Vanessa Anne Hudgens Biography / Pictures

Vanessa Anne Hudgens (born December 14, 1988), is an American actress and singer. Vanessa Hudgens made her debut in 2003 appearing in the Hollywood films Thirteen and Thunderbirds, before reaching fame in 2006 after appearing in the Disney Channel film High School Musical hit series. Vanessa Hudgens began a music career and released her debut album, V, in 2006. Her sophomore album, Identified, was released July 1, 2008.

Biography

Vanessa Hudgens was born in Salinas, California, the daughter of Gina (née Guangco) and Greg Hudgens. She has a younger sister, Stella Hudgens. Hudgens's father is an American of Irish and Native American descent, and her mother, who grew up in Manila, is a Filipino-born of Filipino, Spanish, and Chinese descent. Hudgens has been home-schooled since after her seventh-grade year at the Orange County High School of the Arts.

Starting at the age of eight, Hudgens performed in musical theater as a singer, and appeared in local productions of Carousel, The Wizard of Oz, The King and I, The Music Man, and Cinderella, among others.

Vanessa Hudgens debuted in Thirteen as Noel and appeared in the 2004 film Thunderbirds as Tintin and appearances include guest roles on Quintuplets, Still Standing, The Brothers Garcia and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, as Corrie. Hudgens also appeared on Drake & Josh, playing Drake's girlfriend, Rebecca.

Vanessa Hudgens' largest role among teenage audiences has been starring in the Disney Channel movie High School Musical, High School Musical 2 starring as the shy, intelligent student Gabriella Montez. Hudgens and Efron had won "Best Chemistry" award at the Teen Choice Awards for their roles. The first High School Musical spawned a hit soundtrack, a worldwide concert tour, a show at Walt Disney World, and even a book series that helped Hudgens land in Forbes magazine's list of top-earning stars under 21." In the list, the 18-year-old Hudgens was No. 7 with estimated earnings of $2 million. Hudgens will reprise the role in the upcoming High School Musical 3: Senior Year, scheduled for release in October.

On January 11, 2008, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Hudgens would star in the comedy, Will (now Rock On), alongside Gaelan Connell, Alyson Michalka, and Lisa Kudrow. Hudgens will play 15-year old Sam. Hudgens was also to have starred in Prom Night but turned down the offer to work on her music. Brittany Snow was offered the role instead.

Hudgens' debut album, entitled V, was released in early September 2006. She is signed with Hollywood Records, a Disney-owned record label. A music video for her first single, "Come Back To Me", debuted after the world premiere of The Cheetah Girls 2 in late August. The official music video for her second single, "Say OK", was first shown following the premiere of Disney's Jump In!. In August 2007 at the 2007 Teen Choice Awards, Hudgens was named the Choice Breakout Singer - Female.

Vanessa Hudgens new album is titled Identified. The first single from her new album, titled, "Sneakernight", premiered on Radio Disney on April 11, 2008.

Vanessa Anne Hudgens Biography

Vanessa Hudgens confirmed, in an interview with Teen Magazine as of October 2007, that she is dating her High School Musical series co-star Zac Efron . In an interview, Hudgens' publicist stated that her music video for "Say OK" was their official "come-out" as a couple.

On September 6, 2007, controversy erupted after provocative photos of Hudgens surfaced online. Two showed her posing in suggestive lingerie, and another showed her n---. A statement from her publicist claims that the photo was taken privately and it was "unfortunate" that they were released on the Internet. Hudgens later apologized, saying that she was "embarrassed over the situation" and regretted having "taken those photos." Disney Channel spokeswoman Patti McTeague indicated that Disney will still be working with Hudgens, stating, "Vanessa has apologized for what was obviously a lapse in judgment. We hope she's learned a valuable lesson."