Jenna Ortega reveals she had COVID-19 while filming Wednesday's dance scene (2024)

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Did Jenna Ortega have COVID when she did the dance scene? ›

Jenna Ortega is making headlines for the now-infamous viral dance number in her Netflix show Wednesday –– but it's not because of her stellar moves. The actress recently admitted to having COVID while filming the dance scene.

Some of the moves I had planned, some of it was improved. That was one of the scenes that I stay awake at night thinking about. There was so much I could have done and should have done. So, the fact that anyone has shown any appreciation or even tried it themselves is unfathomable to me.

During the filming process, Ortega said she found not blinking "pretty annoying," but eventually figured out that she could blink while other characters were saying their lines, keeping her eyes wide open for her own.

“I choreographed that myself and I think it's very obvious that I'm not a dancer or a choreographer,” the actress shared, adding that she felt “insecure” about the steps.

Ahead of Tuesday's Golden Globe Awards, the 20-year-old actor revealed that she “can't be on” the Gen Z-facing platform and doesn't make a habit of scrolling through videos re-creating her viral “Wednesday” dance.

She had to switch cello teachers abroad and learn to perform a piece written for two cellos with just one instrument. “I did not get any sleep. I pulled my hair out,” Ortega said. “There's so many FaceTime calls that my dad answered of me hysterically crying.”

Wednesday Addams is a typically young girl (in the original series, she is about six, in the two original movies and animated movies, she is 13, in the Netflix series, she is 15 and 16) who is obsessed with death and is described as brilliant, with a penchant for doing odd scientific experiments.

Let's Explore the Mysterious Connection Between Wednesday and Goody Addams. Is Wednesday a witch? Not exactly, but her powers are certainly supernatural.

Jenna was born in 2002, and the youngest Ortega siblings are twins Markus and Aaliyah, who were born in 2004. Aaliyah has over 180k followers and is a student at CSULB, after graduating high school in 2022.

Is Jenna Ortega vegan or vegetarian? ›

“I was vegan for a really long time,” the actress told Wired. “But I stopped being vegan when I went to Romania to shoot Wednesday.” “The food is very different there and I don't think that I was meeting my nutrition requirements so I started eating fish again. So I'm currently pescatarian,” she revealed.

Jenna doesn't publicly share her phone number or email address. If phone or email is your preferred method of communication, reach out to someone on her management team directly or contact her agency, Creative Artists Agency (CAA): CAA email: info@caa.com. CAA phone: 1 (424) 288-2000.

She had to switch cello teachers abroad and learn to perform a piece written for two cellos with just one instrument. “I did not get any sleep. I pulled my hair out,” Ortega said. “There's so many FaceTime calls that my dad answered of me hysterically crying.”

I myself have anxiety and have suffered with depression badly in the past.

Wednesday's Biggest Controversies: From Questionable Working Conditions to Sexual Assault Allegations. Wednesday was the talk of the town when it premiered on Netflix — but not all of the discourse was positive. The series reintroduced fans to a new version of Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) in November 2022.

From 2016 to 2018, Ortega led the Disney Channel sitcom Stuck in the Middle as Harley Diaz, an aspiring inventor who is the middle child of the seven siblings. She said that booking the role was "one of the best days of my life".