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Television and movies are awash with beloved families, but none is quite so unique asThe Addams Family. They perform loving acts of torture, cut the bulbs off of roses in favor of the stems, and never fit into mainstream society. As quirky as they are, the Addams tribe is nothing that is not loving. Gomez and Morticia areopenly crazy about one another, many viewers consider them to be “couple goals”. Their home is regularly open to various members, from Uncle Fester to Cousin Itt. However, as time has gone on, it is the Addamses' only daughter, Wednesday, that is the clear favorite with audiences. She even has her own Netflix show, which is, of course, calledWednesday.
WhereasPugsley shares Gomez’s energy, Wednesday has always been more subdued, like Morticia. Interestingly, as the character has developed over time, she has changed the most out of anyone in her family. This most likely has to do with how the culture has re-evaluated how women, particularly young women, are written. Few characters embody that yearning to be one’s self in the face of familial pressure and mainstream expectations the way Wednesday has. However, she didn’t begin that way. In fact, her development is one of the most interesting of any character in popular culture.
1940-1977: Wednesday and the Beginning of the Addams Invasion
Although the firstAddams Familysingle-panel cartoon appeared inThe New Yorkerin 1938, Wednesday was first created in June 1940. Creator Charles Addams got the idea of a little girl skipping rope all by herself beneath a streetlamp. However, Wednesday didn’t make her official debut inThe New Yorkeruntil 1944. Since the comics were in black and white, readers assumed she was dressed in black and white, but color illustrations reveal that her iconic tunic was occasionally envisioned to be teal blue. Due to the one-panel nature of the first comics, Wednesday doesn’t say much, but her character comes through. Here, Wednesday is a good-natured girl who is just as morbid as the rest of her family and enjoys building torture devices as a DIY activity with her father and brother, having apparent poison wars with Pugsley, and, of course, cutting the heads off her dolls with a small guillotine. Thestrips are just as funnynow as they were when they were printed. Like her family members, during this era, Wednesday was nameless. However, that would change when the Addams clan was set to hit the small screen. As Morticia states in the first episode ofWednesday,Wednesday’s name came from a nursery rhymeline, “Wednesday’s child is full of woe”.
The Addams Familydebutedon ABC on July 06, 2025. In this version, Wednesday is younger than Pugsley at six-years-old. This Wednesday is not nearly as dour as her later counterparts and is actually very sweet. Notably, during this era, the television versions of the Addams clan were the only ones available during the show’s two-season run, since the editor atThe New Yorkerduring this era decided to ban them from the magazine. Syndication helped keep the Addams in the public conscious. The spooky family would go on to have a guest spot onThe New Scooby-Doo Moviesin an episode called “Wednesday is Missing” in 1972, followed by their own animated series in 1973. (Of all people,Jodie Foster voices Pugsleyin this series.) This era would eventually end in 1977 with the poorly received television movieHalloween with the New Addams Family.
1991-2001: The Addams Revival and the Rise of Wednesday
It wasn’t until 1991 that the Addams clan skyrocketed back into popularity with the live-action filmThe Addams Family.Christinia Ricci’s Wednesday Addamswas sarcastic, brooding, and delightfully psychopathic. The scene where she electrocutes Pugsley and her eyes flash in devilish glee is one of the most memorable scenes of the film.The Addams Family1991 film was such a success it spawned multiple video games, the best-selling pinball machine of all time, and a cartoon series. Wednesday in the 1992-1993 cartoon series is toned down from her film counterpart, but she still has much of the same spooky spirit, and she sports a blue dress that might be a callback to her original counterpart. Also in this series, she and Pugsley attend a public school and seem to understand normie culture a little more than their parents.
Still, audiences wanted more and a sequel film,Addams Family Values, was released in 1993.Addams Family Valueshighlights Wednesday as she struggles with her new baby brother Pubert, attempting to kill him multiple times before she and Pugsley are sent to a normie summer camp. In one of the character’s most memorable scenes, Wednesday is forced to play Pocahontas in a Thanksgiving play. Although she follows the script at first, she eventually reveals her disgust at the historically inaccurate play and sets the stage ablaze. Wednesday also shares her first kiss with the bespectacled Joel, one of her first normie love interests, something that would at leastappear to be a patternlater on in the franchise. During this time there was also the direct-to-videoAddams Family Reunion, a new television series, and a video game starring Uncle Fester. These entries failed to make waves and the Addamses popularity waned once again.
2007 - Present: Wednesday as More Than an Addams
Then, in 2007, the Addams clan was developed into a musical theater adaptation. In this musical, Wednesday is 18-years-old. This time, she has fallen hard for a normie boy, Lucas, and love is beginning to make her feel like less of an Addams than ever before. She even wears a yellow dress to a dinner between their two families, where she announces that her and Lucas intend to marry. While the musical wasn’t well-received, it did bring attention back tothe creepy, kooky family. It also originated the idea that Wednesday wasn’t just a Addams, but more individualistic. (She even trades her braids for a bob in this version.) Wednesday’s rebellious side was also explored in the first Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animated adaptation. In the film, Wednesday makes friends with a normie girl and experiments with color.
Unlike her musical counterpart, this Wednesday isn’t as interested in style as she is challenging Morticia’s expectations of her. The sequel,The Addams Family 2, even goes so far as to question Wednesday’s parentage, but as Morticia states, Wednesday is an Addams, whether it’s in her blood or not. Wednesday’smistrust of her motherand Morticia’s unconditional love is further explored in the live-actionWednesdayseries. This Wednesday is a loner teenager who hates bullies and has psychic powers. Jenna Ortega plays her with a great intensity that pairs well with hercolorful werewolf roommate turned friend, Enid.
Wednesday’s status as an iconic pop culture character is undeniable. TheWednesdayspin-off show has been such a success for Netflix, that its second season broke a financial record for thelargest production to ever film in Ireland. As fans excitedly wait for Ortega’s return in season two, they have plenty of past Wednesday incarnations to choose from. From the sweet Wednesday of the 1960s to Ortega’s blunt portrayal, Wednesday is always, thoroughly herself.
