The 13 Best Jenna Ortega Movie Moments, Ranked

Jenna Ortega is a force to be reckoned with. The young starlet began her career with several bit parts in TV and movies in the early 2010s. By the middle of the decade, she enjoyed a stint on the "Richie Rich" series and appearances in "The Cookie Mobster" and "After Words." But it wasn't until her role as young Jane in "Jane the Virgin" that she began to turn a few heads. Then, in 2019, she starred as Ellie in Netflix's soapy crime drama "You," in which she dished up a star-turning performance. She went from promising talent to superstar overnight, so it's no wonder that she's become a household name. Everyone wants to work with her.

In the four years since her game-changing TV gig, she's landed roles in countless more projects, including Ti West's retro-slasher "X," the Dave Grohl-backed "Studio 666," and the award-nominated, Tim Burton-directed "Wednesday" series on Netflix. What has set Ortega head and shoulders over her contemporaries is her range and how she approaches the material she's given. Whether she needs to deliver a comedic monologue with panache or demonstrate the brokenness of the human spirit, she takes great care in offering layered and complex performances that go beyond what is simply written on the page. Ortega is only a decade into her career, yet she's amassed a body of work that any other actor should envy. Come with us as we take a stroll through her 12 best on-screen movie moments.

Moments before Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow) performs a stirring rendition of Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide," Lorraine questions the morality of doing porn and falling in love. "How can you love someone and still be with other people?" she asks. Maxine (Mia Goth) responds: "Take it from me. Letting outdated traditions control how you live your life will get you nowhere." She then reminds Lorraine that the heart wants what it wants when it comes to an attraction versus love. Lorraine then admits she "did like what I saw today. I didn't think I would but I did."

Following the acoustic performance, Lorraine drops the bombshell that she wants to do a scene in the movie. Her boyfriend RJ (Owen Campbell) argues against it, saying that they've already shot most of the movie. "I don't just want to carry the equipment, I want to be in it," Lorraine offers. Ortega exhibits a brilliant serpent's tongue performance, slithering from line to line with an inescapable sting. "When did you become such a prude?" she soon whispers, flipping the script on what RJ told her earlier in the film.

Ortega could give a sterling reading of a phone book. When given such a tight script, she fills each beat with profound intention. As it relates to questions on sexual liberation and self-power, it's necessary to have a performance with such gravitas. Ortega more than meets the challenge, though other moments on this list showcase her talents even more. 

Jenna Ortega's Tara Carpenter gets attacked not once, not twice, but three times in 2022's "Scream." She's initially set up as the opening kill (more on that later) but survives. In the hospital, Ghostface attacks again. Then, in the finale, she finds herself in the crosshairs of Amber and Richie. It's hard to imagine how she survived, but Tara is one tough cookie. She won't go down without a fight — or three.

When things hit the fan in the third act, Amber knocks her unconscious. Through the second killer reveal and the action-packed ending, Tara is MIA for the rest of the film until she recovers and fires a single shot into a very charred Amber, who wields a knife much like her character in "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood." Gun sizzling, Ortega serves up her most iconic line with "I still prefer The Babadook," a callback to the opening in which she says she prefers "elevated horror" films like "The Babadook" as opposed to "schlocky nonsense with wall-to-wall jump scares."

Ortega's delivery of the line is straightforward, yet her lip quivers to allow just enough emotion to slide out. That's the thing about Ortega; she knows exactly what scenes require. When it needs to be a quieter moment, such as this one, she gives the audience the right amount of emotional heft without overdoing it. There's stillness in her performance, and that's the mark of a great actor.

Unlike her character in "Scream," a genre savant, Jenna Ortega's Lorraine is a lamb to the slaughter. She doesn't make the best decisions in a film that harkens back to '70s slashers like "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre." When she follows Howard's (Stephen Ure) instructions to go down into the basement to grab a flashlight, you know she's in for a world of hurt. She ends up locked in the basement and soon uncovers a mutilated body hanging from the rafters, blood and guts spilled across the concrete floor. Upon discovery, Ortega lets out a blood-curdling scream. It stops you in your tracks and makes you pay attention — you have no other choice.

