Jenna Ortega Credits Winona Ryder for Support Amid Rising Fame

Jenna Ortega has been acting since she was 9, but her fame soared to new heights with her Emmy-nominated leading role in Wednesday, Tim Burton’s Netflix series about Wednesday Addams that debuted in 2022.

Around that time, Ortega met her Beetlejuice Beetlejuice co-star Winona Ryder. Both actresses found fame in their late teens and early 20s, forming a quick and meaningful bond. In a conversation with Harper’s Bazaar during a feature on Ryder, Ortega shared how Ryder became a pivotal support for her.

“She definitely helped me feel less alone,” Ortega told the publication about the Stranger Things star. “It’s a very isolating experience and a scary one. Being able to speak to somebody who had witnessed that firsthand, maybe even more, was a great source of comfort for me, and I can’t thank her enough for that.”

This isn’t the first time Ortega has praised Ryder. Previously, she expressed her admiration during an interview with E! News.

“Winona is just the loveliest, sweetest — just one of my favorite people I think I’ve ever met,” Ortega said. “I love her a lot and I felt really grateful to get to know her and work with her—she is just an angel on this planet.”

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice follows Ryder’s Lydia Deetz and her family returning to their home in Winter River, Connecticut, after a loss. They face the repercussions when Lydia’s daughter, Ortega’s Astrid, opens a portal to the afterlife. The movie also features Michael Keaton and Catherine O’Hara, with Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Arthur Conti, and Willem Dafoe joining the cast.

In an earlier conversation with Vanity Fair, Ortega shared insights about her character. “She’s weird, but in a different way and not in the way you’d assume, I would say,” she noted.

She elaborated, “The relationship between Lydia and Astrid, my character, is very important. And it’s also really strange because it’s a lot of catching up and putting the pieces together of what’s gone on in Lydia’s life since [the first film], which is nice, I think, for anybody who loves the character and is excited to see her again.”

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice arrives in theaters on Sept. 6.

Source: Harper’s Bazaar, E! News, Vanity Fair