Are Taylor Russell and Jenna Ortega Related? Let's Meet Her Five Siblings

Few child actors have been able to work as consistently as Jenna Ortega. Since the Coachella Valley native earned her first lead role as Harley Diaz on Disney Channel’s Stuck in the Middle, she has accepted roles in Jane the Virgin, You, and more. However, in 2022, the 21-year-old starlet proved she could also dominate the big screen.

Jenna started 2022 off with a starring role in the latest Scream movie and went even further into the horror genre with the film X. The actor then landed the super spooky title character role in Netflix’s Wednesday.

The role, which Christina Ricci popularized in the 1990s, gave Jenna a chance to play a big sister trying to find her way outside her “kooky” family. While Jenna doesn’t dress like her character every day, she can relate to being a big sister. That's right! Jenna actually has five siblings. Is one of them Escape Room star Taylor Russell? Let's find out!

Jenna (21) was born on Sept. 27, 2002, to her parents, Natalie and Edward A. Ortega. Before Jenna’s birth, Edward and Natalie had three older children — Isaac (26), Mariah (25), and Mia (24). Isaac was reportedly born on Jan. 1, 1998, and Mariah came the following year on Jan. 25. As for Mia, she was born on May 15, 2000.

Following Jenna’s birth, her parents welcomed two more children into the Ortega household. In June 2004, Jenna’s twin siblings — Aaliyah and Markus (20) — were born, making Jenna the middle child of six kids.

While middle children tend to get a bad rap as the “forgotten ones” in a large family, Jenna shared that she doesn’t mind the title. She said her middle-child status prepared her for playing a middle child on Stuck in the Middle.

“There are a lot of misconceptions on being the middle child; it’s actually pretty cool,” Jenna stated in a 2016 interview with Mama’s Mission blog. “Your younger and older brothers and sisters feel that they can confide in you. If someone is going to miss an event, it’s usually the middle child – which causes the parents to feel guilty and try to make it up in other ways. Middle children get away with more stuff in general.”

Despite the close resemblance they share, Jenna and Taylor don't appear to be related (sorry to disappoint those of you who were convinced they were sisters). Unlike Jenna who was born in Calif., Taylor was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, and was raised in various places including Vancouver and Montreal. She's also biracial – born to a Black father and white mother.

Outside of a few interviews, Jenna doesn’t discuss her family publicly. Anyone following the American Carnage star will see she focuses her Instagram account on acting projects and other work events. However, her mom, Natalie, is active on her socials and posts all six of her kids.

In September 2022, Natalie posted a throwback photo of Jenna, Mariah, Mia, and Aaliyah in honor of National Daughter’s Day. Underneath the black and white photo, she shared how grateful she was to have each daughter. “Happy daughters Day to my four beauties,” Natalie wrote. “May you always look for rainbows when it rains, and may you always find the stars in the dark. I love you all so much. 🌧🌈💕.”

Jenna posted a similar photo on her Instagram account in June 2015, years before her fame. However, she seemingly wants to keep her page professional for now, which is understandable.

Catch Jenna Ortega as a kooky Addams in Wednesday Season 1, now streaming on Netflix, and stay tuned for updates on drop dates for Wednesday Season 2.