Later, Lorraine tries to escape her underground prison by using a small ax to shop away at the door, but she gets two fingers blown off when Howard discovers her plot. Lorraine cowers away, letting out blubbering cries for help. Ortega tears your heart out with every scream, like taking an icepick and digging it into your chest. The entire sequence is slasher perfection, from the scream heard around the world to her (somewhat) survivable injury. As always, the actor transmits her fear and vulnerability right through the camera.

"The Fallout" is Jenna Ortega's finest overall performance. In the aftermath of a school shooting, her character Vada struggles to cope and finds herself turning to drugs, booze, and sex to numb the pain of losing her classmates. She grows increasingly distant from her family and younger sister Amelia (Lumi Pollack). Instead, she befriends influencer and classmate Mia (Maddie Ziegler). They could not be more different, but they bond over shared trauma, effectively helping each other navigate feelings of anger, sadness, and guilt.

Late one night, Amelia creeps into Vada's room because she can't sleep. She slips into bed and finally has a long overdue conversation about what's happened. Amelia blames herself for texting Vada and confesses she's scared to go to school. She goes on to ask why Vada has been so angry with her recently. She first holds back the tears but quickly lets them cascade down her face. Vada tells her she's not mad but barely holding things together. It was "the scariest moment of my life," she confides. It's such a quiet moment, you could hear a pin drop.

"The Fallout" depicts far more than the immediate effects of a shooting on survivors; the outward ripples do just as much damage. Vada falls apart, and her struggles have a domino effect on the family, tearing them apart in the process. Ortega delivers her lines with such profound weight, it's like detonating a bomb in the air. Expect more moments from "The Fallout" in our top 5 picks. 

If you have been impacted by incidents of mass violence, or are experiencing emotional distress related to incidents of mass violence, you can call or text Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990 for support.

With school shootings sadly being a normal occurrence in the United States, "The Fallout" depicts a catastrophic shooting and the aftermath. It's as timely a film as you might expect. The movie, thankfully, gives no screen time to the active shooter instead focusing solely on the survivors and how they suffer, emotionally and psychologically, from such a tragic event. Receiving a 9-1-1 text from her sister Amelia, Vada excuses herself from class and heads to the bathroom, where she meets Mia, her soon-to-be best friend.

While chatting over makeup, the shooter begins his reign of terror in the hallway. Mia and Vada take refuge in a nearby stall, hunkering over the toilet and hearing nothing but screams and the shower of bullets. Jenna Ortega's face wrenches in shock, disbelief, and unfiltered terror. It's one thing to read about a shooting in the news; it's something else entirely to experience it. It's through such traumatic circumstances that Vada and Mia's friendship is born. The rest of the film follows their journey to deal with what happened, process their emotions, and learn that numbing the pain is never a good thing.

"The Fallout" is quite an exquisite showcase for Ortega, who exhibits real power and finesse in the role. There's no way to walk away from this scene, or this film really, without knowing and fully believing Ortega is the next great actor of her generation.

If you have been impacted by incidents of mass violence, or are experiencing emotional distress related to incidents of mass violence, you can call or text Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990 for support.

Once fleeing the circus with Flora, Dawn befriends Sebastian (Martin Martinez), a young teen forced to do the bidding of well-known criminal Fernando (Massi Furlan). Law enforcement posts a handsome reward for the whereabouts and eventual rescue of Flora and Dawn. Sebastian is instructed to lure Dawn to Sabinas, where Fernando hopes to cash in on the prize money.

While being hunted by two poachers, Dawn, Sebastian, and Flora are forced to swim across a lake to safety. It takes its physical and emotional toll on the trio, and they then camp out for the night. After getting a good night's sleep, Dawn rolls awake with a renewed spirit. Sebastian's phone vibrates. When Dawn checks it, she sees a series of texts from Fernando. Sebastian's cover has been blown, and Dawn is noticeably crushed by this revelation. Sebastian expresses that he didn't mean to sleep so long, to which Dawn fully admits she already knows. "You were tired. Probably had a hard time falling asleep ... thinking about all that reward money." She chucks the phone on his chest. "You totally had me fooled," she says, beginning to weep.

Sebastian backpedals. "I want to help," he pleads. Dawn won't hear of it and demands he leave her sight. She tugs at her hair and completely loses it. Unlike other moments, there's an innocence to Ortega's performance. It's both fragile and imposing; her ability to make you feel deeply is impressive.