Posted on Oct 23, 2026 UTC

These days, you probably best know Jenna Ortega for her standout roles in TV shows like Wednesday and You , and movies like Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and Scream , but she actually got her start as a Disney child star.

Now age 24, Jenna started acting professionally when she was just 9 years old, and at 12, she landed the leading role of Harley Diaz in the Disney Channel series Stuck in the Middle . She remained on this series until 2018, when she was 15 years old.

It’s pretty well known that most celebrities, but especially Disney stars, undergo seriously intense media training as part of their work. And during her recent appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Jenna lifted the lid on what that was actually like — and what she had to say has received a mixed response online.

The conversation started when podcast host Josh Horowitz said to Jenna: “There’s so many folks that see you, young people that see you, that, like, want something out of you, in the best possible way.…