Is Jenna Ortega in You?

Jenna Ortega is an American actress who was born on September 27, 2002, in Palm Desert, California. She began her acting career at a young age with a minor appearance in an episode of the show Rob (2012). She first gained popularity for her role as Young Jane in the hit TV show Jane the Virgin. She later starred in the Disney Channel show Stuck in the Middle, where she played the lead role of Harley Diaz.

Since then, she has worked in many films, including The Babysitter: Killer Queen (2020), The Fallout (2021), Scream (2022), Scream VI (2023), Miller's Girl (2024), Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024), and more. She is best known for playing Wednesday Addams in the hit Netflix show Wednesday (2022- present). She also appeared in the hit show You in 2019. Let’s take a look at Jenna Ortega’s character in You.

Is Jenna Ortega in You?

Yes, Jenna Ortega was part of the show You, where she plays the role of Ellie Alves. Her character was introduced in the 2nd season and was one of the main characters. Ellie is a smart and ambitious 15-year-old girl who lives in Los Angeles with her older sister, Delilah Alves. She wants to become a filmmaker and works as an intern for Henderson, a famous comedian. Ellie meets Joe Goldberg, the main character of the show, when he moves into the same apartment building.

At first, Joe tries to protect Ellie from the dangers around her, especially from people like Henderson, who turns out to be a pedophile and sexual predator. Ellie starts trusting Joe and even looks up to him, not knowing about his dark past. After a series of tragic events, Joe informs her that her sister is dead and he killed Henderson. Joe gives her some money and sends her away to keep her safe. He moved to the suburbs and kept sending Ellie monthly payments.

Will Jenna Ortega be in Season 5 of You?

As of April 2025, it hasn’t been confirmed whether Jenna Ortega will return as Ellie Alves in the 5th and final season of You. In an interview with IndieWire, the showrunner, Sera Gamble, shared that she wants to bring Ortega’s character back into the show. She said, “We wanted to bring Ellie back and we heard, ‘Oh, Jenna is doing some show.’ It’s been just such a pleasure to see Jenna this year. We have ideas for Ellie, if her schedule allows her to visit us again.”

In an interview with Glamour, Gamble said, “We always have had more ideas for stories in our pocket about Ellie, and I’m absolutely thrilled to watch Jenna’s star rise. She is 1,000 times busier—we couldn’t even schedule her to return last season, but we miss her a lot. We have always felt that Ellie and Joe had a little bit more story left.” Some fans are speculating that Ortega’s character might come back in the final season, since her story didn’t get a proper ending.

At Netflix's Tudum: A Global Fan Event in São Paulo, Brazil, Penn Badgley spoke to the audience via video about the final season of You. He said, “I've heard you're on the edge of your seats waiting and theorizing about the epic conclusion of You. More importantly, you're considering what — or should I say who — Joe will come up against as he finally returns to New York. Though I can't say who just yet, we all know there are many loose ends from Joe's past.” The teaser of the show had many past characters, including Ellie Alves, which started the conversation among fans about Jenna Ortega's return.