Wednesday Addams Throughout the Years

by Camila Coleman, Reporter

Arts & Entertainment, 

The Addams Family was a comic created by the American cartoonist Charles Addams and published by The New Yorker for over 50 years, starting in 1938. The comic consists of a wealthy family that is peculiar and frightening. Over time, it has expanded into several television series and movies, with the 1964 show and 1991 movie being the most popular, and the television series, Wednesday being the most recent. 


Wednesday Addams, the daughter of the Addams family, has become the fan favorite over the years. She is associated with deadpan wit, morbid interests, and two long black braids, but how many interpretations of the notorious daughter of the Addams family actually hold these traits, and how do they compare?

1938: The Addams Family Comic


The Addams Family comic was about an unconventional family. They are not monsters or creatures of any sort, but simply people who are dark and choose not to confide in social norms. None of the characters had names or developed personalities; they were a simple comic family who only existed to deliver a punchline. The daughter of the family, now known as Wednesday, always appeared in the same outfit: a black dress with a white collar; black stockings and shoes; and two long, black braids. This look has been tweaked through the different versions of Wednesday Addams, but for the most part, remained as her identifying look.

1964 - 1977: Lisa Loring

The television series, The Addams Family, ran from 1964 to 1966. It was a dark comedy based on the comics from 1938, commentating on mid-century American suburban life. The series creator, David Levy, wanted to make it clear that this was not a family of monsters, but of full-bodied people. He portrayed a family that got along well and was full of affection. The series had a lighter tone than the comics, having screwball humor that was more zany than dark. The daughter of the family gained the name Wednesday from this show. The name Wednesday came from the nursery rhyme Monday’s Child, with the line “Wednesday’s child is full of woe,” meaning that a child born on Wednesday will receive bad luck and live a life of trouble.

Loring played Wednesday, an adorable six-year-old girl who got along fairly well with “normal” people despite having odd interests. Although she would play with headless dolls and had a pet spider, she was not as gloomy as she was in the comics, making her an endearing character. Her small size, compared to their very tall butler, Lurch, was used as a gag as they were seen together often. Wednesday did not have much screen time since the show focused more on the parents of the family, Morticia and Gomez Addams, though she quickly became a fan favorite.

Loring’s second portrayal of Wednesday was in Halloween with the Addams Family, which aired in 1977. This was the first time The Addams Family was filmed in color. Wednesday appears to be in her twenties and has changed quite a bit since she was a child. Although she is still friendly, she is a lot cheekier than before. Her character matured into an average young adult, lacking the quirkiness she previously carried. Wednesday can be seen wearing a short, navy dress with a white collar and her hair tied in two light brown braids. The image resembles Wednesday Addams of earlier iterations, but the length of the dress and the white collar give her a child-like look. A more mature dress that was not so young and doll-like would have fit her age much better.

Overall, this version of Wednesday did not justify her character and uniqueness. Of Loring’s two portrayals, the younger version was far superior at building Wednesday’s iconic image.

1972-1973: Cindy Henderson

Hanna-Barbera’s animation studio released their animated version of The Addams Family by the same name. It was released in 1973 after an episode of The New Scooby-Doo Movies aired in 1972 featuring the Addams’ where the gang has to watch Wednesday and her brother, Pugsley, while Morticia and Gomez go on vacation. Hanna-Barbera’s series depicts the family living in a Victorian-style RV, causing problems when their odd nature clashes with social norms when interacting with others.


The art style of the characters heavily resembles Charles Addams’ original illustrations, but the coloring for Wednesday threw me off. Wednesday is seen wearing a bright pink dress, her hair split into two sections that do not quite resemble braids. Along with pink being an odd choice of color for Wednesday’s character, her personality is “peculiar” and not in the Addams family type of way. She is seen as a bright, sweet, and optimistic girl; although she continues to have strange interests, such as voodoo dolls, her darker disposition is completely gone. She has a more colorful personality and appearance juxtaposed to her signature gothic look.

1991-1993: Christina Ricci

Christina Ricci’s portrayal of Wednesday Addams was by far the most influential to her character. Her version of Wednesday can be seen in the 1991 movie, The Addams Family, and the 1993 sequel, The Addams Family Values. Wednesday has the most emphasis on her inhumane and unsettling behavior in these two movies out of any other depiction of her.

