Jenna Ortega: The scream queen of Gen Z

Jenna Ortega

Jenna Ortega received the Breakthrough Award last Sunday at the Lucas Theatre before the showing of her newest horror film, “X.” Ortega had the audience screaming before the film had even started as she arrived on stage. An excellent introduction to her first film festival she’s ever attended in person. Ortega claimed, “SCAD has really set the bar for film festivals,” referring to the student’s reaction to each and every blood-curdling jumpscare throughout the screening.

Ortega is a self-proclaimed cinephile. She stated that all she ever wanted to be growing up was an actress, even telling her mother she wanted to be “the Puerto Rican Dakota Fanning”. In a household of six kids, Ortega states how grateful she is to have her family’s full support of her career, especially her mother. She inspired Ortega to take roles representing “strong and dimensional women.”

The 20-year-old actress has various credits over the course of her life, starting as a child actress in “Jane the Virgin.” A highlight in Ortega’s career has been “playing the role of teens as a teen.” Ortega stated how important it is for directors to allow this generation to represent themselves in the media, referring specifically to her role in “The Fallout.” Ortega then went on to state how excited she is to bring Latin representation to her newest role in Tim Burton’s “Wednesday,” coming to Netflix this Nov. 23. The night ended memorably with an overwhelming standing ovation and Ortega humbly greeting individual students at the edge of the stage.