Kenny Ortega

Kenny Ortega: Biography in Details

Who is Kenny Ortega?

Kenny Ortega is an American producer, director, and choreographer.

He is best known for best known as the director of movies such as Hocus Pocus, the High School Musical trilogy, Descendants and Michael Jackson’s This Is It concerts.

Kenny Ortega: Birth Facts, Parents, Ethnicity

Kenny Ortega was born on 18 April 1950, and he is a native of Palo Alto, California, the United States of America. His nationality is American and his ethnicity is Spanish.

He was born and spent most of his early life where he was born. He was welcomed to the family as the son of a waitress mother Madeline and his father, Octavo “Tibby” Ortega, a factory worker.

Both of his parents were also born in Palo Alto. His grandparents were originally from Spain.

In which school did Kenny Ortega attend?

He attended Sequoia High School in Redwood City, California, where he was a cheerleader; a lot of people made fun of him.

Kenny Ortega: Professional Life and Career

Initially, Kenny Ortega started getting attention for working with dancer and choreographer Gene Kelly on the film Xanadu. He also choreographed the dance for the Menudo video “Hold Me”, as well as the film Dirty Dancing, released in 1987.

Kenny has won awards for choreography in music videos, such as Madonna’s “Material Girl”. He also worked with The Tubes on their stage shows and directed the video for She’s a Beauty.

Along with Michael Jackson, he created and designed the Dangerous World Tour 1992-1993 and the History World Tour 1996-1997. He has also choreographed events ranging from the 72nd Academy Awards, Super Bowl XXX, the 2002 Winter Olympics (Salt Lake City), and the 1996 summer Olympics (Atlanta).

In addition to that, he directed and choreographed High School Musical, High School Musical 2, High School Musical 3: Senior year, and choreographed The Cheetah Girls 2.

In May 2009, Ortega began work on the scheduled Michael Jackson 50-date This Is It concerts, which were canceled after Jackson’s sudden death.

However, he got a chance to direct the concert film Michael Jackson’s This Is It, released on October 28.

He was set to direct the 2011 remake of the movie Footloose, but he backed out in October 2009. On August 9, 2011, it was announced that Ortega will direct a remake of Dirty Dancing, a project that was later postponed.

On May 12, 2014, during the 18th season of Dancing with the Stars semifinals, he appeared on the show as a guest judge.

Ortega received recognition in 2019 by receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and by being dubbed a Disney Legend at the D23 Expo.

The Netflix original series Julie and the Phantoms which debuted on the streaming service on September 10, 2020, was directed by him that fall, and he also acted as executive producer.

Kenny Ortega: Salary, Net Worth

As of 2022, he has an estimated net worth of $14 million but his salary is not revealed yet.

Is Kenny Ortega involved in any rumors and controversies?

According to rumors, His relationship status is not yet disclosed; he is frequently rumored to be gay.

However, he doesn’t seem much bothered by the rumors and he did not say much on the topic.

Body Measurements: Height, Weight

Kenny Ortega has a height of 5 feet 10 inches.

His body weighs 75kg. He has salt-pepper hair and hazel eyes.

Social Media Profile

Kenny is active on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

He has more than 24.7k followers on Facebook, 69.9k followers on Twitter, and 877k followers on Instagram.

To know more about Jim White (musician), Benny Blanco, and Ileana Cabra please click on the link.

Kenny Ortega's Birthday Dates