‘Being young and assertive terrifies people’ - Jenna Ortega speaks out on industry challenges
Jenna Ortega shared about the difficulties she has faced in the past as a young actress and the inability to express herself the way she would have wanted.
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American actress Jenna Ortega recently featured on the cover of “Vogue Mexico and Latin America” for the September 2025 issue and shared what it’s like to be a young actress in Hollywood and what it’s like to not be heard.
She revealed during the interview that it terrifies her to not be able to voice out her opinion on certain things as a young woman.
“Being young and assertive is intense for a lot of people, as a woman. I’ve always known what it’s like to not have a voice, and that terrifies me,” the 22-year-old actress shared.
Ortega shared that she never wants to find herself in that situation again, and she now prefers to speak out in a kind and professional manner.
“I don’t want to be in that situation again. But for me, it’s just about making sure I use my voice in the most professional, efficient and kind way possible,” she said.
The “Wednesday” star added that prior to learning how to speak up, she actually did not know how to express herself since she was very young.
She also shared that since she did not know anything about the acting industry, she found herself in difficult situations, which led her to being insecure and closed off.
‘For most of my career, I didn’t know how to express myself. I didn’t know I could because I was so young, too young.
“I didn’t know anything about the industry, maybe because of certain experiences, maybe because of some professional encounters I had in the past that were a bit more difficult."
She revealed that she closed off and became very insecure about her place.
Ortega has managed to assert her voice in the industry and stepped into her power as she is now taking on more titles, other than being an actress.
In an interview with “Harper’s Bazaar” in 2024, she confirmed that she had an opportunity to be an executive producer for the second season of the gothic hit series “Wednesday”.
“It was nice to be given the scripts as they were coming in, and be a part of the creative conversations and note-taking and discussions on where things were going,” she said.
Even though Ortega is popular for her role as Wednesday Addams, she has appeared in multiple popular movies or series before, such as “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”, “Miller’s Girl”, “Scream”, “Finest Kind” and more.