The second season of you came out just a few weeks ago, and people can’t get enough of the creepy psychological drama. The new season features a mostly new cast, as the homicidal leading man Joe moves to Los Angeles for a fresh start to unleash his cycle of obsession and murder on a new group of people. One of the new main characters is Ellie, played by former Disney star Jenna Ortega —and although the teenager is only 17 years of age, she’s landed some major roles.

In the new series, Joe (played by Penn Badgley) tries to turn his life around by moving to Los Angeles.

There, he becomes close to the Quinn family and the Alves family —and things take a dark turn for Joe’s neighbors Delilah and Ellie Alvez —who is played by Jenna.

Ortega is Ellie, a teenager who grew up fast in the big city.

Ellie likes to act and appear older than her years. Secretly living with minimal supervision or nurturing in her life, she must take care of herself and isn’t afraid to get into murky waters to make a little cash. This includes working cons on the adults around her, including Joe Goldberg.

Joe and Ellie’s older sister Delilah become friends and Joe starts to feel very protective over Ellie.  

When things take a turn for the worst, Joe looks after Ellie, who’s left orphaned with Child Protection Services close behind her. Seeing his younger self in Ellie, Joe helps her escape and promises to protect her.

This Latina rising star has been working since a young age. 

Although Jenna Ortega is only 17, she’s been acting since she was 9, with plenty of guest spots on TV and, eventually, some major roles. Maybe you recognize her as the young Jane from Jane the Virgin, or you might recognize her voice from one of Disney’s most popular current animated shows. Keep reading to see all of Ortega’s major roles to date.

Jane the Virgin

Jenna Ortega’s breakout role was her five-season recurring role as the young version of Jane Villanueva on CW’s beloved comedy Jane the Virgin. She played Jane in flashbacks throughout all five seasons of the show.

Richie Rich

You isn’t Jenna Ortega’s first major role on a Netflix show. Back in 2015, she was one of the main characters on the reboot of Richie Rich, playing Richie’s luxury-loving best friend Darcy. The show wasn’t successful and ended after just one season.

Stuck in the Middle

Jenna Ortega landed her first full-fledged leading role on the Disney Channel sitcom Stuck in the Middle, where she played Harley Diaz, the middle child of seven siblings. The show ran from 2016 to 2018, earning Ortega three Imagen Award nominations, one of which she won.

Elena of Avalor

Beginning in 2016 and continuing to the present day, Jenna Ortega has voiced the character of Princess Isabel on the Disney animated series Elena of Avalor. She plays the clever younger sister of the teenage princess Elena, Disney’s first Latina princesses.

Saving Flora

The little-seen drama Saving Flora features Jenna Ortega as the teenage daughter of a circus owner who rescues an aging elephant from being euthanized. The two run away into the forest, where they encounter dangers on their way to an elephant preserve.

‘You’ is just the latest major role for Ortega, and there are more on the horizon

She’s signed on for another go-round with Netflix, this time in the upcoming horror comedy The Babysitter 2. After that, she’s set to appear in the family comedy Yes Day, co-starring with Jennifer Garner and Édgar Ramírez.

In the spellbinding finale to the most recent season of Real Housewives of Dallas, the entiriy of the cast condemned the show’s villain, LeeAnn Locken, for her racist and xenophobic behavior throughout the season. 

As we reported before, earlier in the season, Locken had a total meltdown when fellow castmates D’Andra Simmons and Kary Brittingham (who is Mexican) poked fun at the entrepreneur venture she spent so much time and money on: the L’Infinity dress. At a group dinner, Simmons and Brittingham publicly criticized the dress, insinuating that it was shoddily made and too complicated to wear. While Locken originally tried to brush off the teasing, she eventually snapped, leaving the table in tears.

Later, when she was being comforted by housewife Stephanie Hollman, is when she began to insult Brittingham based off her heritage.

Locken began her insults by accusing Brittingham of thinking she was “all Mexican and strong,” while really, she “ain’t survived s—”. As the season progressed, Locken continued to harp on Brittingham’s heritage, calling her everything from a “chirpy Mexican” to saying that she should “quit using my English words against me” and “find your own Mexican words.”

Locken’s racist and xenophobic behavior made waves on social media, with people Tweeting out their outrage at Locken’s offensive words. Some fans even created a petition on MoveOn.org demanding that Locken be terminated from the show. “I will not watch Bravo moving forward because they are supporting racism by not terminating her,” said a viewer by the name of Lisa A. “Bravo is perpetuating racism by not dealing with her.”

And while Locken apologized for her behavior this past season via a public statement, fans and viewers were still not having it.

Even Locken’s castmates were visibly put-off, expressing their “shame”, “disgust”, and “disappointment” at her behavior at the reunion.

Cast-member Brandi Redmond was one of the most vocal detractors of Locken’s behavior. “I don’t want to be associated. I feel ashamed,” she said. “And it’s not OK, LeeAnne. It’s not OK.” 

Locken, for her part, vacillated between defending her actions and apologizing for them. When being interviewed by host Andy Cohen about her choice of words, Locken explained that she didn’t know what she was saying was offensive. 

“In Texas, I mean, we use that word all the time, like, for everything,” she said. “Chirpy Mexican?” Cohen further prodded, to which Locken conceded wasn’t true. “No, not that,” she said. “Okay, I apologize…I didn’t use my words well and I didn’t like it when I watched it, I can tell you that. Mentally, I was not present and I was not putting my words together well”.

Locken went on to insist that, despite her actions, she was not, in any way, racist. 

“I’ve spent a lot of hours crying over this and realizing how horrible this was,” she told Cohen. “I know every bone in my body, and I know I don’t have a single bone that believes in discrimination. I believe in inclusion. I believe in acceptance,” she said.

Previously, she had tried to explain her “free love” mindset by illustrating that she couldn’t be racist due to her sexual history. “I’ve slept with plenty of Mexicans, by the way. Hot, f—— lovers, okay? I’ve sat in Julio Iglesias’ lap,” she said in a problematic confessional interview during the course of the season. 

To make matters worse, Cohen revealed that most of the cast members assumed Locken’s behavior would never make it to air.

According to Cohen. most of the cast-members assumed that Bravo would edit out Locken’s racist tirades in order to protect not only Locken, but the larger Bravo brand. Because of that, the RHOD cast avoided talking to Brittingham about what was going on behind her back.

 Obviously, the entire situation left Brittingham feeling hurt and isolated. According to her, the experience was “very sad” and “disappointing” for her. We doubt these women will ever be able to mend their friendship. 

Like every Real Housewives reunion, Twitter was on fire with reactions to the explosive season finale. 

One thing’s for sure: The Real Housewives of Dallas has found a way to combine the intoxicating pull of reality television with the more serious issues of the day (namely, American discrimination against Latinos).

This person had no time for Locken’s labeling her behavior as a “mistake”

She has a good point here. Locken’s continuous behavior is proof of deeper discriminatory beliefs.

This person explained why continuously bringing up someone’s country of origin is, indeed, problematic.

It’s one thing not to get along with someone. It’s another to use their ethnicity as an insult. 

This person applauded Andy Cohen for refusing to let Locken’s behavior slide. 

Although Bravo could’ve handled the entire situation better, at least they’re holding Locken responsible for her words and actions.