Vanessa Hudgens

Vanessa Hudgens (born 14.12.1988)

Vanessa Hudgens is an American singer and actress. She is perhaps best known for playing Gabriella Montez in High School Musical.

Vanessa Hudgens: Childhood

Vanessa Hudgens was born in Salinas, California, to Gina and Gregory Hudgens. Her mother is an office worker and her father a firefighter. Her younger sister, Stella Hudgens, is also an actress and all of her grandparents were musicians.

As a child, Vanessa Hudgens began performing in musical theatre productions, such as Carousel, Cinderella and The Wizard of Oz.

Vanessa Hudgens: Career

Vanessa Hudgens played a small role in the 2003 film Thirteen, alongside Evan Rachel Wood. The following year, she appeared in the film version of Thunderbirds, but the film was not a success.

2005 saw Hudgens appearing in TV shows, such as Quintuplets, Drake & Josh, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and The Brothers Garcia. Later that year, she landed her breakthrough role; playing Gabriella Montez in High School Musical, opposite Zac Efron. The role brought her global fame and she reprised the role in 2007 in High School Musical 2 and again in 2009's High School Musical 3: Senior Year.

Later on in 2009, Hudgens also appeared in Bandslam. Her acting in the film earned her comparisons to Thandie Newton and Dorothy Parker.

At the 81st Academy Awards, Vanessa Hudgens performed a musical number, with Zac Efron, Beyonce Knowles, Hugh Jackman, Dominic Cooper and Amanda Seyfried.

Hudgens later performed voices for an episode of Robot Chicken, the animated series created by Seth Green. Also in 2009, Vanessa Hudgens was involved in Beastly - the film based on Alex Flinn's novel of the same name.

Two years later, Sucker Punch was released: an action film directed by Zack Snyder and featuring Hudgens alongside Emily Browning, Jena Malone and Abbie Cornish. Hudgens played the role of Blondie, a girl who has been institutionalised in an asylum.

Hudgens was also announced as one of the actors set to appear in the 2011 remake of Journey to the Centre of the Earth, along with Josh Hutcherson and Dwayne Johnson.

Vanessa Hudgens has also had a successful musical career, signing a contract with Hollywood Records, via whom her debut album, 'V' was released in 2006. The album was certified gold in 2007. At the end of the year, she was invited to sing for then-president, George Bush, at the National Building Museum in Washington DC.

Vanessa Hudgens: Personal Life

Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron became romantically involved around two years after they started to work on High School Musical, though their relationship ended in December 2010.