Zac Efron biography, girlfriend, height, age, net worth, photo, dating history 2025

Biography of Zac Efron

Zackary David Alexander Efron (known as Zac Efron) is a Hollywood actor who shot to fame playing the lead role in Disney's High School Musical franchise. His filmography features mostly comedy roles ("17 Again," "Dirty Grandpa"), but he's also found success in romantic dramas ("The Lucky One," "We Are Your Friends"). Beyond acting, Zac Efron is also a talented singer – he's recorded several songs for his films. Net worth: $25 million.

Family and childhood. The first roles

Zac's parents, David Efron and Starla Baskett, are of Jewish heritage. His father worked as an engineer at a power plant, and his mom was a secretary there. Zac Efron and his younger brother Dylan spent their childhood in the small California town of Arroyo Grande, located near Hollywood. Despite living so close to the center of the world's movie industry, the Efron family lived an ordinary lifestyle. But the lively boy tried to break the routine and add more excitement to their life – he sang songs non-stop, which often annoyed his parents.

However, David and Starla recognized their son's singing talent and decided to channel it properly – they encouraged Zac's interest in auditions and competitions. At age 11, Zac enrolled at Alan Hancock College, where he immediately joined the cast of the play "Gypsy," which was performed at the city theater. The performance was a hit, so Zac ended up on stage in gypsy costumes about 90 times! That's how Zac Efron's acting career began. "From the very first day on stage, I became a true fan of it. Mainly because of the audience's laughs and applause, of course," Zac told reporters in 2006.

Little Zac Efron with his younger brother Dylan

Soon after, Zac became an essential young performer at the theater school. He was cast in increasingly sophisticated and important roles, always living up to the troupe's expectations. Zac especially loved performing in "Peter Pan," where he played the boy from Neverland who never wants to grow up. Later, the actor said he was eager to portray Peter Pan not only on stage but on screen as well.

His teachers and classmates convinced Zac he should try his hand at television. To pursue that dream, he and his mother began attending auditions in LA three times a week. Soon after, Zac's persistence paid off – he landed small roles in popular series like "C.S.I.: Miami," "Firefly," and "ER" (he appeared in episode 204 as Bobby Neville).

10 films with Zac Efron

In 2004, TV producer Harry Winer noticed the aspiring young actor and invited Zac to join the cast of his family series "Summerland." Zac's character in the first season was more of a supporting role, but by the second season, he had more substantial storylines and screen time. It was a breakthrough success for the up-and-coming actor. Since the set was on the beach, Zac unexpectedly discovered a love for surfing.

Zac Efron became a star of «Summerland» to its 2nd season

Zac Efron – a star of «High School Musical»

After that first lucky break, his biggest breakthrough followed. In 2006, Efron was cast in the leading role in «High School Musical», where his partner on the set became charming Vanessa Hudgens. The three young stars, whose lives were transformed after being cast in the school musical, became favorites with countless young viewers, so sequels to their story didn't keep fans waiting long. Two sequels, «High School Musical 2» and «High School Musical 3: Senior Year», were released soon after. Notably, Zac didn't do his own singing in the first film, but for the second and third installments he recorded 8 and 10 songs respectively.

Zac Efron played a popular guy Troy Bolton in «High School Musical» franchise

In 2006, after the musical's premiere, Zac Efron's name shot to the top of Google's most popular search queries, even beating the massively popular American Idol. That same year the rising star won the «Breakout Actor» award from the Teen Choice Awards, beating out other top-tier actors like Hilary Duff, Miley Cyrus and even his partner from the set, Vanessa Hudgens. When filming wrapped, Zac enrolled at the University of Southern California, but he soon had to postpone graduation due to the flood of offers coming his way. «Initially I wasn't even planning to become a professional actor. I just loved acting and wanted to earn money for college! But those plans weren't meant to be» – Zac said with a smile.

Eventually, Zac chose the musical "Hairspray" from the many offers he received. The director Adam Shankman offered Zac a role of Link Larkin after auditioning more than 200 young actors in that position. While the film about Nikki Blonsky's dancing dreams didn't become a massive hit, Zac Efron has always treasured his experience working alongside legendary actors like John Travolta and Michelle Pfeiffer. After filming wrapped, Efron dove deeper into music, learning piano and guitar.

In 2009, the actor took part in the filming of a comedy «17 Again». In the story, Matthew Perry's character mysteriously becomes younger and ends up attending school with his own kids. Despite the familiar body-swap premise, this family-friendly film was warmly received by audiences and gave the brand new start to the career of Zac Efron. By the way, the actor could demonstrate himself as an excellent basketball-player in this movie. This isn't surprising, since Zac has been committed to sports for years, in particular, he is good at skiing, snowboarding, and playing golf.

After "17 Again" premiered, Zac's acting future looked bright except for one thing: now the paparazzi were following him everywhere to get the exclusive photos. Things got so bad that Zac once had to hide from them in a trash can.

In 2010 he made his debut as a romantic hero in the melodrama «Charlie St. Cloud», and played in the drama «Liberal Arts» alongside Josh Radnor and Elizabeth Olsen in 2011, having portrayed a drunkard student Nat. Both films were enthusiastically received by viewers and critics, and even the most skeptical ones couldn't deny the fact that Zac Efron has great potential for acting.

«Liberal Arts»: Zac Efron as a merry fellow Nat

His winning streak continued with the drama "The Lucky One", where Efron portrayed a courageous marine Logan Tibo. The actor was especially proud of this role, since it was originally written for Ryan Gosling, but casting directors found Zac more sensual and romantic.

