Vanessa Hudgens

Vanessa Hudgens’ Biography

Vanessa Anne Hudgens is a bright emerging star of the new generation; she gained popularity after the teen series High School Musical where she demonstrated outstanding acting skills and a gentle heartfelt voice.

Vanessa Anne Hudgens

Childhood

Vanessa, the eldest daughter of Gregory Hudgens and Gina Guangco, was born in Salinas, California on December 14, 1988. Her father was a firefighter and her mother was a municipal official. The actress’s exotic looks originate from a mixture of various nationalities: Indian and Irish on her father’s side, Asian and Spanish on her mother’s side.

Vanessa Hudgens as a child

Although Vanessa’s parents did not pursue creative careers, they were a musical family: both her father and her mother were good singers. Vanessa started displaying her creativity from a young age, so her parents signed her up for drama classes where she studied acting. The girl also attended vocal classes and showed extraordinary diligence and perseverance in her studies. By the age of nine, she had become a local star and performed in the musical theatre, both as an actress and as a singer.

In the early 2000s, the Hudgens moved to Los Angeles which provided more opportunities for Vanessa to pursue her career. In Los Angeles, Vanessa took part in her first TV shows, in the series The Brothers Garcia and Still Standing. In one of the auditions she met the young actor Taylor Lautner; this acquaintance would later grow into a strong friendship.

Creative Career Begins

In 2003 Vanessa enrolled in the High School of the Arts. In the same year, she made her big-screen debut by playing a secondary role in the low-budget criminal drama movie Thirteen; the movie was dedicated to the problem of teenagers’ relationships with parents, as well as drugs and early sex.

A scene from the Thirteen series

The young actress played the grey mouse Noel, Tracy’s friend, as a contrast to bold Evie. Vanessa used all her dramatic skills which helped her earn positive acclaim and capture producers’ interest. The thirteen-years-old rebels were portrayed by Evan Rachel Wood and Nikki Reed; the latter also helped to write the script.

Young Vanessa Hudgens

From 2003 to 2005 the young actress played in a few TV series and in the fantasy comedy Thunderbirds, while still attending the School of the Arts and vocal classes.

Thunderbirds - trailer

In 2006 Vanessa was cast as Gabriella in the musical movie High School Musical by Disney Pictures, starring handsome Zac Efron. This movie is duly considered to be a breakthrough in Hudgens’ career. All of her character’s songs were sung by Vanessa herself.

Vanessa Hudgens in the High School Musical movie

This funny lighthearted movie for teenagers was a great success, which made Vanessa consider taking up a singer’s career. She released her first album V in the same year, titling it after her first-name initial which also stands for Victory. Over 40 000 copies were sold in the USA over the first week; the album was certified gold in 2007.

Vanessa Hudgens - Come Back To Me

In 2007 and 2008 two sequels of High School Musical came out, focusing on the relationship between Efron and Hudgens’ characters and the challenges they face in life. The high-school musicals Graduation and Holidays became popular with audiences of all ages. Music, as well as love, brings people together.

In the summer of 2008, Hudgens released her second album Identified which wasn’t as commercially successful as the first one; the actress announced that she would take a break from her music career to focus on acting.

The Prime of Career

In the 2009 musical movie Bandslam Vanessa co-stars with Alyson Michalka, Ryan Donowho, and Lisa Kudrow. The music in the movie creates the background against which the characters fall in love and make plans for their future. Vanessa’s acting and songs resonated with the audiences.

Vanessa Hudgens in the musical drama movie Bandslam (2009)

In the 2011 fantasy movie Beastly, retelling the story of Beauty and the Beast, Hudgens co-stars with Alex Pettyfer. Pettyfer portrays the school’s most handsome and arrogant boy, cursed by his classmate, the powerful witch Kendra. Eternal law states that only true love of a kind and pure girl can save the poor young man. Vanessa plays his savior Linda, and Mary-Kate Olsen plays the witch.

Beastly - trailer

Pettyfer and Hudgens both received the titles of ShoWest stars of Tomorrow; moreover, their duo was nominated for the Teen Choice Award in the category Choice Movie Liplock.

In Zack Snyder’s fantasy thriller Sucker Punch Vanessa was cast as one of the lead roles along with Emily Browning, Jamie Chung, and Abbie Cornish. Vanessa plays Blondie, one of the girls locked up in a brothel. It is known that Hudgens agreed to play this role in order to get rid of the image of a good girl, attributed to her by the critics.

Sucker Punch - trailer

In the 2003 thriller, The Frozen Ground Hudgens portrays a prostitute who escapes from a maniac; Nicolas Cage plays a detective in the movie. The maniac is unexpectedly portrayed by John Cusack.

A scene from The Frozen Ground

In the drama, movie Gimme Shelter the actress plays the challenging role of Agnes, a pregnant teenager who goes in search of her father after her mother denies support to her. Brendan Fraser and Rosario Dawson play Agnes’ parents. The audiences were astounded both by the young Agnes’ circumstances and by Vanessa’s acting; the actress convincingly conveyed her character’s heartache.

Gimme Shelter - trailer

In 2015 the trash comedy Freaks of Nature was released, telling the story of a small town first attacked by zombies, then by vampires and aliens. In this crazy comedy movie Vanessa co-stars with Denis Leary and Mackenzie Davis.

In 2015 the trash comedy Freaks of Nature, starring Vanessa, was released

In 2016 the actress started working on the lead role in the superhero comedy sitcom Powerless. The first episodes came out in the beginning of 2017; however, the series was canceled due to low ratings.

In 2018 the actress added another lead role to her filmography: in the movie Dog Days she co-stars with Nina Dobrev and the young Finn Wolfhard, the star of the 2017 film adaptation of Stephen King's It.

Dog Days - trailer

In the Christmas comedy, The Princess Switch Vanessa plays two roles: a duchess and an ordinary American girl who happens to look exactly like her. They switch places, which leads to unexpected results.

The Princess Switch - trailer

Also, in 2018 the comedy Second Act was released where Vanessa was fortunate to co-star with Jennifer Lopez herself.

Vanessa Hudgens’ Personal Life

Vanessa has the reputation of a real heart-breaker. She dated Zac Efron during the making of High School Musical. They were considered to be one of the most beautiful and inseparable couples among young Hollywood actors. The fans gave them a collective nickname Zanessa.

Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens

In 2008 Zac presented his princess with a gorgeous diamond ring; however, there was no engagement. Vanessa and Zac explained that their separation was caused by being unable to coordinate their filming schedules.

The actress’s next partner was the actor Josh Hutcherson, 4 years her junior. Their relationship lasted for 5 years, from 2011 to 2015.

Vanessa Hudgens and Josh Hutcherson

Since 2016 the actress has been dating the blond Austin Butler, also four years her junior. The actors don’t hide their feelings and attend various events together.

Vanessa and Austin don’t hide their feelings

Vanessa Hudgens Now

The thriller Polar is one of the most anticipated movies of 2019. In this movie Vanessa co-stars with Mads Mikkelsen who plays the world's top assassin, aka The Black Kaiser.

The premiere of Bad Boys for Life is planned for the beginning of 2020. In this thriller the actress will co-star with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence.

Photos: Vanessa Hudgens