. Hence the reason her blink-and-you-miss-it appearance as the Vice President's daughter in "Iron Man 3" doesn't appear here, because it's unlikely anyone remembers her MCU debut.

Look, this isn't an exact science, so there's likely to be a smidgen of personal bias in terms of the final ranking, especially with a self-proclaimed Tim Burton fanboy involved, but let's get to it. Here are the 10 best Jenna Ortega movies and TV shows, ranked.

"Jane the Virgin" tells the story of the religious virgin Jane Villanueva (Gina Rodriguez) who gets accidentally artificially inseminated by her gynecologist. The worst part? The donor is her boss and former crush, Rafael Solano, played by Justin Baldoni. It's an event that kicks off a wild chain reaction of consequences and comedy that often provide a nod and wink to all the juicy drama of telenovelas.

While Jenna Ortega didn't appear in every single episode of "Jane the Virgin," she had a consistent and memorable run, appearing in the various flashback sequences as the younger Jane. What impresses most is how Ortega captures the essence of Rodriguez's performance and taps into the subtle nuances to inform her own portrayal. It isn't too difficult to believe that Ortega's Jane could grow up to be like Rodriguez's older version of the character here. Beyond that, it's remarkable when you take into account that Ortega was just 12 years old when "Jane the Virgin" debuted, and she showed so much promise and understanding of her craft here.

Although viewers remember Ortega's kooky dance to The Cramps' "Goo Goo Muck" in "Wednesday," her happy feet electrified in "Jane the Virgin" as well. Lest we forget, the young Jane Villanueva tore it up to Nelly's "Hot in Herre" on stage, much to the horror of the nuns — but to the delight of her pals — in attendance. It was a sign that Ortega was born to get her groove on.

Poor Cole Johnson (Judah Lewis). After his former babysitter, Bee (Samara Weaving), and her satanic cult tried to kill him, his parents don't believe his story and try to send him away to a psychiatric facility. The only person who listens to Cole and helps him fight back when the cult returns is his new friend and crush, Phoebe Atwell (Jenna Ortega). As if the gods of predictable screenwriting wrote the script, it's also revealed that Phoebe has a past connection to Bee.

Let's be real here for a second: "The Babysitter: Killer Queen" isn't John Carpenter or Wes Craven by any means. It's a little goofy, formulaic, and the villains are thicker than a wooden doorknob, but it also kickstarted Jenna Ortega's evolution from Disney princess to scream queen and turned out to be a fun (by-Netflix-standards) movie. Ortega and Lewis demonstrate a likeable on-screen chemistry, making it easy to get behind the leads and root for them here. Director McG couldn't help but be bedazzled by Ortega, immediately recognizing the actor's immense talent and star power. 

"The Babysitter: Killer Queen" also served as Ortega's official unofficial audition for "Scream." It proved to anyone who had any doubts that she knows when to switch from full-blown horror mode to a tongue-in-cheek satire of the genre. Plus, Phoebe and Cole broke one of Randy Meeks' cardinal rules and lived to see the end of the movie.

Hello, you. Those two words are enough to make someone change zip codes, as Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) creeps everyone out in "You." While he portrays himself to be a pseudointellectual who views the world through honest and poetic eyes, he's actually an obsessive stalker who isn't afraid of getting his hands bloody if the objects of his affections don't return his love the way he wants it. Needless to say, this dude belongs behind bars — not providing soliloquies about his incel-fueled fantasies.

In "You" season 2, Joe moves to Los Angeles, changes his name, and hides away from his past crimes in New York. In his apartment block, he meets the teenage Ellie Alves (Jenna Ortega) and her older sister, Delilah (Carmela Zumbado). Joe strikes up an immediate friendship with Ellie, and he seems to genuinely care about her as she brings out the paternal/big brother instincts in him — but with this guy, he's about as trustworthy as a hungry hyena in a butchery, so you can never be too sure what's real and isn't with him.

While Ellie only serves as a supporting character and disappears into the great realm of the off screen after season 2, she draws out Joe's humanity in a memorable season that's not short on unexpected twists and turns. It's wild to think how Ellie's one of the few people who have met Joe Goldberg and lived to tell the tale. That said, can someone please start a campaign #JusticeForDelilah?

