Vanessa Hudgens Biography:

At the top of her profession, Vanessa Hudgens was the desire of nearly every teenage boy and girl on the globe. The singer and actress starred in “High School Musical” (2006) and “High School Musical 2” (2007) next to sexy blond teen boy hunk Zac Efron. “HSM” instantaneously became the smash hit of the year, with Hudgens and Efron blazing the trail for a new generation of teenage boy and girl Disney celebrity Hollywood super stars, from Miley Cyrus to Corbin Bleu. They were fresh celebrities who lived on the other side of the Hollywood tracks, the exact opposites of ongoing party celebrities like Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton.

Vanessa Anne Hudgens, was born  December 14, 1988 in Salinas, CA, and lived all over the West Coast, from Oregon to Southern California, with her mom and dad and younger sibling Stella. Hudgens came from a culturally assorted background, with father Greg being Irish and Native American descent, and her mother Gina is a mixture of Filipino, Chinese and Spanish. This combination gave Vanessa a unique and sexy look and appeal to Hollywood insiders.

When she was only nine years old, Hudgens began performing in local theater productions of “Carousel,” “The Wizard of Oz” and “Cinderella.” After a victorious television commercial audition, the adolescent actress relocated to Los Angeles with her family to seek a full time acting career. Hudgens made her first feature film debut with a tiny part in “Thirteen” (2003), the wicked look at modern day teenage living starring Holly Hunter and Evan Rachel Wood, which succeeded in getting her needed critical media notice.

Hudgens’ next big screen project was family friendly. Co-starring with Bill Paxton in “Thunderbirds” (2004), a action adventure thriller movie based on the admired 1960’s television series, a story about having narrowly averted a major disaster on an oil rig, the Thunderbirds have returned home to their secret base when TB5, their space based station, is critically damaged in a suspected meteor strike. Hudgens landed small guest appearance roles in sitcoms like “Quintuplets” (FOX, 2004-05) and “Still Standing” (CBS, 2006), before working in a couple of series episodes in the second season of “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” (Disney Channel, 2005– ), and "Drake And Josh" (2006) with Drake Bell. What happened next was a career changing experience for Hudgens.

In 2005, the Disney Channel wanted to recreate the movie musical tradition, with the idea of using young teen stars who grew up watching stage and theatre standards like “Peter Pan” and “Les Miserables.” An audition for a "new" un-named  project called for bright new young teen talent that Disney Channel viewers could relate to. Hudgens was awarded the popular role of Gabriella Montez, a new transfer student  who finds herself attracted to East High’s star sportsman and school house pretty boy Troy Bolton (Zac Efron). Starring along side Ashley Tisdale, they try out for the school musical and are set free from the cliques they once associated with.

“High School Musical” became Disney's most victorious film, with 8.7 million viewers in its premiere performance in the United States. The musical soundtrack also was a smash hit, becoming the best selling album of 2006, with songs like “Breaking Free” and “When There Was Me and You”, of which Vanessa Hudgens sang lead vocals.

October 2006 another highlight for the young Vanessa Hudgens. She signed with Hollywood Records and released her debut album "V". The album went gold, with the addicting song “Come Back to Me” becoming a radio and MTV essential. Another single, a love song called “Say OK” joined Hudgens and Zac Efron in the MTV and VH1 music video, starting tabloid rumors that the two were more than just co-stars may be romantically linked. With her first album a success, Hudgens announced in 2007 that she was recording her second album.

The massive success of “High School Musical” also encouraged a very profitable United States and Latin American concert tour, starring Hudgens and her co-stars Bleu, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel and Monique Coleman. Zac Efron was the only original cast member who did not join the tour because he was in Toronto filming the movie musical “Hairspray” (2007) alongside super star celebrity actors like John Travolta, Michelle Pfieffer, and Amanda Bynes, allowing singer and songwriter Drew Seeley to substitute his part.

Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron not only sang and danced while making “High School Musical,” they also fell in love. The two secretly dated for several months, informally unveiling their romance in the tabloid magazines while vacationing in Hawaii during the summer of 2007. They were photographed on the beach kissing and immediately became young Hollywood’s newest love birds, following in the footsteps of Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder in the 1980's, and Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears in the 1990's. Young teen fans of Hudgens and Efron even began calling the couple “Zanessa”, a combination of their first names.

The tabloid exposure of the young lovers only helped bring more awareness to “High School Musical 2.” Premiering in September 2007 on the Disney Channel and this time sporting a brief cameo by Miley Cyrus.  It came as no surprise that a third “High School Musical” project was announced, but this time around it would be produced as a feature big-screen film.

During September 2007, “High School Musical 2” smashed all television records as projected. A total 18.2 million viewers gave the show the highest rated basic cable broadcast of all time. The production of the third “High School Musical" movie ran into a major problem however, when The National Enquirer reported they were preparing to print controversial nude photos of Hudgens. Many thought it was a publicity stunt, until a full frontal naked photo Hudgens surfaced on the internet. It was confirmed later by Hudgens' management team that claimed the pictures were taken privately and it was regrettable they had been shown to the public.

Despite the problems, "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" (2008) was completed on time. As seniors in high school ,Troy Bolton (Zac Efron) and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) struggle with the idea of being separated from one another as college approaches. Along with the rest of the Wildcats, they stage a spring musical to address their experiences, hopes and fears about their future. 

Vanessa wrapped up the year appearing in the dramatic comedy "Will" (2009) starring Gaelan Connell, about a high school outcast's bond with a popular girl over their shared love of music that results in them assembling a rock group that looks to win their school's upcoming battle of the bands competition.

• Also Credited As:
  Vanessa A. Hudgens, Vanessa Hudgens
• Born:
  on 12/14/1988 in Salinas, California
• Job Titles:
  Actress, Singer

Family

• Father: Greg Hudgens.
• Mother: Gina Guangco.
• Sister: Stella Hudgens.

Significant Others

• Companion: Zac Efron. met while co-starring in “High School Musical”

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