Biography
Date of Birth
14 December 1988, Salinas, California, USA
Birth Name
Vanessa Anne Hudgens
Nickname
Nessa
V
Van
Baby V
Vanney
Height
5' 3" (1.6 m)
Mini Biography
Vanessa Anne Hudgens was born in Salinas, California. Her family moved to San Diego, California, while she was still a toddler. She has a younger sister, Stella Hudgens, who is also an actress. Her mother, Gina Hudgens (née Guangco), an office worker, is from the Philippines. Her father, Greg Hudgens, a firefighter, was from a family from Missouri and Illinois.
Vanessa was interested in acting and singing at a young age, inspired by her grandparents, who were musicians. At the age of 8, she started appearing in musical theater. She fell deeper in love with the arts and began studying acting, singing, and dance more seriously with Jailyn Osborne. Vanessa very briefly attended Orange County High School of the Arts. After years of auditioning, she began seeing some success. This prompted her family to move to Los Angeles, California. She started homeschooling, so she missed out on the high school experience, and she finally landed her breakthrough role in High School Musical (2006).
Trivia
Older sister of actress Stella Hudgens.
Parents are Greg Hudgens and Gina Hudgens (née Guangco).
Her father had English, as well as German, Irish, and Scottish, ancestry. Her mother is from the Philippines, and is of Filipino, as well as Chinese and Spanish, descent. Vanessa's father was also said to have had Native American ancestry. It is not clear if this is accurate.
Her musical theater roles include leads in "Evita", "Carousel", "The Wizard of Oz", "The King and I", "The Music Man", "Cinderella", "Damn Yankees", "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and "The Little Mermaid", among others.
She got her first gig when her friend could not go to an audition for a commercial and asked if Vanessa could go.
Enjoys singing just as much as dancing and acting. Her favorite kind of music is rock music.
Is a huge fan of the late Natalie Wood.
Good friends with High School Musical (2006) co-stars Ashley Tisdale, Zac Efron and Corbin Bleu, along with Alexa Nikolas, Brenda Song and Miley Cyrus.
She appeared alongside Brady Corbet in both her first two films, Thirteen (2003) and Thunderbirds (2004).
Best known for portraying the role of Gabriella Montez in High School Musical (2006) and its related sequels.
Her favorite television series is Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001).
Was named "The Heartbreaker" in Disney Channel's first DC games (2006).
Was chosen to be a member of the blue team in DC games held in the summer of 2006.
Her two favorite singers are Alicia Keys and Céline Dion.
She sang "Angels" by Robbie Williams at her High School Musical (2006) audition.
She has been home-schooled since the seventh grade.
At one point, she planned to audition for American Idol (2002).
Her song "Whatever Will Be" is really a song that reflects on her motto.
Both sets of her grandparents were musicians during the Big Band era.
Best friends with Kayslee Collins.
Her favorite scene in High School Musical (2006) is the final one, in which the cast sang and danced to "We're All in This Together".
She resided with her parents along the West Coast, from Oregon to Southern California.
In June 2006, she signed a recording contract with Hollywood Records.
Her self-entitled album "V" debuted at #24 on the US Billboard album chart with 34,000 copies sold during its first week.
The first star from High School Musical (2006) to release a solo album in the wake of the romantic musical comedy's success. The name of her debut solo album is called "V" which stands for Vanessa, but also could stand for variety since it is a mix of pop, pop rock, dance electronic, and ballads. The album was released in the United States on September 26, 2006.
Recorded her self-entitled album "V" in just under two months.
Trained in piano, dance, and voice (opera to be specific).
Her favorite song to perform in concert is "Let's Dance" because she and her backup dancers have so much fun dancing to that song.
Sings with Corbin Bleu on the song "Still There for Me", on his debut solo album "Another Side" (2007).
Her debut album has officially sold 500,000 copies. Therefore, it was certified gold for the first time in 2007.
The highest chart position of "Say OK" on the US Billboard chart was 61.
"Let Go" was supposed to be the second single from her debut album. However, this was switched to "Say OK" at the last minute.
Her first single "Come Back to Me" samples from the song "Baby Come Back", by the 1970s rock band Player.
The second single on her debut solo album "V" is called "Say OK". This was released on January 12, 2007, on United States radio stations. There are two versions of the music video for the song. The first one was from the High School Musical: The Concert Tour. The second version was filmed at a beach in Los Angeles, California, and a bowling alley.
