Jenna Ortega is fast becoming one of this generation’s most prominent actresses. From her breakout role as a child actress in Jane The Virgin to her now critically-acclaimed part as Wednesday in the hit Netflix series, Ortega is showing no signs of slowing. Known for her acting prowess and dark, moody image, the American star has often been celebrated for her unique, offbeat confidence that seeps into everything she touches.
It’s no surprise, then, that earlier this year in May, Dior Beauty officially announced Ortega as the newest ambassador for its makeup collections. After all, she’s a true chameleon, especially when it comes to makeup. A swipe of an eyeliner and she’s Astrid Deetz from Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Throw on a dark, broody lip and she’s back to channelling her Wednesday persona.
Now, Ortega stakes her claim with Dior Beauty, as the face of the brand’s new Rouge Dior On Stage. High shine and high glamour, the lipstick line is made for the red carpet. While providing intense hydration for all-day comfort, the lipsticks’s pigment is unapologetically bold and long-lasting.
In celebration of Dior Beauty’s new launch, we sat down with Ortega for an exclusive chat, where she talks about her relationship with beauty, film and owning one’s self-confidence.
GRAZIA Singapore (GS): What does the house of Dior mean to you? What’s your earliest memory of Dior?
Jenna Ortega: I’m from the Coachella Valley, and there’s a street called El Paseo where all the fancy stores are. It was my first time on the street to shop with my mum. We didn’t make it into Dior that day, but it was the first store that stuck out to me, because of the incredible design and exterior. I remember watching these two women come out of the store laughing and smiling. I think they had just bought two purses. I remember seeing that joy, and it was quite mesmerising to me.
The house in itself so androgynous and sensitive, but elegant. There’s this strength and class that I really appreciate. So much of Dior is about emphasising what’s already there for you. They just kind of give you the tools to pull that out of yourself. So it’s very instrumental to me.
GS: What would you tell (or maybe ask) Christian Dior if you met him today?
JO: I would find it fascinating to know what inspired him to create the first Rouge Dior lipstick, although I
might be a little nervous about asking him questions.
GS: What is your favorite shade from the Rouge Dior On Stage collection, and what kind of personality does it bring out in you?
JO: My favorite shade—the one that I have in my bag right now—is Redwood Star. I like it for everyday wear, since it’s got this brownish red tone to it. I think it just suits me the best.
Clearly, I love eyeliner and doing these smokey eye looks. But I’m in the middle of this job right now, and I’m doing a lot of eyeliner there, and I’m starting to get quite tired of it. So it’s nice that when I put this shade on, that’s all I need. The simplicity and ease of it, plus the general confidence it gives me is so refreshing. It’s so rare that I find that in a lip product, but it’s made my life so much easier.
GS: In the campaign, we see you stepping into the spotlight as the face of this lipstick. What parallels do you see between the boldness of this campaign and the way you’ve approached your career so far?
JO: It was very fun to shoot this campaign, because it’s so different from anything that I had done before. As far as how it relates to my career, oftentimes I do play unconventional characters—more so recently—and that’s really important to me. To portray people who don’t care about the general perception of themselves or what their community around them cares about.
For me, personally, because of what I’ve experienced and the strange phenomenon that happened with the show [Wednesday], I’ve found something deeper within myself to feel a little bit less malleable and shaken by what’s going on around me. I’d much rather be myself than fall into some sort of bandwagon mentality. I never want to sacrifice my humanity and authenticity.
GS: Can you tell us a little more about working on this campaign? Any memorable behind-the-scenes moments you’d like to share?
JO: Working on this campaign was an incredibly fun experience as the shoot was very relaxed. I wore an outfit that had a very 1920s feel to it that reminded me of Cabaret. I loved the blazer in particular, as stylistically it felt a lot like me. There was a very playful atmosphere on the set too. Sometimes in campaigns you can really enjoy partaking in this elegant, refined and poised moment, but it’s also fun to be a little silly and not always be a perfectionist, because it’s more about conveying a feeling.
GS: Rouge Dior On Stage represents overturning conventions and rewriting the rules. How do you feel like you’ve done that in Hollywood?
JO: I think part of that is just the fight and not quitting. I feel like it’s so easy to quit in the job that I do because there’s so much pressure, competition, and rejection. But I was quite confident as a child, and I never let [the industry] waver my ambition or drive for what I do, so I feel like that was really important.
There wasn’t always a place for me. This isn’t as common anymore, but when I first started taking on roles, for the most part, everything was ethnicity-based. Because I didn’t always have the ethnicity of the older actor (whoever I would be playing the younger version of), I had to go twice as hard and prove to them as to why I would make sense. It didn’t work every time, but sometimes it did. As a young kid, it’s kind of crazy to have to accept that maybe visually, you’re not right for the part. But I didn’t care.
GS: How do you think makeup, especially lipstick, can influence a person’s mood or mindset?
JO: Especially with my job, makeup is a form of self expression. It really does say a lot about a person, what they’re into, where they’re willing to go or even how they want to be seen. So it’s immensely important for me, and especially when I do these big events or red carpets.
