Jenna Ortega has opened up about the pressure she placed on herself while working as a child actor, revealing that she sometimes went an entire day without asking for food or even a sip of water because she was determined not to get in anyone’s way.
The Wednesday star discussed her early years in the entertainment industry during a recent Esquire interview. Looking back at her first experiences on set, Ortega said she was so grateful to have the opportunity to act that she adopted what she described as a “game face” and tried to make herself as unobtrusive as possible.
“I really had it going for me as a child ’cause I can’t think of one mistake I made,” Ortega said during the conversation. “Is that a terrible thing to say? I feel like I make mistakes now all the time, but as a child, I was so grateful and so excited to be there that my game face was on.”
She then explained what that mindset looked like in practice.
“I wasn’t asking for a sip of water,” Ortega recalled. “I would go all day without eating, drinking, whatever, because I wanted so badly to not be in the way of anybody.”
With the benefit of hindsight, Ortega acknowledged that there was another side to that determination.
“Maybe that was my mistake, was not actually looking after myself,” she said.
Jenna Ortega started acting as a child
Ortega entered the entertainment industry when she was still very young. Her early credits included appearances in projects such as Iron Man 3, Richie Rich, Jane the Virgin, You and Elena of Avalor.
She later became widely known for playing Harley Diaz in Disney Channel’s Stuck in the Middle, which premiered in 2016 when Ortega was 13.
Her career continued to expand through film and television, eventually leading to major roles in projects including Scream, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and Netflix’s Wednesday.
But Ortega has previously made it clear that her childhood career came with experiences that shaped her in lasting ways.
Ortega has previously described child acting as complicated
In a 2024 interview with The New York Times, Ortega reflected on the unusual circumstances surrounding child performers and the way working in an adult environment can influence a young person.
“Child acting is strange,” she said at the time, explaining that she understood why her parents had initially been hesitant about her pursuing the profession.
She also noted that children are expected to balance responsibilities that can be very different from those of other children their age.
“Children aren’t supposed to be working like that. They are supposed to be climbing trees and drawing and going to school,” Ortega said.
At the same time, she expressed gratitude for the way her own parents approached her career. According to Ortega, they made sure she continued going to public school, spent time with friends and prioritised her education and sleep.
That perspective adds context to her latest comments. Her decision not to ask for food or water was not presented as something she was instructed to do. Instead, Ortega described it as a behaviour that came from her own desire to prove herself and avoid inconveniencing people around her.
Her mother made frequent trips for auditions
Ortega has also previously spoken about how difficult the practical side of pursuing acting could be for her family.
During a 2022 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, she recalled her mother driving her from the Coachella Valley to Los Angeles for auditions.
The journey could take six or seven hours round trip, and Ortega said the trips happened several times a week.
Her mother was working as a full-time emergency-room nurse while also raising five children, making the commitment required to support Ortega’s early acting ambitions particularly significant.
Despite those challenges, Ortega continued pursuing acting after deciding at a very young age that it was what she wanted to do.
‘I was 7 years old’ when she decided to become an actor
Ortega has said that her interest in acting began when she was seven.
“I was 7 years old when I said I wanted to do this,” she told Esquire.
She recalled that her parents initially laughed when she told them she wanted to become an actor. Instead of discouraging her, however, the experience became part of what motivated her.
“My parents laughed at me when I told them that I wanted to do it, and then that was kind of the root of everything. The motivation,” Ortega said.
She added that she never really stopped pursuing acting, describing herself as “very stubborn” and saying she never questioned the decision.
Jenna Ortega also addressed the stigma around child stars
During the Esquire conversation, Ortega was asked about some of the common perceptions surrounding former child actors.
Her response was blunt.
“Is it wrong to say that a lot of them are true? And do with that what you will,” she said.
Her comments reflect the complicated relationship many former child performers have with growing up in an industry where professional expectations begin at an unusually early age.
For Ortega, that experience helped shape her personality and perspective. At the same time, her latest recollection shows that being eager to succeed could sometimes lead her to put her own basic needs second.
From child performer to global star
Ortega’s career has changed dramatically since those early audition days.
Her performance as Wednesday Addams transformed her into a global star, while her work in the Scream franchise and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice further established her as a prominent young actor in Hollywood.
Yet her latest comments offer a reminder that the path to that level of success began when she was a child navigating professional environments far removed from ordinary childhood experiences.
Looking back, Ortega does not appear to regret pursuing acting. Instead, her reflections show a greater awareness of the sacrifices and habits that accompanied her early career.
Her admission that she should have looked after herself more also underscores the importance of adults recognising that young performers remain children, regardless of how professional or successful they may appear on a set.
