Vanessa Hudgens American actress Date of Birth: 14.12.1988 Country: USA

1. American Actress
2. Biography of Vanessa Hudgens
3. Early Interest in Art
4. Breakthrough with "High School Musical"

American Actress

Everyone knows this charming American with exotic looks from the youth films of the "High School Musical" series. Vanessa was fortunate enough to sign a contract with Disney at a young age, and the studio's projects made her a star. However, Hudgens did not intend to be a singing girl in films for the rest of her life and proved to the world that she is capable of playing diverse roles.

Biography of Vanessa Hudgens

Vanessa Anne Hudgens was born on December 14, 1988, in Salinas, California, USA, to firefighter Gregory Hudgens and office worker Gina Hudgens. Vanessa has Irish, Native American, and American roots from her father's side, and Filipino, Chinese, and Spanish roots from her mother's side. She owes her exotic appearance to her parents, and her musical talent to her previous generations, as all the grandparents she knows were musicians.

Vanessa's younger sister Stella (born November 13, 1995) is also pursuing an acting career and has already appeared in the popular American sitcom "According to Jim" (2001-2009) and other films and series.

Early Interest in Art

Vanessa began showing an interest in the arts from a young age. At the age of 8, she started performing in musical theater as a singer and actress. Young Hudgens played in productions such as "The King and I" (1999), "The Wizard of Oz" (1999), "Cinderella" (2000), "The Little Mermaid" (2000), and many others.

At the age of 10, Vanessa started attending auditions for commercials and television projects. The move of her family to Los Angeles further supported the development of her career. At the age of 15, Vanessa enrolled in the Orange County High School of the Arts in California, already having experience in TV series such as "Still Standing" (2002) and "Robbery Homicide Division" (2002). Hudgens appeared in one episode of each of these projects.

Breakthrough with "High School Musical"

In 2003, Vanessa made her debut in feature films with the movie "Thirteen," where she had one of the main roles. The film was well received by critics and audiences and received several nominations at prestigious film awards, including the Golden Globes and the Oscars, but young Hudgens was not included in these nominations. It can be confidently said that Vanessa's debut in film was successful, but after "Thirteen," her career did not take off rapidly.

Vanessa appeared in one episode of the TV series "The Brothers Garcia" (2003) and then starred in the feature film "Thunderbirds" (2004), which, unlike her previous work in film, did not do well at the box office and received mostly negative reviews from critics and audiences.

After this setback, Hudgens appeared in two TV series - "Quintuplets" (2005) and "Drake & Josh" (2006). However, her small appearances in these projects did not bring her fame. In the same year, the breakthrough in the career of 18-year-old Vanessa Hudgens happened. She played one of the main roles in the Disney Channel TV movie "High School Musical," and together with other young actors from the project, she became an international star. The film about singing teenagers made a splash in the United States and then worldwide, and the performers of the main roles, Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, and Ashley Tisdale, woke up famous overnight.

The success of "High School Musical" not only marked a new stage in Vanessa's career but also brought her first serious romantic involvement. A romantic relationship developed between the main actors - 17-year-old Hudgens and 18-year-old Zac Efron, which added even more popularity to the movie. "High School Musical" broke all records, and the talented singing actors embarked on a concert tour, High School Musical: The Concert, performing 52 shows - 42 in North America and 10 in the South.

In the same year, Vanessa appeared in four episodes of the popular sitcom "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody" and released her first music album titled "V." A year later, the second installment of the film that made her a superstar, "High School Musical 2," was released. The film was as successful as the first part, so it's no wonder that Disney started developing the third installment. The movie "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" was released in 2008 and stood out from the previous ones as it had a worldwide theatrical release. The film earned more than 20 times its $11 million budget, and the performers of the main roles received nominations for the popular MTV Movie Awards. In the category "Breakthrough of the Year: Best Actress," two "High School Musical" actresses - Ashley Tisdale and Vanessa Hudgens - were nominated, but Tisdale won.

The "High School Musical" franchise came to an end, and the superstars of the saga continued to build their careers. In 2008, Vanessa Hudgens released her second album, "Identified," and then announced that she would take a break from her singing career and focus on film roles. Her next project was the music-themed film "Bandslam" (2009), followed by her portrayal of the main character in the movie "Beastly" (2011), where she starred alongside actors such as Alex Pettyfer, Mary-Kate Olsen, and Neil Patrick Harris.

In 2010, Vanessa did not appear in any films but played one of the main roles in the theatrical rock musical "Rent," directed by Neil Patrick Harris. In the same year, Hudgens ended her five-year relationship with boyfriend Zac Efron. During the filming of the movie "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" (2012), Vanessa briefly dated her co-star Josh Hutcherson. Since September of the same year, she has been in a relationship with young actor Austin Butler, with whom she is still together.

Currently, there is not as much talk about Vanessa Hudgens as during the peak of "High School Musical." Back then, her reputation was not tarnished even by her intimate photos leaked online in 2007 and 2009. Now she is taking on roles that could become a new breakthrough in her career. Among Vanessa's recent works, notable mentions include Zack Snyder's action film "Sucker Punch" (2011), the crime film "Spring Breakers" (2012), the drama "Gimme Shelter" (2013), and the TV musical "Grease Live!" (2016).

In February 2017, the comedy TV series "Powerless," based on DC Comics, in which Vanessa Hudgens plays the lead role, will premiere on NBC.