The Wednesday star says intrusive thoughts and compulsive routines have shaped her life since she was seven, becoming more difficult during exhaustion, work pressure and travel.
Jenna Ortega has spoken publicly about living with obsessive-compulsive disorder, saying the condition first became apparent when she was seven and has remained part of her life ever since. In a Vogue cover interview published on 22 October 2026, the Wednesday star described how childhood routines that once seemed like quirks were later understood as early signs of OCD, a condition marked by intrusive thoughts and repetitive behaviours aimed at reducing anxiety.
Ortega recalled getting up before her five siblings so she could complete a precise pre-school ritual. She said she had to open her bedsheets in a particular way, pull open a drawer in a set sequence and brush her hair slowly before leaving for the day. According to Vogue, those habits were the beginning of patterns that continued into adulthood, even after she was able to recognise them for what they were.
The actor said the symptoms tend to grow stronger when she is exhausted, under pressure from work or dealing with jet lag. She described repeating the words “take care” a specific number of times a day, stepping on to film sets with her left foot first and holding her breath while counting to 71. Ortega also said that on some nights she walks up and down the stairs of her home six times because she feels the need to check that no one can get in. “I have pretty intense OCD,” she said.
Ortega told Vogue that she has tried therapy, meditation and medication to manage the condition, and that one of her coping methods is to treat OCD as if it were a game, which she said can ease some of the strain. She added that acting can sometimes help because it demands concentration on the present moment, although the pressures of filming and travel can also intensify her symptoms. Her comments offer a personal reminder that OCD is far more than a preference for order or routine and can interfere significantly with everyday life.
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