Vanessa Anne Hudgens

Vanessa Anne Hudgens

Vanessa Anne Hudgens, who was born on Dec. 14, 1988 in Salinas, CA, lived all over the West Coast – from Oregon to Southern California with her parents and younger sister Stella. Hudgens came from a very ethnically diverse background, with her father Greg being of Irish and Native American descent, while her mother Gina was a mix of Filipino, Chinese and Spanish. When she was eight, Hudgens started performing in local theater productions of “Carousel,” “The Wizard of Oz” and “Cinderella.” After a successful commercial audition, the young actress moved to Los Angeles with her family to pursue a full time acting career. She made her feature film debut with a small role in “Thirteen” (2003) – the brutal look at modern-day teenage lives starring Holly Hunter and Evan Rachel Wood – which was enough to get the ambitious teen’s foot in the door.

In 2005, Disney Channel executives set out to revive the movie musical genre, with the plan of using young stars who grew up watching stage classics such as “Peter Pan” and “Les Miserables.” An audition for a yet untitled project that was to be directed by Kenny Ortega – previously best known as the choreographer of 1987’s “Dirty Dancing” – called for fresh new faces that Disney Channel fans could relate to. Hudgens won the coveted role of Gabriella Montez, a newly transferred student and academic decathlete who finds herself drawn to East High’s star athlete and resident hunk Troy Bolton (Efron). Together, they try out for the school musical and break free from the cliques they once belonged to.September 2006 also marked another milestone for the tween set’s latest “It” girl. She signed with Hollywood Records and released her debut album V. The album reached gold, while the infectious first single “Come Back to Me” became a radio and MTV staple. Another single, a ballad titled “Say OK” reunited Hudgens and Efron in the music video, fueling rumors among fans that the two were more than just co-stars. With her first album a success, Hudgens announced in 2007 that she was going to record her second album.Come August 2007, “High School Musical 2” broke TV records as expected. A total 17.2 million viewers made it the highest rated basic cable broadcast of all time. The road to a third “HSM” movie hit a major bump however, when The National Enquirer reported they were going to print controversial nude photos of Hudgens. Many speculated it was a hoax, until a full frontal nude photo of the star surfaced on the Web on Sept. 6. It was confirmed later that day on TMZ.com by Hudgens' representatives, with a statement that claimed the photos were taken privately and it was unfortunate they had been leaked to the public.

Filmography

# High School Musical 3 (2008) (announced) (rumored) .... Gabriella Montez

# High School Musical 2 (2007) (TV) (as Vanessa Hudgens) .... Gabriella Montez
# "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody" .... Corrie (4 episodes, 2006)
... aka TSL (USA: informal short title)
- Kept Man (2006) TV Episode .... Corrie
- Neither a Borrower Nor a Speller Bee (2006) TV Episode .... Corrie
- Not So Suite 16 (2006) TV Episode .... Corrie
- Forever Plaid (2006) TV Episode .... Corrie
# "Drake & Josh" .... Rebecca (1 episode, 2006)
- Little Sibling (2006) TV Episode .... Rebecca
# High School Musical (2006) (TV) .... Gabriella Montez
# "Quintuplets" .... Carmen (1 episode, 2005)
- The Coconut Kapow (2005) TV Episode .... Carmen
# Thunderbirds (2004) .... Tintin
... aka Thunderbirds - Les sentinelles de l'air (France)
# "The Brothers Garcia" .... Lindsey (1 episode, 2003)
- New Tunes (2003) TV Episode .... Lindsey
# Thirteen (2003) .... Noel
# "Robbery Homicide Division" .... Nicole at 10 (1 episode, 2002)
... aka R.H.D./LA: Robbery Homicide Division/Los Angeles (USA: complete title)
- Had (2002) TV Episode (as Vanessa A. Hudgens) .... Nicole at 10
# "Still Standing" .... Tiffany (1 episode, 2002)
- Still Rocking (2002) TV Episode .... Tiffany


Album
# "Entertainment Tonight" .... Herself (2 episodes, 2007)
... aka E.T. (USA: informal title)
... aka ET Weekend (Australia: weekend title)
... aka Entertainment This Week (weekend title)
... aka This Week in Entertainment (USA: weekend title)
- Episode dated 14 September 2007 (2007) TV Episode .... Herself
- Episode dated 27 August 2007 (2007) TV Episode .... Herself
# "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" .... Herself (1 episode, 2007)
- Episode dated 13 September 2007 (2007) TV Episode (as Vanessa Hudgens) .... Herself
# "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" .... Herself (1 episode, 2007)
- Episode dated 5 September 2007 (2007) TV Episode (as Vanessa Hudgens) .... Herself
# The Teen Choice Awards 2007 (2007) (TV) .... Herself
# "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee" .... Herself (3 episodes, 2006-2007)
- Episode dated 16 August 2007 (2007) TV Episode (as Vanessa Hudgens) .... Herself
- Episode dated 30 October 2006 (2006) TV Episode .... Herself
- Episode dated 28 October 2006 (2006) TV Episode (as Vanessa Hudgens) .... Herself
# Get'cha head in the game: the choreography of High School Musical (2006) (V) .... Herself
# 2006 American Music Awards (2006) (TV) .... Herself - Presenter
# High School Musical Dance-Along (2006) (TV) .... Herself
... aka High School Musical Dance-Off (Australia)
# "The Disney Channel Games" (2006) (mini) TV Series .... Herself
# Totally Suite New Year's Eve (2003) (TV) .... Herself