Her first official single from her debut solo album, "V", is called "Come Back to Me". The song and the music video both premiered on August 25, 2006, in the United States. The highest chart position it achieved on the US Billboard charts was 55.
In 2007, she became the celebrity spokesperson for Neutrogena products.
Desires to study business when she reaches college.
Is the only cast member of High School Musical (2006) to have a solo song on the television soundtrack.
Her first job was acting in a local production of "The Wizard of Oz", in which she played a Munchkin and was paid $50.
Once attended the Orange County High School of the Arts for about a month or two.
She has a toy poodle named Shadow, three turtles, and some fish.
She was offered a role in the horror remake Prom Night (2008), which was offered to Fernanda Romero as well. However, she turned down the role to work on her music.
Her favorite dance number from High School Musical 2 (2007) is "Work This Out".
Ranked #12 on Maxim magazine's Hot 100 Women of 2008 list.
Ranked #27 on Maxim magazine's Hot 100 Women of 2009 list.
The face for the clothing brand Ecko Boys & Girls in Brazil.
Ranked #10 in Cosmopolitan magazine's Best Dressed Celebs of 2008.
Ranked #20 on Forbes magazine's list of "High Earners Under 30" on December 12, 2008.
Teen Vogue magazine included Hudgens in the list of January's Ten Best Dressed in the fifth position. [January 2009]
Learned to play the guitar while filming Bandslam (2009).
Ranked #42 in the 2009 FHM list of "100 Sexiest Women in the World".
Ranked #62 in the 2008 FHM list of "100 Sexiest Women in the World".
Named one of People magazine's "100 Most Beautiful People in the World" (2008 and 2009).
Good friends with Bandslam (2009) co-stars Aly Michalka, Selena Gomez and Ashley Benson.
Close friends with Jailyn Osborne, Kimberly Daugherty and Laura New.
She was considered one of the 55 faces of the future by Nylon magazine's Young Hollywood Issue.
Ranked #42 in the 2010 FHM UK list of "100 Sexiest Women in the World".
In 2011, she was named the new Candie's Girl.
Was in a relationship with Zac Efron [2006-2010].
Was in a relationship with Austin Butler [2011-2020].
Has a tattoo of a butterfly on her neck.
Ranked #28 on Maxim magazine's Hot 100 Women of 2014 list.
She auditioned for the role of Julie Christensen in Final Destination 3 (2006), which eventually went to Amanda Crew.
She and her then-boyfriend, Austin Butler, were fined US$1,000 for vandalizing Bell Rock in the Sedona area of Arizona, after carving their initials into the rock. [April 2016]
Her father Greg Hudgens passed away on January 30, 2016, after losing his battle with cancer. The day after his death, Vanessa was set to star as Rizzo in the live musical production of Grease Live! (2016) Despite her father's death, she vowed to perform in the production as a tribute to him, and received widespread acclaim from critics for both her performance and her professionalism. The show was dedicated to the memory of her father.
She has expressed a desire to play the DC Comics character Selina Kyle/Catwoman, naming it as a dream role of hers.
Her favorite horror movies are The Ring (2002) and The Grudge (2004).
Is allergic to both chlorine and black pepper.
Trademarks:
Long dark hair
Soft gentle voice
Quotes
[on her nude picture scandal] I'm much better now. But truthfully, I don't like talking about it. It was something that was meant to be private, and even though it isn't anymore, I'd still like to keep it as private as I can. It was very traumatic, and I am extremely upset it happened. I hope all my fans can learn from my mistake and make smart decisions. But I wouldn't have been able to get through it if it wasn't for my family, friends, and fans, who supported me all along the way.
Power to the Peaceful.
[on her role in The Frozen Ground (2013)] Ever since I was really young, I wanted to play a prostitute. It's just, like, thrilling as an actor to put yourself in a situation you, personally, would never be in. At the end of the day, you're just a kid playing pretend, so if you're going to do it, might as well go crazy with it.
I love and really respect strong women. I'm obsessed with Scarlett Johansson, Drew Barrymore and Penélope Cruz. They are just really incredibly strong-willed, intelligent females in the industry.
I don't like being stagnant. I want to continue to grow and just be better at what I do, and the only way to do that is to keep stepping outside of your comfort zone.
