00:00 Jenna Ortega is opening up about not always fitting in as a child actress because she
00:05 didn't, quote, "look a certain way."
00:08 During an interview with Harper's Bazaar, the Scream 6 actress recalled the pressure
00:11 of going on auditions when she was younger in the midst of different industry beauty
00:15 standards.
00:16 "As a child actor, there are two jobs that you can get.
00:19 You're either the younger version of someone or you're playing somebody's daughter.
00:22 And there were just not many leading Hispanic actors who I could be that for."
00:26 Ortega, who is born to parents of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent, further explained,
00:30 "So a lot of the jobs that I was going for growing up would never work out because I
00:35 didn't look a certain way.
00:36 That was really hard to hear that something you couldn't change was what was preventing
00:40 you from succeeding."
00:41 The actress notes that those experiences negatively impacted Ortega's confidence and self-esteem,
00:47 even admitting to the magazine that she wanted to dye her hair blonde at one point to look
00:51 like Cinderella.
00:52 "But over time, that began to change.
00:54 I thought, 'I don't want other young girls to look up at the screen and feel like they
00:57 have to change their appearance to be deemed beautiful or worthy.'"
01:01 While speaking about her experience in Hollywood, Ortega also admitted that she feels somewhat
01:05 embarrassed that she doesn't speak fluent Spanish, adding, "I wasn't born in a Spanish-speaking
01:10 country.
01:11 I haven't spent a lot of time in Mexico, and I've never been to Puerto Rico.
01:14 So there's a feeling of not being worthy enough to be a proper representative."
01:18 Still, she hopes that she can use her presence in the industry for change.
01:21 "I want all people of Latin descent to be able to see themselves on screen.
01:25 I want to feel that I can open doors for other people."
01:28 For more on this story, head to THR.com.
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01:35 News.
01:36 Thanks for watching!
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