Wednesday Addams Character Name and Identity
Wednesday Addams is the full character name used in The Addams Family franchise, with "Wednesday" serving as her given first name rather than a nickname. The character was created by American cartoonist Charles Addams and first appeared in The New Yorker cartoons starting in the late 1930s, later becoming a central figure in TV series, films, and animated shows. In the 2022 Netflix series Wednesday, the character is portrayed by actress Jenna Ortega, who was born on September 27, 2002, and is an American actress of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent Forbes. The series follows Wednesday as a teenager enrolled at Nevermore Academy, a boarding school for outcasts, where she investigates a murder mystery while navigating supernatural events and family dynamics.
The character's full name is Wednesday Addams, with no middle name officially established in the original Charles Addams cartoons or the primary TV and film adaptations. In the Netflix series Wednesday, her surname remains Addams, consistent with the family lineage that includes Gomez Addams, Morticia Addams, Pugsley Addams, and Uncle Fester Wikipedia. The Netflix series, created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, premiered on November 23, 2022, and was renewed for a second season shortly after its debut, with Jenna Ortega reprising her role as Wednesday Addams.
Jenna Ortega as Wednesday: Casting and Background
Jenna Ortega was cast as Wednesday Addams in the Netflix series Wednesday after a competitive audition process, with her casting announced in early 2021. Ortega, who began acting as a child, had prior roles in Disney Channel's Stuck in the Middle and Netflix's You before landing the Wednesday role, which became her most widely recognized performance to date Forbes. The series was filmed primarily in Romania, with production on the first season wrapping in mid-2022, and the show quickly became one of Netflix's most-watched series globally upon release.
Wednesday Addams is not based on a single real person but is a fictional character originating from Charles Addams' cartoons, which featured a nameless, darkly humorous young girl in gothic attire. The name "Wednesday" itself was inspired by the old nursery rhyme "Wednesday's child is full of woe," which Addams adapted to fit the character's morbid and deadpan personality Wikipedia. Jenna Ortega's portrayal introduced new elements to the character, including a more action-oriented and socially complex Wednesday, while retaining the core traits of intelligence, detachment, and a preference for darkness.
Wednesday's Real Name in Different Media Adaptations
In the original 1960s The Addams Family TV series, Wednesday was played by Lisa Loring, and the character was simply called Wednesday without a surname given on screen, though she is part of the Addams family unit. The 1991 film The Addams Family and its 1993 sequel Addams Family Values featured Christina Ricci as Wednesday Addams, cementing the full name Wednesday Addams in popular culture and establishing the character's gothic aesthetic and deadpan delivery Wikipedia. The 2019 and 2021 animated films The Addams Family and The Addams Family