- Born
- Birth nameKenneth John Ortega
- Height5′ 8″ (1.73 m)
- Kenny Ortega was born on April 18, 1950 in Palo Alto, California, USA. He is a director and producer, known for High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008), Michael Jackson's 'This Is It': Auditions - Searching for the World's Best Dancers (2010) and Descendants 3 (2019).
- ParentsMadeline OrtegaOctavio Ortega
- RelativesMark Ortega(Sibling)Debra Lee Ortega(Sibling)Juan Antonio Caballero Ortega(Grandparent)Francisco R. Martin(Grandparent)Jennie Romero(Grandparent)Maria Guadalupe Canada(Grandparent)Josefa Caballero Chica(Great Grandparent)
- On set, if he catches an actor or actress yawning, he forces them to pay him a dollar. After production, he donates all the proceeds to "The Make a Wish Foundation".
- As of 2007, he has directed three out of the four successful Disney Channel Original Movies with High School Musical (2006), The Cheetah Girls 2 (2006) and High School Musical 2 (2007).
- Longtime personal friend and choreographer to Michael Jackson.
- In spite of their common surname, Kenny Ortega is not related to actress Jenna Ortega.
- [on what he learned from his mentor, Gene Kelly] If you didn't understand how to design your choreography for the camera, then you were shortchanging yourself and would never come to fully realize your worth. It would have meant very little if I hadn't come to understand technically how to put the work up.
- There's an old Fred Astaire movie where the stage becomes bigger and deeper and more complex. Moments like that really did impact on me and influence me. I want to bring a little of that to High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008)--that the whole world is a stage.
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