Jenna Ortega doesn't usually do the "perfect" celebrity thing. If you’ve followed her trajectory from the Disney Channel days to the monochromatic madness of Wednesday, you know she’s got this specific, slightly dry edge that makes most Hollywood PR fluff feel like a cardboard cutout. But her 2025 sit-down for Interview Magazine—specifically her deep dive with Natalie Portman—hit different. It wasn't just another press junket stop to promote a movie.
It was a therapy session.
Honestly, the Jenna Ortega Interview Magazine piece caught people off guard because it stripped away the gothic "It Girl" aesthetic and replaced it with a raw conversation about the "stench" of old characters. That’s a real word she used. Stench. She talked about waking up in hotel rooms and having to actively change her morning routine just to shake off the habits of the person she was playing the day before.
Why the Natalie Portman Pairing Mattered
Most people don't realize that this interview happened right as the two were gearing up for their 2026 film The Gallerist. There is a specific kind of kinship between former child actors that most of us will never understand. Portman, who was famously sexualized as a young girl after Léon: The Professional, found a protégé in Ortega.
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They didn't talk about skincare.
They talked about the "yes-people." Portman warned her about the bubble of being pampered, where everyone tells you you’re brilliant until you lose your grip on reality. Ortega admitted she’s still "figuring out the line." It was a rare moment where you could see the 22-year-old behind the global superstar, admitted she felt "scared" and "overwhelmed" by the sheer noise of the industry.
The "Schoolgirl" Trap and Career Transitions
One thing that really irks Jenna? The schoolgirl costume.
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In several 2025 interviews, including her reflections in Interview and Harper’s Bazaar, she’s been vocal about the patronizing nature of being a "short woman" in a uniform. "When you're short, people are already physically looking down on you," she basically told the world. For her, Wednesday was a double-edged sword. It gave her a seat at the table—she’s a producer on Season 2 now—but it also froze her in the public’s mind as a teenager.
She’s 22. She wants to be taken seriously.
You can see this shift in the Interview Magazine photoshoot. Instead of the pigtails and Peter Pan collars we expect, the visuals (shot by Walker Bunting) leaned into a more high-fashion, surrealist vibe. It was a "soft gothic cottagecore" evolution that signaled she’s ready to leave Nevermore Academy behind, even if the fans aren't.
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Jenna’s "Brain Rot" and Real Life
The most human part of these 2025-2026 press cycles is how much she leans into her own weirdness. In the Interview piece, she mentions trying to feng shui her place just to feel "refreshed." It's a tiny detail, but it speaks to the anxiety of a person who has been "living off a six-year-old’s decisions."
- The "Flaky" Lucas: She joked about a friend named Lucas who is "flaky" in the city.
- The Fox Repellent: She once tried to make DIY fox repellent because the foxes in her backyard were "screaming" at night.
- Social Media Anxiety: She’s admitted to having "brain rot" from the internet but treats her Instagram like a "business platform" to protect her sanity.
She doesn't want to be an influencer. She wants to be a "scream queen" who eventually works with Charlie Kaufman.
Navigating the 2026 Landscape
As we move through 2026, the Jenna Ortega Interview Magazine story remains a blueprint for how young stars are reclaiming their narratives. She isn't just "happy to be here" anymore. By stepping into producer roles and being blunt about her "unhappy" periods after the first season of Wednesday, she’s breaking the Disney-star-to-pop-wreckage cycle.
She’s choosing joy over compromise. Or at least, she’s compromising the "least amount possible," as she discussed with Tim Burton.
Actionable Next Steps for Fans and Creators:
- Study the Producer Shift: If you’re interested in the business of Hollywood, look at how Ortega used her "breakout" leverage to secure a producer credit for Wednesday Season 2. This gave her creative control over her character's "emotional arch," moving away from the "emotionless" trope.
- Watch 'The Gallerist': To see the chemistry sparked by the Interview conversation, watch her 2026 collaboration with Natalie Portman. It’s the physical manifestation of the mentorship discussed in the magazine.
- Evaluate the "Child Actor" Narrative: Use Ortega’s insights on "people-pleasing" as a lens to view other young stars. Her transparency about feeling like a "puppet" is a massive shift in how celebrities discuss their early careers.