Jenna Ortega truly shined at the Academy Museum Gala this year.
The Wednesday actress, aged 23, graced the annual gala on Saturday, October 18, looking stunning in a sculptural Grace Ling couture creation. The gown boasted a chocolate-brown silk skirt, nicely paired with a silver, leaf-shaped breastplate offering a hint of sideboob. Ortega rounded out her ensemble with Tacori jewelry and a bespoke Hammitt handbag.
Ling originally presented the gown, aptly named the Leaf Petal Couture Dress, during her brand’s spring/summer 2026 Fashion Week presentation last month.
“You are a genuine talent,” Ortega’s fashion expert, Enrique Melendez, expressed to Ling in the comments section of her Instagram post regarding the actress’ appearance this weekend.
Ling then replied to Melendez, stating, “Enrique, many thanks for using your talents!! She appears so incredible 🤩🤩🤩.”
When it came to beauty, Ortega wore her chocolate-brown hair in a casual low ponytail featuring side bangs; she had also lightened her eyebrows. Ortega completed her look with a smoky eye and a taupe-toned lip.
“I usually lean towards a nude lip because it’s dependable,” Ortega mentioned to Vogue in August, discussing her preference for neutral lip shades. “A red lip feels like armor. It makes a statement.”
According to Ortega, she began playing around with her beauty choices after acting in Netflix’s Wednesday series and the Tim Burton-directed project Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
“I’ve worked on projects where I’ve thought, ‘I’m really drawn to this lip color.’ Yet, when I try wearing it later, I can’t because the only thing I see is the character,” she shared with Vogue. “Right now, I’m in a great period of exploration in my life, and I don’t want to be stuck on one thing. If you have the chance to experiment, why wouldn’t you?”
Ortega also views makeup as a method to celebrate her inherent appearance.
“As a child, I was a bit of a tomboy and didn’t really care about makeup. As I’ve matured, makeup has become less about dressing up and more about bringing out your innate beauty,” she revealed to L’Officiel Vietnam in a profile released last month. “I appreciate allowing my skin to ‘breathe,’ displaying my freckles, and applying just a hint of vibrant lipstick.”
She went on to say, “I believe a striking item truly influences how you portray yourself. It involves being able to perceive yourself anew and value your beauty uniquely. That’s a wonderful gift that makeup offers. Makeup not only enables you to view yourself in a different manner, but it can also transform your appearance.”
Ortega doesn’t just take chances with her beauty regimen, but also with her outfits.
“It’s interesting. I think I had better style when I was younger, but now I feel like I could simply stare at my closet forever and overanalyze everything,” she admitted to Dazed in 2023. “I used to attend school wearing small plastic heels with feather boas, and I was really into quirky socks and sequined vests. Fashion made me feel like I was an individual.”
She concluded, “You develop a sense of who you are when you’re wearing the correct clothing.”
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