What role is The Princess Diaries star Heather Matarazzo playing on Wednesday season 2? Explained

Heather Matarazzo may forever be enshrined in teen-movie memory as Lilly Moscovitz in The Princess Diaries, yet 2025 finds Heather Matarazzo steering her career into fresh Gothic territory with Wednesday Season 2.

The Tim Burton-directed and Alfred Gough, Miles Millar-produced hit returned to Netflix on August 6, 2025, and its opening episode plants Matarazzo squarely inside the new Willow Hill Psychiatric Facility arc.

She turns up as Judi Spannegel, a relentlessly upbeat aide to shrink Dr Rachael Fairburn (Thandiwe Newton) who soon collides with Wednesday’s investigation into a string of outcast deaths. As Wednesday season 2 unspools, Judi’s cheery mask slips, hinting at secrets that tether her to Nevermore Academy’s darkest folklore.

The casting doubles as a nostalgia jolt for viewers who grew up with Matarazzo’s work in The Princess Diaries, Welcome to the Dollhouse, and the Scream franchise, while exposing Generation Z audiences to a performer whose résumé spans independent-film accolades and outspoken LGBTQ+ advocacy.

Below, we break down exactly who Judi is, where she fits, and why this marks a pivotal chapter for Heather Matarazzo.

Who exactly does Heather Matarazzo play in Wednesday Season 2?

Matarazzo’s Judi Spannegel first appears in Episode 1, Fresh Wounds, as the ultra-perky executive assistant running Willow Hill’s reception desk. Her duties include art-therapy sessions and guarding Hyde patient Tyler Galpin’s charts.

On paper, she reports to Dr Fairburn. Still, midway through Part 1, the series reveals that Judi is the hooded Avian mastermind terrorising Jericho’s crows and reviving her late father’s LOIS experiments in the asylum basement.

As per the Tudum report dated August 7, 2025, Matarazzo told Netflix Tudum when asked about learning the twist on day one of shooting:

"It tracked and it made sense....I had to understand her motivations very quickly. Al and Miles were very generous in answering my questions within the space of what motivates a character to do something. What is it that she had within herself? What was the drive of that ambition?"

The role extends across all four released episodes and positions Judi as both gatekeeper and hidden villain, setting up a Wednesday-versus-Judi chess match when Part 2 lands on September 3.

How Judi Spannegel meshes with the Willow Hill mystery

Episodes 1-4 make Willow Hill the season’s investigative hub. As per the Tudum report, Gough stated,

“At the end of Episode 4, Wednesday literally lets the lunatics out of the asylum, and the rest of the season is: Now you have to deal with that… She solved one mystery, and has unleashed a Pandora’s box of new problems.”

Judi’s importance grows once viewers learn her father is Augustus Stonehearst, a disgraced Nevermore teacher whose illegal trials tried to graft outcast powers onto normies. Raised in that ethical vacuum, Judi keeps Stonehearst hidden as a ward and continues his agenda, transforming herself into an Avian able to command flocks.

Her chirpy public persona, therefore, masks a legacy of experimentation and a desperate need for parental approval. Heather Matarazzo stated:

“I wanted to be true to the text and the world [Millar and Gough] created. And I wanted Judi to be the best villain, or perhaps simply the best misunderstood being, that she could be.”

Narrative stakes climb when Wednesday realizes Judi controls files that could exonerate or doom Tyler, making the assistant a linchpin for both the murder conspiracy and Hyde’s redemption arc.

Heather Matarazzo’s journey from indie darling to Jericho villain

Long before Wednesday season 2, Heather Matarazzo burst onto screens at age 12 in Todd Solondz’s Welcome to the Dollhouse, winning the Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance. Roles in Scream 3, Saved! and, most famously, The Princess Diaries (2001) cemented her reputation for playing outsiders with bite.

She was candid about her mental health and sexuality. She married comedian Heather Turman in 2018 and now resides in Michigan. She is also an LGBTQ+ voice. As cited in the E! Online report dated August 6, 2025, reflecting on industry setbacks in 2022, she wrote on X,

“I feel at a loss because I feel I have done THE WORK, for a long time, with no complaint”

Stepping into Tim Burton’s universe looks to be a win. With Wednesday already renewed for a third run, Judi’s fate and, by extension, Heather Matarazzo’s foothold in the franchise hang in the balance with Part 2’s outcome. Whether villain or anti-hero, the actress’s knack for humanising outsiders ensures that every sugar-sweet smile at Willow Hill now feels like a loaded clue.

Stay tuned for more updates.