Lisa Loring was just six years old in 1964 when she started playing the role of Wednesday Addams for ABC’s sitcom, The Addams Family. She was the first actress to play the role. It was her first role as an actress. Sadly, Loring passed away on January 28, 2023, at the young age of 64. It’s almost chilling to note that her death happened less than two months after Jenna Ortega knocked it out of the park when she played the role for the Netflix series, Wednesday, which debuted on November 23, 2022. Ortega returns as Wednesday when season 2 debuts on August 6 (Wednesday of course), 2025 at midnight.
Between the two TV series, a number of young women have played the part for various productions on both the big and small screen. Here is a brief history of the different young women who were played America’s original goth girl.
They’re Creepy and They’re Kooky
Before the TV shows and movies, the macabre family of comedy first appeared on the pages of The New Yorker magazine as a series of cartoons created by Charles Addams beginning in 1938. Originally, the characters in the cartoons were not given names until the first TV series was being developed for ABC. The artist said that Wednesday’s name was inspired by the nursery rhyme, “Monday’s Child” where the midweek child was described as one “full of woe.” Over the years, Wednesday Addams has appeared on screen as young as five and as old as one in her late 20’s, but her personality has changed little.
Lisa Loring
The Addams Family (1964-1966)
Halloween with the New Addams Family (1977)
Bottom Row: Lisa Loring, Carolyn Jones, Ken Weatherwax (ABC)
David Levy developed the original The Addams Family TV series with Donald Saltzman. Together, they worked with Charles Addams who helped create backstories for each of the characters. With an iconic theme song composed by Vic Mizzy, the show debuted in 1964 competing against another monster-themed TV show (The Munsters) for ratings. In this first adaptation, Wednesday was depicted as the youngest Addams member.
Over the years, Loring has said that she won the role of Wednesday at the early age of 5 because of her pout! This version of the character was a little sweeter and a little less disturbing than the versions to follow despite her love for headless dolls. The ABC show’s version of Wednesday had a love for the arts including painting, drawing, writing poetry and dancing.
The In 1977, Loring reprised her role (along with the rest of the cast) for the made-for-TV movie, Halloween with the New Addams Family.
Noelle Von Sonn
The Addams Family Fun-House (1973)
ABC tried creating another Addams Family show in 1972 reimagining the family as hosts of their own TV variety show which some have described as similar to Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In. The show never got past the pilot stage which featured Von Sonn as an older Wednesday, Jack Riley as Gomez, Liz Torres as Marticia, Stubby Kaye as Uncle Fester, Pat McCormick as Lurch and Felix Silla as Cousin Itt. Butch Patrick, a former child star who played Eddie Munster in The Munsters played Wednesday’s brother Pugsley. Jim Nabors was the guest star of the first and only episode.
Christina Ricci
The Addams Family (1991)
Addams Family Values (1993)
Wednesday (2023)
Barry Sonnenfeld made his directing debut with the first film adaptation of The Addams Family in 1991. Actress Christian Ricci presented a darker, more sadistic Wednesday with an interest in the Bermuda Triangle and an admiration for her Great Aunt Calpurnia Addams, who was a witch who was burned at the stake in 1706. During a financial hardship, she and Pugsley sold toxic lemonade to help make ends meet. In the sequel, it was revealed that Wednesday had buried a cat alive, set fire to Camp Chippewa and came close to harming her new baby brother Pubert.
Ricci did not revisit the role for the Netflix series, Wednesday, but she was a part of the show playing Wednesday’s dorm mother and botany teacher Marilyn Thornhill.
Nicole Fugere
The Addams Family Reunion (1998)
The New Addams Family (1998-1999)
Middle Row: Michael Roberds, Glenn Taranto
Bottom Row: Betty Phillips, Nicole Fugere, Ellie Harvie, Brody Smith (Fox Family Channel)
Addams Family Reunion was a direct-to-video sequel film which featured a whole new cast of actors including Tim Curry as Gomez and Daryl Hannah as Morticia. The plot centered on the “Addams” family mistaking another “Adams” family as long lost relatives. Fugere played Wednesday who spent her time messing with her “new” cousins and getting in trouble for opening up a grave. At the same time, a new syndicated TV series was developed where Fugere was the only returning cast member. Some of the show’s episodes were remakes of the original 1960’s series.
Melissa Hunter
Adult Wednesday (2013-2015)
A parody following the misadventures of an adult Wednesday Addams was a popular web series which starred Hunter. The unofficial YouTube series featured the all-grown-up Wednesday readjusting to adult life outside of the Addams home. In one popular episode, Wednesday was shown punishing a pair of catcallers. The series was flagged by the Tee & Charles Addams Foundation for copyright violation and the series was removed from YouTube. It was reinstated in 2016.
Chloe Grace Moretz
The Addams Family (2019)
The Addams Family 2 (2021)
Both of these MGM animated films focused a lot of screen time devoted to Wednesday. Moretz delivered her lines with a perfect monotone blandness. In the first film, Wednesday was at odds with her mother and disappointed the elder with her new fondness for bright, colorful clothing after befriending new preppy friend, Parker Needler. In the sequel, Wednesday takes on a new love for science experiments while distancing herself from her family because of her perceived differences. While the first film was similar in tone to the original TV series, the second one strayed off the familiar path.
Hanna-Barbera also tried their hand at The Addams Family. In 1972, “Wednesday is Missing” was an episode on The New Scooby-Doo Movies. Wednesday was voiced by Cindy Henderson. She won the role again for the 1973 cartoon series, The Addams Family. In 1992, Debi Derryberry stepped into the role for an updated version.
Jenna Ortega
Wednesday (2022, 2025)
Tim Burton has been very involved in this series serving as executive producer and director of the first season’s eight episodes. When school bullies torment Pugsley, Wednesday comes to the rescue and yet gets expelled for dumping live piranhas in the school’s pool. She then is sent to her parent’s private high school, Nevermore Academy, which is designed for troubled “monstrous” youth. While there, she finds that, like her mother, she has psychic powers that help her solve a murder mystery.
Ortega was nominated for a Gold Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy. Karina Varadi also appears as a young Wednesday in the show.
For season 2, Netflix states that the Addams girl, “must navigate family, friends and old adversaries, propelling her into another year of delightfully dark and kooky mayhem. Armed with her signature razor-sharp wit and deadpan charm, Wednesday is also plunged into a new bone-chilling supernatural mystery.”
Main Image: Jenna Ortega in Wednesday (Netflix)
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