Vanessa Hudgens

Background

Vanessa Ann Hudgens was born in Salinas, California. Her mother, Gina, was an office worker and her father, Gregory, was a firefighter. She has a younger sister, Stella, who is also an actress and they were raised Catholic by their parents.

Hudgens had her film debut in 2003 in a film titled “Thirteen,” but she is best known for her role as Gabriella Montez in the “High School Musical” film series that came out between 2006 and 2008. Her success with the films led her to sign a recording deal with Hollywood Records where she released two studio albums, “V” in 2006 and “Identified” in 2008. Since the release of her studio albums and the “High School Musical” franchise, Hudgens has focused on her acting career. She appeared in the films “Bandslam” in 2009, “Beastly” and “Sucker Punch” in 2011, “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” and “Spring Breakers” in 2012, “Second Act” in 2018, “Bad Boys for Life” in 2020, and “Tick, Tick…Boom!” in 2021. She has also starred in a few Netflix movies, such as “The Princess Switch” and its sequels in 2018, 2020, and 2021, as well as “The Knight Before Christmas” in 2019, which she co-produced. Hudgens played the role of Emily Locke in the N.B.C. series “Powerless” in 2017. She also played a role on Broadway as Gigi in the musical “Gigi” in 2015 and had two roles in two of Fox’s live musical productions: one in “Grease: Live” in 2016 and one in “Rent: Live” in 2019.

Hudgens has won various awards for her acting performances, including a Broadway World Washington D.C. Award for ‘Best Actress in a Musical — Large Professional Theater’ in 2018, and a Blackbird Vineyards Visionary Award at the Napa Valley Film Festival in 2019.

Vanessa Hudgens Movies