"Scream VI" turned out to be a crucial fork-in-the-road moment for the franchise, as the story officially moved away from Sidney Prescott and became about the Carpenter sisters — though a U-turn happens in "Scream 7" as Neve Campbell returns and the Carpenters don't. Hollywood, right? Following on from the events of 2022's "Scream," Sam (Melissa Barrera) and Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega) hightail it from Woodsboro to New York, when — surprise, surprise — a new Ghostface killer pops out of the woodwork and wants blood. At this point, why is anyone allowed to sell these masks anymore? These cretins never have a short supply!

While uncovering the identity — or should we say identities? — of Ghostface is the core story of the movie, the subplot involves Sam letting go and allowing Tara to live her life without her sister being a hovercraft around her. Like before, Barrera's Sam and Ortega's Tara convince the audience with their everlasting and loving sibling bond, but the truth is everyone showed up for "Scream VI" to see the return of Hayden Panettiere's beloved Kirby Reed.

All in all, "Scream VI" continues the slasher spectacle from before and furthers the Carpenters' arc. That being said, it does feel like Ortega's Tara takes a bit of a backseat in this film, as it focuses more on Sam coming to terms with being Billy Loomis' illegitimate daughter and hearing her evil daddy's voice in her head.

When discussing one of Jenna Ortega's best movies and TV shows, it would be foolish to not mention Megan Park's "The Fallout." In the 2021 film, Ortega stars as high school student Vada Cavell who narrowly avoids a devastating school shooting. The tragedy traumatizes Vada, who grapples with her PTSD and life thereafter. At the same time, Vada and another survivor Mia Reed (Maddie Ziegler) — who hid in the bathroom stall with Vada during the shooting — begin to develop a relationship, but Vada continues to be afflicted by what happened that fateful day and struggles to deal with the silent assortment

 of feelings burning inside her.

"The Fallout" is an eyebrow-raising drama that explores survivor's guilt, as well as the effects of grief that children and teenagers experience after a heartbreaking trauma, such as a school shooting. The film refuses to take emotional shortcuts or pull any punches, sending a powerful message about horrific events that have become an unfortunate reality for too many. That being said, it's also a story about resilience and finding a glimmer of light after a dark event.

For Ortega, "The Fallout" stands out as an example of her wide range of acting that extends beyond being a scream queen or the moody teenage characters she's often associated with. Instead, the film showcases her ability to capture a traumatized character who sometimes can't communicate the paralyzing emotions inside of her.

In 2022's "Scream," a new generation of Woodsboro teenagers get tormented by another addition in the long line of Ghostface killers. The film starts off with a slash and bang as the masked assailant brutally attacks Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega). Fortunately, Tara doesn't die, but she's hospitalized. This event brings her sister, Sam (Melissa Barrera), back to Woodsboro to reconnect with Tara and reveal the shocking truth: Sam is Billy Loomis' daughter. They figure out that Ghostface's plan is to create a requel of the original events of the first "Scream" movie and target Sam and her friends.

Ortega's Tara features predominantly in "Scream," even though Ghostface puts her in a vulnerable state in the opening scene's attack. This is done intentionally to trick the audience into believing she could be a goner at any given moment. Tara, though, battles alongside her sister as they fight for their survival and to receive the chance to rebuild their relationship.

What 2022's "Scream" does exceptionally well is to openly pay tribute to the past with its meta narrative. Everyone knows this is a soft reboot, in an attempt to move forward in a new direction in the series, but it's still done in a tasteful manner within canon and by including legacy characters where it makes sense. It also helps that Ortega's Tara and Barrera's Sam are such against-type protagonists who actually add something new to the franchise rather than repeat the archetypal characters that came before them.

Thirty-six years after the original movie, Michael Keaton's Ghost with the Most re-emerges for showtime in Tim Burton's "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice." This time around, Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) needs to ask (reluctantly) for Betelgeuse's help after her daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega), gets tricked into heading out into the Netherworld to help her current beau, Jeremy Frazier (Arthur Conti), and to meet up with her deceased father, Richard (Santiago Cabrera). What could go wrong here? Oh, absolutely everything, because Betelgeuse is on the run from his homicidal and resurrected ex-wife, Delores LaFerve (Monica Bellucci), who possesses sinister abilities.

