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Vanessa Hudgens
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Vanessa Hudgens

Vanessa Hudgens at the Sydney premiere of Journey 2: The Mysterious Island in 2012.
Background information
Birth name Vanessa Anne Hudgens
Born December 14, 1988 (age 23)
Salinas, California, United States
Origin American
Genres Pop, dance[1], R&B
Occupations Actress, singer
Instruments Vocals
Years active2002–present
Labels Hollywood
Associated acts Zac Efron
Website VanessaHudgensOfficial.com

Vanessa Anne Hudgens[2] (born December 14, 1988)[3] is an American actress and singer.
Hudgens rose to prominence playing Gabriella Montez in the High School Musical series.[4] Hudgens also has appeared in several television programs including Quintuplets, Still Standing, The Brothers García, Drake & Josh,and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. In 2009, she earned critical acclaim for her role in the film Bandslam.[5]
In addition to acting, Hudgens released her debut album V on September 26, 2006 which entered the Billboard 200 at number twenty four, and was later certified Gold.[6] Her second album, Identified, was released on July 1, 2008 in the United States.[7]
Contents [hide]
1 Early life
2Career
2.1 2003–2009
2.2 2009–present
2.3 Music
2.4 Other work
3 Personal life
4 Filmography
5 Discography
6 Awards and nominations
7 References
8 External links
Early life

Hudgens was born in Salinas, California, and has lived with her parents throughout the West Coast from Oregon to Southern California. Her mother, Gina (née Guangco), held a succession of office jobs, and herfather, Gregory Hudgens, was a firefighter.[2][3] She has a younger sister, Stella Hudgens, who is also an actress.[8] She was raised as a Roman Catholic.[9] Hudgens is of mixed ethnic background, as her father is of Irish and Native American descent, and her mother, a native of Manila, Philippines, is of Chinese-Filipino-Spanish descent.[3][10] All of her grandparents were musicians.[11]
Starting atthe age of eight, Hudgens performed in musical theater as a singer, and appeared in local productions of Carousel, The Wizard of Oz, The King and I, The Music Man, and Cinderella, among others.[12] Two years after her career in stage plays and musicals, she started auditioning for commercials and television shows, and her family moved to Los Angeles after she won a role in a televisioncommercial.[11][13] Her acting career started at the age of 15, and she briefly attended Orange County High School of the Arts, followed by homeschooling with tutors.[14][15]
Career

2003–2009
In 2003, Hudgens played a minor role in the independent drama film Thirteen, in which she played Noel, a friend of a lead character Tracy (played by Evan Rachel Wood). The film was a commercial success, receivinggenerally positive reviews, with USA Today calling it most "powerful of all recent wayward-youth sagas".[16] Hudgens subsequently landed a role in the 2004 science fiction-adventure film Thunderbirds as Tintin. The film was a commercial failure and strongly criticized for "abandoning the original concepts".[17]
A year later, Hudgens made guest appearances on television shows Quintuplets, StillStanding, The Brothers García, Drake & Josh, and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. In late 2005 she landed her breakout role as the shy and meek Gabriella Montez in High School Musical, opposite Zac Efron.[18] Her performance received numerous nominations and awards.[19] With the success of the film, the BBC predicted that Hudgens would be a "household name" in the US.[20]
In 2007, Hudgens reprised herrole as Gabriella Montez in the sequel of High School Musical, High School Musical 2.[21] Virginia Heffernan of TV Review described Hudgens performance as "matte," as she "glows like a proper ingénue".[22] The third film in the series, High School Musical 3: Senior Year was released in 2009. Her performance in the film prompted her win for "Favorite Movie Actress" in the 2009 Kids Choice...