Jenna Ortega stepped onto the set of the Netflix series Wednesday carrying more than just the show’s lead role. She was inheriting a character who had haunted popular culture for nearly a century, a pale-faced girl with jet-black pigtails and a stare that could freeze a room. Wednesday Addams first appeared in Charles Addams’s comic strips in the 1930s, an instant icon of cheerful morbidity in a family that celebrated everything normal society feared. Over the decades, she had been played by a succession of actresses, each iteration adding a new layer to the goth girl’s legend.

The new series, created by Miles Millar and Alfred Gough and overseen by executive producer Tim Burton, placed Wednesday at the center of a mystery at Nevermore Academy, a school for misfits. But before Ortega could make the role her own, she had to measure up to the versions that came before her, beginning with the actress who started it all. Lisa Loring was only six years old when she became the first actress to play Wednesday Addams in the original television adaptation of The Addams Family, which ran from 1964 to 1966. The black-and-white series gave Wednesday less screen time than later adaptations would, but Loring’s performance laid the foundation for everything that followed.

Her deadpan delivery and stoic demeanor defined the character’s core, and her peculiar hobbies became permanent parts of Wednesday’s identity. She kept a black widow spider as a pet, cared for a lizard named Lucifer, and cherished a headless doll. Loring proved that age was no obstacle to capturing the character’s unsettling charm, and her portrayal left a lasting mark on the franchise’s earliest fans. The 1970s brought Wednesday to Saturday morning television in animated form.

The 1973 series, created by David Levy, followed the family on a series of wacky adventures as they traveled in a Victorian-style RV, from being offered a trip to the moon by criminals to being mistaken for a stone age tribe in Hawaii. The series grew out of an episode of The New Scooby-Doo Movies titled Wednesday Is Missing. Cindy Henderson voiced Wednesday in this version, but her take on the character diverged sharply from what fans had come to expect. Dressed in pink and carrying a cheerful disposition, Henderson’s Wednesday was a far cry from the dark and brooding girl audiences knew.

Despite that departure, the 1973 animated series remains a nostalgic favorite for many fans of the franchise. The 1990s brought Wednesday back to the small screen with Nicole Fugere in the series The New Addams Family, which aired from 1998 to 1999. This show was a spin-off of the 1998 film Addams Family Reunion, and Fugere was the only cast member to appear in both. At twelve years old, she was perfectly cast, nailing Wednesday’s monotonous tone and evil glare.

This version gave Wednesday a more prominent role than the original 1964 series had, and viewers got to see her wielding a crossbow and embracing her violent, sadistic nature. Fugere balanced Wednesday’s wickedness with a touch of vulnerability, making her performance memorable and earning her a devoted following among fans of the character. Another animated series followed in 1992, this one aiming for a younger audience. Debbie Derryberry voiced Wednesday in this version, but the character’s darker side was tamed considerably.

Instead of her usual scowl, this Wednesday was often seen smiling, and her darker thoughts remained hidden. Viewers never got to see her attempt to harm her brother Pugsley, though their sibling dynamic still provided plenty of entertainment. Derryberry’s performance only hinted at Wednesday’s sardonic wit, leaving audiences to fill in the gaps with their imagination. Christina Ricci’s portrayal of Wednesday in the 1990s live-action films is widely regarded as one of the most iconic interpretations of the character.

In The Addams Family, released in 1991, and Addams Family Values, released in 1993, Ricci took Wednesday’s dark and gloomy nature to a new level. In the first film, her Wednesday found twisted ways to torment her brother Pugsley. In the sequel, her capacity for darkness seemed limitless. In one memorable scene, she climbs onto a roof with her baby brother in tow and drops him over the edge, leaving Gomez to save the child.

Despite her dark tendencies, Ricci’s Wednesday was deeply beloved. She brought depth and complexity to the character, making her much more than just a spooky girl obsessed with death. Through her performance, audiences got a glimpse into the inner workings of Wednesday’s mind and found themselves caring about her despite her wicked ways. Chloe Grace Moretz brought Wednesday into the modern age with the 2019 animated film The Addams Family and its 2021 sequel.

Her portrayal gave the character a more complex and relatable personality. Wednesday remained headstrong and true to the Addams mold, but Moretz’s performance allowed audiences to see a new side of her. Instead of being solely obsessed with the macabre, this Wednesday questioned her place in the world and considered who she wanted to be, especially when it came to school. The film followed her coming-of-age journey as she explored new perspectives and even experimented with color before ultimately choosing to be true to herself.

Moretz’s performance breathed new life into the spooky teen, adding another layer of depth, while her stylish pigtails paid homage to the classic Wednesday Addams look. Then came Jenna Ortega. The meeting of burton and Wednesday Addams was a moment horror enthusiasts had long anticipated. As the lead in the Netflix series Wednesday, released in 2022, Ortega was given more room than any previous actress to flesh out the character.

The show’s setting at Nevermore Academy, a school for misfits, provided a fitting stage for a mix of magic, mystery, and all things Wednesday. Ortega balanced Wednesday’s trademark wit with her sociopathic tendencies while still endearing her to the audience, even as the character found herself at the center of a murder investigation. Her performance captured the essence of who Wednesday Addams had always been while allowing the character to evolve in ways the screen had never seen before. Ricci embodied Wednesday in her early years.

Moretz depicted her coming of age. But it was Ortega who carried the torch for future iterations of the character, delivering a version that many considered the best yet. With Burton overseeing the production, the character was in good hands, and Ortega proved herself more than capable of continuing the legacy of one of pop culture’s most beloved goth icons.