Vanessa Hudgens facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Vanessa Hudgens
Hudgens in 2019
Born	Vanessa Anne Hudgens (1988-12-14) December 14, 1988 (age 36) Salinas, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress singer
Years active	1998–present
Spouse(s)	Cole Tucker ​ (m. 2023)​
Children	1
Musical career
Genres	Pop R&B
Instruments	Vocals
Labels	Hollywood
Signature

Vanessa Anne Hudgens (born December 14, 1988) is an American actress and singer. She became famous for playing Gabriella Montez in the High School Musical movies from 2006 to 2008. Before that, she made her first movie appearance in Thirteen in 2003.

Vanessa also released two music albums, V (2006) and Identified (2008), through Hollywood Records. She has appeared in many other films like Bandslam (2009), Beastly (2011), Sucker Punch (2011), and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012). She also starred in popular Netflix Christmas movies such as The Princess Switch (2018) and its sequels, and The Knight Before Christmas (2019). She even helped produce some of these films.

On TV, Vanessa played Emily Locke in the NBC series Powerless in 2017. She has also performed on Broadway in the musical Gigi (2015). She was part of live musical TV shows like Grease Live! (2016) and Rent: Live (2019) for Fox. In 2022, Vanessa was a co-host for the Met Gala in Manhattan.

Early Life and Family

Vanessa Hudgens was born in Salinas, California. She grew up moving along the West Coast, from Oregon to Southern California. Her mother, Gina, worked in offices, and her father, Gregory Hudgens, was a firefighter. Vanessa has a younger sister named Stella, who is also an actress. She was raised as a Catholic.

Her father, who passed away in 2016, had Irish, French, and Native American family roots. Her mother is Filipina and was born in Manila. Interestingly, all of Vanessa's grandparents were musicians!

Career Highlights

Starting Out: 1998–2004

Vanessa began performing in musical theater in 1998. She sang in local shows like Carousel, The Wizard of Oz, and Cinderella. After two years on stage, she started trying out for commercials and TV shows. Her family moved to Los Angeles when she got a role in a TV commercial. She started her acting career at age 15. She was homeschooled with tutors after briefly attending the Orange County High School of the Arts.

Her first TV role was in 2002 on the sitcom Still Standing. Later that year, she appeared in an episode of Robbery Homicide Division. Vanessa made her first movie appearance in the 2003 drama Thirteen, playing a supporting character named Noel. The movie was about a teenager trying to fit in and getting into trouble. It earned about $10 million worldwide and received good reviews.

In 2004, Vanessa was in the science fiction movie Thunderbirds, based on a 1960s TV show. She played Tin-tin. However, this movie was not very successful and received a lot of criticism.

High School Musical and Music: 2005–2008

Hudgens performing at the High School Musical: The Concert in 2007

In January 2006, Vanessa Hudgens landed a big role as Gabriella Montez in the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical. She played the new girl at school who falls for the basketball team captain. They both discover a love for singing and try out for the school play. Vanessa starred alongside Zac Efron and Ashley Tisdale. She and Zac Efron were paired up during auditions because they had great "chemistry."

High School Musical was a huge hit! It was Disney Channel's most-watched movie that year, with 7.7 million viewers. Vanessa recorded many songs for the film. Her duet with Zac Efron, "Breaking Free," became her highest-charting song on the US Billboard Hot 100, reaching number 4.

After the movie's success, Vanessa released her first album, V, on September 26, 2006. It sold well and was later certified gold. Two songs from the album, "Come Back to Me" and "Say OK," were popular and had music videos shown on Disney Channel.

Hudgens in concert in January 2007

In 2007, Vanessa played Gabriella again in High School Musical 2, which came out on August 17. This movie was even more popular, with over 17.2 million viewers in the US, making it the most-watched Disney Channel Original Movie ever! Critics generally liked the film, praising it as "sweet, smart, bursting with talent and energy."

Her second album, Identified, was released on July 1, 2008. It debuted at number 23 on the Billboard 200 chart. The main song from this album was "Sneakernight." After this album, Vanessa left Hollywood Records.

Vanessa returned as Gabriella for High School Musical 3: Senior Year, which was the first movie in the series to be shown in theaters. It was a big success, earning $42 million in its first weekend in North America. The film made $252 million worldwide, doing even better than Disney expected.

