In the Netflix series, Wednesday Addams is portrayed as a 16-year-old by Jenna Ortega, a 21-year-old actress. The portrayal of Jenna as a junior high school student at Nevermore, which was attended by both of her parents and where they initially met and fell in love, is convincing. Although Jenna is considerably older than her character, her acting prowess has us wondering about her age.
Wednesday tells her roommate Enid Sinclair (Emma Myers) that her parents only sent her there because they want her to follow in their footsteps. Despite Gomez (Luis Guzman) and Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) doing this, Wednesday does not plan to stay long at Nevermore.
Wednesday was only six years old in the original TV series, but she is around 12 or 13 years old in the 1991 and 1993 films The Addams Family and Addams Family Values. In both motion pictures, Christina Ricci played the role, and now, Netflix's Wednesday is a 16-year-old.
How tall is Wednesday in the Netflix series Wednesday?
Jenna Ortega, the star of Wednesday, has undoubtedly been rising steadily. She has over 40 acting credits despite being only 21 years old, and in recent years, she has taken on more prominent and leading roles.
It can be challenging to determine Ortega's exact height due to camera tricks, platform shoes, and a variety of roles that cast her anywhere from her teens to her mid-twenties. In a recent interview with Wired, she stated that her height is 5'1"—"maybe a touch less."
The gothic appearance of Wednesday in the series is perfectly in line with the style of director Tim Burton. The show's visuals have strong contrast, mostly in black and white with a few bright pops of color. The use of large platform boots, a staple of gothic attire, contributes to the series' distinctive style and makes Wednesday stand out from a cast of misfits and outcasts, due to her height.
Except for Emma Myers's portrayal of Wednesday's on-screen best friend Enid, the majority of the cast is noticeably taller than Ortega. Myers is 5'3", but the other actors range in height from 5' 5" to 5' 11", with Gwendoline Christie, who plays Principal Weems, being the tallest at 6' 3". The production employs several techniques to make sure that Wednesday isn't overshadowed by her co-stars and that the height disparities aren't too distracting.
What is the age of Wednesday in other iterations?
About half of the original 150 separate single-panel cartoons were published in The New Yorker over 50 years, beginning in 1938, and were created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. Later, they were transformed into other forms of media, including movies, video games, comic books, a musical, and merchandise. Therefore, there have been a few other Wednesday Addams in the past who belong to different age groups, though they have never been older than 16.
In 1991: The Addams Family
When Christina Ricci portrayed Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family movie from 1991, she was between 10 and 11 years old. Even though Wednesday's age isn't mentioned in The Addams Family movie from 1991, the screenplay affirms that she is 10 years old. Christina Ricci's character is supposed to be about 11 years old by the time The Addams Family ends because it takes place over nearly a year (from Christmas to Halloween).
In Addams Family Values
The 1993 adaptation of Addams Family Values takes place between one and two years after the conclusion of the 1991 version, in which Morticia informed Gomez that she was expecting a child. Thus, Addams Family Values starts about nine months later, when Morticia gives birth to Pubert Addams, a child who wasn't depicted in the original cartoons. According to Morticia in Addams Family Values, Wednesday is at that "special age" when a girl only has one thing on her mind - murder. According to the actress Christina Ricci, that special age is 12 or 13 years old. Wednesday is 13 or 14 years old in the final scene of Addams Family Values, which concludes exactly one year after the original film, on Pubert Addams' first birthday.
In The Addams Family - Animated Movies
In the animated film from 2019, The Addams Family, Wednesday Addams is regarded as Pugsley's elder sister. Wednesday is shown to be in middle school and is implied to be around 12 or 13 years old in this comically accurate movie. Wednesday was voiced by Chloë Grace Moretz, who was around 22 years old.
The critically panned animated sequel, The Addams Family 2, was released in 2021. When Wednesday Addams presents her project at the middle school science fair in the sequel, she appears to be the same age.
FAQs
A. Wednesday Addams is supposed to be a pre-teen in junior high.
A. To punish the boys who bullied her brother Pugsley in school, Wednesday released piranhas into the school's swimming pool and was thus expelled. Wednesday can't let anyone bully Pugsley other than herself; the brother and sister have a love-hate relationship.
A. One of the healthiest fictional families, the Addams family exhibits strong mutual support, minimal interpersonal conflict, and open communication.
A. Wednesday Addams is a 16-year-old individual in the Netflix show, portrayed by 21-year-old Jenna Ortega.
