‘The only reason I’m acting is because I want to be the Puerto Rican Dakota Fanning’: Jenna Ortega shares how the actress inspired her to pursue acting

Actress Jenna Ortega recently revealed how Dakota Fanning played a massive role in her career. The 20-year-old has been a part of the entertainment industry since 2012. Jenna got her start by portraying minor roles in films and television shows, including Iron Man 3 and Jane the Virgin. Years later, in 2016, Jenna would become a household name when she landed the lead role of Harley Diaz in Disney Channel’s Stuck in the Middle, which aired on the network for three seasons. 

To date, Jenna’s career continues to flourish as she stars in two popular franchises: Netflix’s Wednesday, an Adams Family spinoff, Scream and Scream VI. In a June 7 interview with Variety’s Actors on Actors series, Jenna, who was paired alongside actress Elle Fanning, revealed that Dakota was one of the biggest inspirations behind why she pursued acting. 

In the discussion, Jenna told Elle that growing up, she envisioned herself becoming “the Puerto Rican Dakota Fanning” within the industry due to the pair’s similarities of being a child star and because she admired Dakota’s work. The You star added that when she discovered that Dakota was related to Elle, she idolized them both because she wanted to be in their “shoes.” Jenna reflected on a past conversation she had with her mother, Natalie Ortega:

“When I was younger, I told my mom the only reason I’m acting is because I want to be the Puerto Rican Dakota Fanning. We were obsessed with Dakota’s work and we were following. Then she says, ‘do you know she has a sister?’ I was like, ‘she has a sister.’ For the longest time I idolized the both of you guys. I would follow your careers because I wanted to be in your guys shoes.

Jenna would wrap up her statement by saying how “strange” it was to be paired with Elle to do the Actors on Actors interview, given that she was a massive fan of their work. The Studio 666 star stated as she praised Elle for all of her accomplishments,

“You guys were like this enigmatic super glorious talented figures in my head. It’s just really strange to be here. Immense respect for everything that you do and all that you have accomplished. It’s really, really special.”

Following Jenna’s admission, an overjoyed Elle hugged the star and exclaimed that she had to tell Dakota after the taping. At this time, it is unclear if Elle shared the information with her sister because Dakota has yet to publicly address Jenna’s remarks.