Movies and TV Roles: 2009–2017

Hudgens at the MyHabit launch at Skylight West Studios in May 2011

After the High School Musical series, Vanessa decided to focus more on acting and took a break from music. In 2009, she had a supporting role in the musical comedy Bandslam. She played "Sa5m," a shy freshman with hidden talents. Even though Bandslam didn't make a lot of money, critics praised Vanessa's acting.

In 2010, Vanessa returned to the stage in the musical Rent as Mimi. She performed at the Hollywood Bowl.

In 2011, Vanessa starred with Alex Pettyfer in Beastly, a movie based on a novel. She played Linda Taylor, the "beauty" of the story. The movie was released on March 4, 2011. Vanessa also played Blondie in the action film Sucker Punch, directed by Zack Snyder. This movie was known for its cool visual effects.

Hudgens at the 2012 People's Choice Awards

In 2012, Vanessa starred with Dwayne Johnson and Josh Hutcherson in the adventure film Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. This movie was a sequel and earned $325 million worldwide.

In 2013, Vanessa was in Spring Breakers with Selena Gomez and James Franco. The story was about four college girls who rob a fast food restaurant to pay for their spring break trip. She also played Cindy Paulson in The Frozen Ground, a film based on a true story about a victim who escaped. She co-starred with John Cusack and Nicolas Cage. Later that year, she appeared in the action film Machete Kills.

In 2014, Vanessa played a pregnant teenage runaway in the drama film Gimme Shelter.

In 2015, Vanessa was in the comedy horror film Freaks of Nature. That same year, she played the main role in the musical Gigi on Broadway.

On January 31, 2016, Vanessa starred as Rizzo in Grease Live!, a live TV broadcast of the musical. She dedicated her performance to her father, who passed away from cancer the day before the show.

In 2017, Vanessa played Emily Locke in the NBC comedy series Powerless, which was based on DC Comics characters. She also co-hosted the 2017 Billboard Music Awards and was a judge on the dance show So You Think You Can Dance.

Expanding Her Career: 2018–Present

In 2018, Vanessa starred in the romantic comedy film Dog Days. She also worked with the music group Phantoms on their song "Lay With Me." A big role for her was in the Netflix film The Princess Switch in November 2018, where she played two different characters: a European duchess and a pastry chef from Chicago. They temporarily switch places! In December 2018, she co-starred with Jennifer Lopez in the comedy film Second Act. She also returned as a judge for the 15th season of So You Think You Can Dance.

In January 2019, Vanessa starred in another Fox live musical, Rent: Live, as Maureen Johnson. She also co-starred with Mads Mikkelsen in Polar, a Netflix movie based on a graphic novel. In November 2019, she starred in and produced the Netflix film The Knight Before Christmas.

In 2020, Vanessa appeared in Bad Boys for Life, the third movie in the Bad Boys series, which earned a lot of money worldwide. In November, she starred in and produced the sequel, The Princess Switch: Switched Again. She also hosted the MTV Movie & TV Awards: Greatest of All Time special.

In 2021, she voiced Sunny Starscout in the animated Netflix movie My Little Pony: A New Generation. In November 2021, Vanessa was in the biographical film Tick, Tick... Boom!, directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda. She also appeared in the third The Princess Switch movie, The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star, where she played three roles and helped produce it.

In 2022, Vanessa starred in the action thriller film Asking for It. She also co-hosted the red carpet pre-show for the 94th Academy Awards and the Met Gala livestream for Vogue. In June 2022, she co-hosted the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards. She also starred in the film Downtown Owl.

In 2024, Vanessa competed on The Masked Singer as "Goldfish" and won the season!

Personal Life

Vanessa Hudgens was raised Catholic but now identifies as a non-denominational Christian. She attends a church in Los Angeles.

Relationships and Family

From 2005 to 2010, Vanessa dated her High School Musical co-star Zac Efron. From 2011 to 2019, she dated actor Austin Butler. In 2020, Vanessa began dating Major League Baseball player Cole Tucker. Vanessa and Cole Tucker got married on December 2, 2023, in Tulum, Mexico. They welcomed their child in the summer of 2024.

Filmography

Vanessa Hudgens has been in over 80 different films, TV shows, and stage productions.

Discography

• V (2006)
• Identified (2008)

Concert Tours

Headlining

• Identified Summer Tour (2008)

Co-headlining

• High School Musical: The Concert (2006–07)

Opening act

• The Cheetah Girls – The Party's Just Begun Tour (2006)

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Vanessa Hudgens para niños

• Filipinos in the New York City metropolitan region
• List of Filipino Americans