Kenny Ortega

2.1. Birth and Family

Kenny Ortega was born Kenneth John Ortega on April 18, 1950, in Palo Alto, California. His parents, Madeline and Octavio "Tibby" Ortega, were also born in Palo Alto; his mother worked as a waitress, and his father was a factory worker. Ortega has two siblings, a sister named Debra Ortega and a brother named Mark Ortega. His paternal grandparents were Spanish immigrants, establishing his familial roots and Spanish heritage.

2.2. Education

Ortega attended Sequoia High School in Redwood City, California. During his time there, he was actively involved in both cheerleading and the drama group, demonstrating an early affinity for performance and theatrical arts. These early artistic experiences helped shape his career path and provided foundational influences.

3.1. Early Career and Acting

Ortega began his career as an actor, taking on roles in touring productions of popular musicals such as Oliver! and Hair. While on tour with Hair, Ortega was falsely arrested at the age of 21 when a police chief allegedly planted narcotics in his hotel room, purportedly upset by his performance. The charges were subsequently dropped after investigations revealed the setup, and the arrest report reportedly identified him by the character name he played in the show, George Berger.

After his acting stints, Ortega ventured into choreography. He was offered a leading role in a production of Jesus Christ Superstar but turned it down to pursue a choreography opportunity with The Tubes, a San Francisco-based band. He was spotted on a dance floor by members of the band, leading to this pivotal career shift. Ortega toured with The Tubes for a decade and also choreographed for The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo in the mid to late 1970s. Later, he was contracted by Cher to choreograph a television special and tour, and by KISS for their Dynasty Tour.

3.2. Choreography

Ortega's extensive work as a choreographer has left a significant mark on visual performance across various mediums. In 1980, he was hired as one of the choreographers for the film Xanadu, where he received mentorship from the legendary Gene Kelly, which guided him into film choreography. During this period, Ortega served as choreographer for several of John Hughes's films, including Pretty in Pink in 1986 and Ferris Bueller's Day Off also in 1986. He also choreographed the iconic 1987 film Dirty Dancing, One from the Heart (1982), St. Elmo's Fire (1985), Salsa (1988), and Shag (1989). In 1995, he choreographed To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, and in 1998, Quest for Camelot.

Beyond films, Ortega choreographed several influential music videos, including "Material Girl" by Madonna, "She's a Beauty" by The Tubes, "Physical" by Olivia Newton-John, and "Mr. Roboto" by Styx. He also worked on "Rock Me Tonite" by Billy Squier, a music video that became a notorious career-ending disaster for the artist. His choreography talents extended to major global events, including Super Bowl XXX, the 72nd Academy Awards, the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, and the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

3.3. Directing and Producing

Ortega made his directorial debut in 1992 with the Disney musical Newsies, which was followed by Hocus Pocus in 1993. Although both films initially underperformed at the box office, they later gained significant cult followings. His work on Newsies also included choreography.

He directed and choreographed the Disney Channel Original Movies High School Musical and The Cheetah Girls 2 in 2006. He returned to direct and choreograph their respective sequels, High School Musical 2 in 2007 (also as producer) and High School Musical 3: Senior Year in 2008 (also as executive producer). From 2015 to 2019, he directed and choreographed the highly successful Descendants film series for Disney Channel, serving as executive producer for all three installments: Descendants (2015), Descendants 2 (2017), and Descendants 3 (2019).

In television series, Ortega directed episodes of Dirty Dancing (1988), Hull High (1990, also choreographer and executive producer), Second Noah (1996), Chicago Hope (1998-1999), Resurrection Blvd. (2000), Grounded for Life (2001), Ally McBeal (2001-2002, 3 episodes), and 11 episodes of Gilmore Girls (2002-2006). He also directed episodes for Bunheads (2012), Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2016), and Andi Mack (2018). In 2016, he directed and choreographed The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again, a television movie.

In 2019, Ortega signed a five-year deal with Netflix. This led to him directing and executive producing the Netflix Original series Julie and the Phantoms, which premiered on September 10, 2020. However, the series was canceled after only one season. He also directed the film A Change of Heart in 2017.

Ortega was initially set to direct the 2011 remake of Footloose, but he withdrew in October 2009 due to creative and budgetary differences with Paramount. He was also hired to direct a film adaptation of the Broadway musical In the Heights for Universal, but the studio dropped the project in 2011 due to budgetary and casting issues. On August 9, 2011, it was announced that Ortega would direct a remake of Dirty Dancing, a project that was later postponed; the 2017 television remake was ultimately filmed without his involvement. In May 2014, Ortega appeared as a guest judge on the 18th season of Dancing with the Stars during the semifinals.

4.1. Film

4.2. Television