A snapshot from «The Lucky One» starring Zac Efron

But Zac shouldn't be pigeonholed as just a comedy or romantic drama actor. He also succeeded in the psychological thriller «The Paperboy», holding his own alongside major stars like Nicole Kidman and Matthew McConaughey. The drama "At Any Price," released shortly after and focusing on complex father-son relationships, proved this wasn't just a fluke. This movie won the highest award of the 69th Venice Film Festival – The Golden Lion.

The teen drama «We Are Your Friends» which told a story about love and friendship, betrayal, and devotion, was released in 2015. Zac played DJ Cole, a young guy torn between loyalty to his friends and winning the heart of a beautiful woman.

2016 saw fans enjoying Efron in his comedic comfort zone. January brought the premiere of "Dirty Grandpa," where Zac played the grandson of Robert De Niro's character. Summer brought the hilarious comedy "Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates," following two party-loving brothers on their adventures.

2017 saw Efron starring in the "Baywatch" remake alongside Alessandra Daddario and Dwayne Johnson, plus the musical "The Greatest Showman" with Hugh Jackman, which earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Comedy or Musical.

Zac Efron almost lived in a gym for filming in «Baywatch»

During this period, Efron was also cast as Ted Bundy – the notorious serial killer who murdered numerous women in the 1970s. Kaya Scodelario and Lily Collins joined the cast of this film, titled "Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile."

2020 brought reports that Efron fell seriously ill after contracting a dangerous infection while filming a new project in Papua New Guinea. His survival reality show "Killing Zac Efron" resembles "The Last Hero," with Efron serving as both producer and creator, spending three weeks in the jungle with only a guide and crew.

Upon returning from filming, Efron confirmed his health was fine and that he was ready for new challenges in both life and cinema. Unconfirmed reports suggest this could include taking over the Jack Sparrow role in "Pirates of the Caribbean" from Johnny Depp. These negotiations were reported by sources including Inside The Magic and IMDb.

Personal Life of Zac Efron

While Zac can't exactly be called a player, his dating history is actually pretty extensive.

Zac Efron is also known as a heartbreaker

During filming of the first High School Musical, he'd already fallen for his co-star Vanessa Hudgens, who became his girlfriend for the next 5 years. At the end of 2010, the couple announced their breakup. There were no cheating scandals or drama that's so common with celebrity breakups – Zac and Vanessa simply grew apart.

Shortly after, Zac was spotted with the charming Teresa Palmer at a Hollywood nightclub. They started with tequila, and then Zac got pretty flirty with Teresa on the dance floor. But it turned out to be just a casual fling.

Zac Efron does exercises almost every day

In 2012, Zac tried dating Lily Collins but called it quits after just 3 months.

Lily Collins (left), the ex of Zac Efron

Later, apparently tired of dating temperamental actresses, he turned his attention to regular girl Sami Miro, who was completely outside the movie industry. They started dating in 2014, keeping their romance under wraps for a long time, until the couple was finally spotted together at the end of 2015.

Tabloids were filled with sweet photos of Zac and Sami – walking hand-in-hand in the park, sharing kisses… The actor wasn't bothered by media calling his girlfriend a regular person – besides, Sami had plenty to be proud of with her slim figure and diverse interests: she loved yoga, organic cooking, and haute couture. But unfortunately, their fairytale ended in April 2016: Zac announced he was single again but didn't reveal why they broke up.

Many tabloids claimed the actor had gotten back together with Vanessa, but Zac never confirmed these rumors and seemed to be enjoying his status as Hollywood's most eligible bachelor.

There were also rumors about a romance with his Baywatch co-star Alessandra Daddario. But later Alessandra commented on this, saying that they are just really good friends and nothing more.

According to Zoomboola.com, in 2020, reports surfaced that Efron had a new love interest, keeping their relationship carefully under wraps. The rumored girlfriend was reportedly his co-star Helston Sage, whom he met on the set of the comedy "Neighbors". Neither star commented on the speculation, although they spent the Christmas holidays together in Santa Barbara. However, news of their split soon followed.

Soon, Zac plunged into a relationship with Vanessa Valadares. Their romance had a real Cinderella feel to it. The actor rented a house on the coast of Australia, and Vanessa worked as a waitress in a restaurant nearby. Maybe sharing the same name as his first love Vanessa Hudgens sparked something for Zac, especially since the girl looks like her.

Zac intended to buy a house in Australia to be closer to his beloved, and on his 33rd birthday he gave Valadares an engagement ring. But after a few months, the engagement was broken off. The long-distance relationship proved too challenging to maintain.

Zac Efron Now

In 2021, Zac was cast in the horror film "Firestarter", the adaptation of Stephen King's novel. Also, he played a major role in the "Gold" thriller.

Gold 2022, Zac Efron. Stuck in The Desert

According to Zac, the shoot was one of the most grueling of his career. His character survives in the desert, so the actor had to work under the scorching sun and face sandstorms.

Zac Efron: latest news and articles

Disney Channel Stars Failing to Glory

20 Mar 2019

Michelle Sharp

I like Efron in spite of his sweet appearance but as an actor he is not bad and movies with him are nice. I started to like him after High School Musical.

2021-05-19 09:27:00
Ruth Harris

Recently there are a lot of movies with him, especially comedies, he is not a bad actor.

2021-05-04 08:59:23
Terry Peterson

There is one funny movie with him and De Niro `Dirty Grandpa`, we were laughing with my friends like crazy.

2021-04-01 13:29:32
Theresa Young

I don`t know, I don`t like this actor, he is not natural, too pretty. It`s not nice to looking at him.

2021-03-12 11:00:38
Kyle Price

I changed my mind about him after the movie Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. Before I thought he is not a serious actor but in this movie he has proven himself.

2021-01-23 14:07:24

Photos: Zac Efron