For the last three years, fans have missed Jenna Ortega at the Golden Globe Awards. Her Gucci-clad debut made quite an impression in 2023, but since then, she's been noticeably absent from the celebrity guest list. This year, Ortega finally returned with a "Best Actress in a TV Series—Musical or Comedy" nomination.
The January 11 ceremony was the culmination of another shockingly easy fitting with her longtime stylist, Enrique Melendez. Before finding her seat inside The Beverly Hill Hotel, Ortega posed for photographers in a Dilara Findikoglu Spring 2026 gown: a look fit for the two-time nominee. It was the first and last Golden Globes look she tried on, Melendez tells Marie Claire. "[We] knew it was it."
The all-black gown—especially its turtleneck top—was "a little nod" to Wednesday Addams. After two seasons of Netflix's Wednesday, it's a shade Melendez and Ortega "naturally gravitate to." Distressed satin decorated the short-sleeve style, before rhinestone fringe dangled off each ultra-padded shoulder. Both the side cut-out top and low-rise velvet skirt came with a no alterations stipulation, due to the "structure of the [dress's] front panels," Melendez reveals. Thankfully, it fit Ortega like a glove.
From the jump, Ortega told Melendez to "let the dress be the moment," as it has "so many delicate details." See the bust's ruffles, the collar's embroidery, and the scarf-like center, to name a few. So, the actor's longtime makeup artist, Mélanie Inglessis, "suggested a "no-makeup makeup look," Melendez shares. Hair stylist Cesar DeLeon Ramirez originally planned on adding mini braids as an homage to Findikoglu, but last minute, they chose a loose bun instead.
Ortega made her Golden Globes debut at just 21 years old: Season 1 of Wednesday scored the actor her first nomination. At the 2023 Globes, she gave method dressing the evening off in favor of a Gucci Spring 2023 gown. Sure, the cut-out-heavy design wasn't Wednesday Addams black, but the shift wasn't too far from her character's aesthetic.
Its pleated bell sleeves, asymmetrical skirt, and distressed train exuded the ethereal gothic glamour her character knows and loves. Tiffany & Co.'s $8,900 snake necklace looked straight from Wednesday's wardrobe, too. She (and Melendez) accessorized further with sky-high, metallic silver sandals from Jimmy Choo.
Ortega isn't a Golden Globes regular, but make no mistake, she's an award season aficionado through and through. Best-dressed lists at the Emmy Awards have bared her name for two years running, including at the 2025 ceremony in fresh-off-the-runway Givenchy. Once creative director Sarah Burton presented the bejeweled bodice, Melendez knew Ortega was destined to wear it.
In a recent interview with Marie Claire, Melendez revealed the illusion top—made of mismatched rhinestones, pearls, and gemstones—arrived in a coffin-like box with a strict no-alteration stipulation. "It just fit perfectly," Melendez said. Ortega suggested they trade the runway's trousers for a low-rise slip skirt, featuring a thigh-high slit. The in-the-moment swap made her set "a little more elegant for the Emmys," she told her stylist.
Once again, Melendez revived the pair's signature red carpet formula: he didn't plan her Golden Globes gown too far in advance. "If people love it, great. If they don't love it, that's OK, too," he added. Thanks to Melendez, Ortega's 2026 Golden Globes look is already sharing the former fate.