It’s a vulnerable position for human to be in, and there’s a lot of expectation, so sometimes you’ve kind of got to make that person on the carpet a character. You do need that boost of confidence; something that makes you feel a little bit stronger than yourself. So lipstick, especially the shade that you use, is so crucial when creating a look. You’re wearing that on your face, you’re speaking through those lips, and you’re smiling through those lips.
GS: In your opinion, what kind of movie character would wear Redwood Star and Iconic Rose?
JO: I could see the shades on the main character in The Earrings of Madame De…, because it’s this very glamorous (and kind of arrogant) character who doesn’t really care about other people’s interpretation of her until she does. She falls in love with this man who has rocked the world and changed her life. You see her become softer throughout the film. When she turns into that sweeter character, I see her starting off with Redwood Star. Then she would ease into Iconic Rose because she cares less and less about her appearance, and more about the relationship that she is forming with this man.
GS: Out of all the characters you’ve portrayed, which one has been the most challenging—and why?
JO: Wednesday is definitely one of most challenging characters I’ve portrayed, just because she’s so beloved and there is a lot of pressure to get her right. Especially as people already know her so well, and many other actresses have done such a great job of portraying her. I was also in a film called The Fallout, where I played a high school student dealing with PTSD, and that was a very heavy role, with a lot of responsibility.
GS: Do you feel like you’re becoming a new kind of role model for Latin girls—especially by representing a different aesthetic from what is often expected in the industry?
JO: It’s hard for me to see myself as a role model, I wouldn’t describe myself as one. However, I think it’s
incredible to be able to contribute characters who, hopefully, help people who fit that aesthetic feel seen
and less alone. I feel it might encourage them to embrace their differences a bit more. And that’s a very
exciting idea for me.
GS: How has your relationship with makeup and beauty evolved over the years?
JO: Initially, I was very much a tomboy so I wasn’t interested in makeup at all. Then, as a pre-teen, I became obsessed with it and with being feminine, because it made me feel grown up, so that was new and exciting to me. Then, as you get older, it’s less about playing dress-up, and more about enhancing your natural beauty. Or presenting yourself in the way you want to be seen, that represents you best. So apart from photo shoots, I like to let my skin show and breathe, and I like to see my freckles. I also love the addition of a bold color on the lip. I definitely wear far less makeup than when I was 14.
GS: Earlier, you mentioned your love for eyeliner and smoky, grungy eye makeup, which you often rock both on screen and in real life on the red carpets. What’s the Jenna smokey eye, and how can we achieve it?
JO: It’s really quite simple. So simple that when I work with makeup artists or even friends, and maybe they see me do it, they kind of turn their heads a little bit. I basically get my eyeliner, I close my eye, and I just run it back and forth in between to get the water line right. And then I do like a tiny line at the top, and then I get either my finger or a stub brush, and blend. Naturally, if you do it messily enough, it goes just under the eyes too. Once you add mascara, your lashes cover the mess. When you do it carelessly, it comes off more casual. If you focus too much and make the line too nice, it turns into like this glamorous, nighttime, smokey look. And that’s not what you want. You want something that looks like you almost slept in it.
GS: What about lipsticks? Do you have any special application techniques?
JO: Not necessarily. I think so much of lipstick is intuition, so you just gotta feel it out for yourself. Obviously you want an even application. I don’t know what is in the Dior lipsticks but it’s quite smooth. It’s very hard to mess it up. Just please make sure you’re wearing chapstick and drinking water.
GS: What’s your relationship with social media like? How do you protect your privacy in an age where everything feels so public?
JO: I think I’m in quite a good place with social media now, and I’ve set healthy boundaries. I’m fortunate
enough to have a job that takes up a lot of my personal life, so I don’t really have time to dwell on the
internet. That can always change, but I don’t find it particularly interesting right now. I don’t know how
you protect your privacy. Sometimes you think you’re alone and not seen, when in fact you are, so it can
feel unsafe a lot of the time. I can’t tell you how to protect your privacy, but what I can say, is that it’s
incredibly important to have a strong support system, and people that you can trust around you, and I do
have that.
GS: You mentioned in a recent interview that you’re quite introverted, and the initial pressure and attention of Wednesday was quite intense and scary. What advice do you have for introverts navigating an industry that typically favours extroversion, especially in the social media age?
JO: You don’t have to perform for anybody; there’s no expectation to say more. Because I get so anxious and nervous with these things, I find myself speaking about things and I end up in conversations that don’t necessarily feel natural to me. Then I don’t feel like myself. Then I think that’s where the kind of hesitation about socialisation kind of comes in.
You have a seat at the table, enjoy the company, speak when you’d like to, but you shouldn’t have to force yourself to do anything. Maybe it’s nice to have a bit more of a quiet, pleasant night. I promise you that no one really minds.
GS: What’s currently on your playlist—any favorite artists or go-to tracks right now?
JO: Because it’s almost summer, Baltimore by Nina Simone has been a really big track for me, and I love the artist Dean Blunt. Who else? Sade, The Rolling Stones, Black Country New Road, and Boards of Canada. Those are the artists I’m listening to most frequently at the moment.
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