There's a lot happening in "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice," and it isn't afraid to get wackier than an episode of "Monday Night Raw." Ortega fits like a mortician's glove in this world, though, as she brings her deadpan and quirky charm from "Wednesday" over to this movie. In fact, it's tough to think of anyone else besides her being able to play Lydia's daughter here, since there are elements about Ortega's acting trajectory that are reminiscent of Ryder's early career as well.

According to Burton, Ortega helped update "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice's" low comedy for a different age by pointing out what she felt did and didn't work for her generation. It seemed to have done the trick as the sequel jumped in line and rocked its body to over $450 million at the global box office and received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers. Unquestionably, "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" is one of Jenna Ortega's best movies.

While "Stuck in the Middle" was far from Jenna Ortega's first rodeo in the big leagues, it was the grand opportunity for her to prove her mettle as a lead actor, and she didn't disappoint one bit. In this Disney comedy series, Ortega's Harley Diaz is the middle child of seven children in her zany family. Harley's answer to middle child syndrome is to use her charm and creativity to get noticed by others — and part of this includes building all kinds of bonkers and wonderful inventions and gadgets that don't always have the desired or intended effect. The show ran for three seasons and saw Ortega win a coveted Imagen Award for her performance as Harley.

Ortega also used "Stuck in the Middle" to show off her understated comedic talents. A major aspect of the series sees Harley break the fourth wall and speak to the camera à la Deadpool, and Ortega never misses a beat to connect with the audience when these breakaway moments present themselves.

Perhaps, more importantly, "Stuck in the Middle" confirmed that she was undeniable and more than capable of carrying a series for the long haul. Undoubtedly, this must have gone a long way to reassuring Netflix that she was the right person for Wednesday Addams, too.

The year 2022 proved to be quite the breakthrough for Jenna Ortega, as she starred in four horror-related flicks: "Scream," "Studio 666," "American Carnage," and "X." The latter — an A24 film from the mind of Ti West — brought serious street cred to Ortega as she portrays Lorraine Day. The movie sees a film cast and crew head out to a farmhouse to shoot an adult movie when their hosts decide to get creepy. Ortega's Lorraine plays the director RJ Nichols' (Owen Campbell) girlfriend, who is initially uncomfortable with the nature of the shoot.

Like a throwback to Tobe Hooper's "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre," "X" gets back to the grassroots of the slasher genre where no character is truly safe, and bloody carnage is the only logical outcome. Critics and audiences agreed that it was something special, as it garnered 94% and 76% on Rotten Tomatoes' Tomatometer and Popcornmeter respectively.

In terms of Ortega's performance, Lorraine isn't a main character, nor does she have a lot of screen time. However, the actor uses the time afforded to good effect, leaving a lasting impression on the audience. Plus, without getting too deep into spoiler territory for those who may have been in hibernation since 2022, Lorraine features in one of the film's most unforgettable chase scenes. Ortega has "Scream" to thank — well, at least partially — for the part of Lorraine. West revealed that it was Jenna Ortega's "Scream" role that 'sealed the deal' for "X."

Could there be any other project at number one when choosing the best Jenna Ortega movies and TV shows? Let's have a look at everything that "Wednesday" had going against it from the get-go. For one, it needed to compete with Barry Sonnenfeld's fantastic "Addams Family" films from the early '90s, which featured the quintessential Wednesday Addams, as portrayed by Christina Ricci. Two, this Netflix show would largely be centered on Wednesday's time at Nevermore Academy and see the rest of the Addams only fleet in and out of the series — talk about a major bummer!

Well, whatever doubts were had were quickly dispelled as Ortega makes the role of Wednesday her own. She knows how to tiptoe the lines of the morbid humor to find the humanity of the complex character in a coming-of-age story. Unsurprisingly, Ortega's peers took notice of her performance too, as the role of Wednesday landed Ortega a Golden Globe nomination.

That's not all, though. "Wednesday" transformed into a mega hit for Netflix, becoming the most-watched series on the platform of all time. Yes, that means it's ahead of other juggernauts like "Stranger Things" and "Bridgerton." It only further confirms what we have already known for a while: This is Jenna Ortega's world, and we're only living in it.