The 1991 movie follows the family reuniting with their long-lost uncle, Fester, ignorant that the reunion is actually a ruse by Fester to steal their money. In contrast, the 1993 movie follows multiple storylines, including Morticia and Gomez welcoming a new baby, Wednesday and Pugsley going to summer camp, and Uncle Fester marrying a serial killer. Although the two stories are very different, Wednesday’s character is consistent throughout the two of them. She carries darkness to her while still being comedic. Wednesday has a sadistic and gloomy personality that translates much better from the comic than the sweet little girl seen in other versions. Her speech is dry and deadpan, and she rarely shows emotion. Ricci brought Wednesday back to her gothic roots, sporting her signature dark braids and a black dress with a subtle floral pattern. 

Wednesday’s relationship with her brother, Pugsly, did take a turn. In this interpretation, Wednesday is much more antagonistic, with her often attempting to murder him and calling it “playing.” She is also a very hard-headed girl, never changing her behavior even when ridiculed for it. Wednesday carries an impressive sense of independence and self-confidence that develops  as she is portrayed as a pre-teen rather than a child. As she is older and more mature, Wednesday receives her first romantic interest in The Addams Family Values, a boy she meets at summer camp. Although they do share a kiss, Wednesday remains hesitant to romance and threatens to murder any future husband she may have. This is an excellent example of The Addams Family breaking stereotypes and showing a young girl who is not overly interested in romance or even the idea of marriage. 

2019-2021: Chloë Grace Moretz

The release of the 2019 and 2021 movies, The Addams Family and The Addams Family 2, was the first time the Addams’ was computer-animated. Chloë Grace Moretz voiced Wednesday in these versions as she convinces her mom, Morticia, to let her go to school. Wednesday greatly resembles Charles Addams’ original illustrations with a stylistic twist of having her braids tied into nooses.

As Wednesday starts going to school, she befriends some girls after defending them against the school bully. After befriending them, she decides that she wants to rebel and start wearing clothes with more color in them as her friends do.

Moretz’s version of Wednesday has a comedic sense of rebellion as it is oppositional to how our society’s youth typically rebel. Wanting to go to school and wear pink is completely normal for young people to want to do. Within the Addams home, however, they are acts that go against Wednesday’s family, more specifically, her mother. Wednesday continues to carry her individualism and wants to express herself however she sees fit, just as she does in most of her depictions. This version gives it a slight twist as she fits into “normal” society more rather than going against it.

2022: Jenna Ortega

The 2022 television series, Wednesday, has quickly gained popularity since its release. Produced by Tim Burton, this series focuses on a teenage Wednesday, portrayed by Jenna Ortega, as she begins going to Nevermore, a school for outcasts and non-humans, after being expelled from many previous schools. Although Nevermore is a school filled with unusual students, Wednesday still finds herself at odds with other students and is seen as strange by her peers.


Ortega’s portrayal of Wednesday definitely goes through the most character development compared to other portrayals of her, as expected due to the series being about her and her high school life. Wednesday is a defiant and rebellious student. She continuously puts her needs before others and even puts her friends in danger if it benefits her and the goals she is trying to achieve. Eventually, she does apologize for belittling her peers, but throughout the show, her actions cause conflicts and motivation for side characters to periodically dislike her. I will admit, I was often frustrated with this version of Wednesday, as she created more serious conflict rather than comedic mishappenings. This makes sense, however, since previous versions of Wednesday have been comedic side characters rather than the main character in a dramatic Netflix series.


A new aspect in this iteration is the love triangle she is in. During the first episode, Wednesday referenced Christina Ricci’s depiction of Wednesday by telling her mother that she never wants to get married. Her overall view of relationships was negative and uninterested, yet she ended up having two potential love interests. Yes, she could still be in a relationship and not want to get married, but even when Wednesday was seen in a relationship in The Addams Family Values, she was unsure and hesitant in the relationship. It is difficult for me to see her in a situation where she has to decide between two love interests and not shy away from the idea of a relationship, though this could also be something that has developed more for her as she grew older and her interest in relationships changed.


Apart from the personality of her character, this is also the first time Wednesday has ever been played by a Latina actress. Her mother, Morticia, has always been played by white actresses and has been alluded to as caucasian; whereas her father, Gomez, has been played by Puerto Rican actor, Raúl Juliá, in the 1991 movie and has continuously been perceived as a Hispanic character. As someone who is Puerto Rican, Argentinian, and White, it is nice to see a portrayal of Wednesday done by a Mexican and Puerto Rican actress rather than only by white actresses. Having a diverse cast portray a diverse family is important when accurately depicting what the family could be like in real life.



Throughout the years, there have been many portrayals of Wednesday Addams. I expect to see more versions of her in the future, as she is a timeless character. She is a model to embrace the creepy, kooky, and spooky and will continue to for many more generations. Although each version of her has its own unique touches, they are all recognizable as the iconic, Wednesday Addams.



DISCLAIMER: The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the various authors in this paper do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of Kamiak High School or The Gauntlet.