Vanessa Hudgens

Hudgens appeared in the films Bandslam (2009), Beastly, Sucker Punch (both 2011), Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Spring Breakers (both 2012), Second Act (2018), Bad Boys for Life (2020), and Tick, Tick.. She starred in the Netflix Christmas movies The Princess Switch (2018) and its sequels (2020 and 2021), and The Knight Before Christmas (2019), co-producing these Christmas movies. Hudgens played the role of Emily Locke in the NBC series Powerless (2017). She made her Broadway stage debut playing Gigi in the musical revival of Gigi (2015) and had roles in two of Fox's live musical productions: Rizzo in Grease Live! (2016) and Maureen Johnson in Rent: Live (2019). In 2022, Hudgens co-hosted the Met Gala in Manhattan.

Vanessa Hudgens studied at Orange County School of the Arts and Guajome Park Academy. The recorded working language is English. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are pop music, dance music, contemporary R&B and Romantica. Places of work recorded in the authority are United States. Residence is recorded at Studio City and Los Feliz. Works named in the authority record are High School Musical 2, High School Musical 3: Senior Year, Beastly, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Spring Breakers and Grease: Live.

• Name — Vanessa Hudgens • Birth Name — Vanessa Anne Hudgens • Born — 14 December 1988 • Birthplace — Salinas, California, U.S. • Occupation — * Actress • singer • Children — 2 • Years Active — 1998–present

Vanessa Anne Hudgens was born in Salinas, California, and was raised in various locations along the West Coast, from Oregon to Southern California. Her mother, Gina (Guangco), held a succession of office jobs, and her father, Gregory Hudgens, was a firefighter. She has a younger sister Stella, who is an actor and model. Vanessa was raised as a Catholic. Her father, who died of cancer in February 2016, was of mostly English descent, and her mother is Filipina and grew up in Mindanao. All of her grandparents were musicians.

Starting in 1998, 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. Two years later, she began auditioning for commercials and television shows, and her family moved to Los Angeles after she appeared in a television commercial. She began her acting career at age 15, and she briefly attended Orange County High School of the Arts, followed by homeschooling with tutors. Hudgens had her first acting role in an episode of the sitcom Still Standing, airing on CBS in 2002, in which she portrayed Tiffany. Later that year, she appeared in an episode of the series Robbery Homicide Division, airing on CBS. Hudgens made her film debut in the 2003 drama movie Thirteen, in the supporting role of Noel. The film grossed $10 million worldwide and received positive critical reviews. USA Today called Thirteen the most "powerful of all recent wayward-youth sagas". Hudgens subsequently landed a role in the 2004 science fiction-adventure film Thunderbirds, based on the 1960s television series. Hudgens portrayed the character of Tin-tin. The film was a commercial failure and was strongly criticized for "abandoning the original concepts".

In 2018, Hudgens starred in the romantic comedy film Dog Days, alongside Finn Wolfhard and Nina Dobrev. She collaborated with electronic dance music duo Phantoms on the single "Lay With Me", released in September 2018. She starred in the Netflix film The Princess Switch in November 2018, in which she portrayed both a European duchess and a pastry chef from Chicago, who temporarily switch roles. In December 2018, she co-starred opposite Jennifer Lopez in the comedy film Second Act, directed by Peter Segal. Hudgens returned for the 15th season of So You Think You Can Dance, as part of the panel of judges. The same year, she essayed the role of Vanessa Morales in a production by Kennedy Center of Lin-Manuel Miranda's original musical In the Heights. In January 2019, Hudgens starred in another Fox live musical presentation, Rent: Live, as Maureen Johnson. Hudgens also co-starred with Mads Mikkelsen in Polar, the Netflix film adaptation of Víctor Santos's 2013 graphic novel Polar: Came From the Cold. In November 2019, she starred in and served as a producer on the Netflix film The Knight Before Christmas. In 2020, Hudgens appeared in the third entry in the Bad Boys franchise, Bad Boys for Life, which grossed over $426 million worldwide. In November that year, she starred in and produced the Netflix film The Princess Switch sequel, The Princess Switch: Switched Again. By the end of the year, Hudgens hosted the MTV Movie & TV Awards: Greatest of All Time television special, which highlighted the greatest moments of film and television since the 1980s, as well as moments from past editions of the award ceremony. In 2021, she voiced the lead character, Sunny Starscout, in the animated Netflix film My Little Pony: A New Generation. In November 2021, Hudgens appeared in Netflix's biographical film Tick, Tick... Boom!, adapted from the musical Tick, Tick... Boom!, with Hudgens portraying playwright Jonathan Larson's friend Karessa Johnson, directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Hudgens lent her voice to songs on the film's soundtrack. Later that month, she appeared in the third installment of Netflix's The Princess Switch film series, The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star, directed by Michael Rohl. Hudgens reprised her three roles from earlier, and also served as a producer. In 2022, Hudgens starred alongside Alexandra Shipp, Kiersey Clemons, and Ezra Miller in the Paramount Pictures action thriller film, Asking for It. The film released in theaters, digitally, and on Blu-ray on March 4. Later that month, she co-hosted the 94th Academy Awards red carpet pre-show with Terrence J, Sofia Carson, and Brandon Maxwell. In May 2022, Hudgens co-hosted the Met Gala red carpet livestream for Vogue with actress and television personality La La Anthony, and the magazine's editor-at-large Hamish Bowles. In June 2022, she co-hosted the 30th MTV Movie & TV Awards with Tayshia Adams, with Hudgens hosting the first half of the ceremony for film and scripted television. Hudgens starred in Hamish Linklater and Lily Rabe's film Downtown Owl, alongside Rabe, Ed Harris, Finn Wittrock, Jack Dylan Grazer, and August Blanco Rosenstein, produced by Sony Pictures' production label Stage 6 Films. In 2024, Hudgens competed in season eleven of The Masked Singer as "Goldfish". She won the season with Scott Porter as "Gumball" finishing in second place. Both of them made references to their work in Bandslam.

Hudgens was raised Catholic but now identifies as a non-denominational Christian. She attends the Los Angeles affiliate church of Hillsong Church. In 2005, Hudgens began dating her High School Musical co-star Zac Efron. Their relationship was highly publicized until their breakup in 2010. From 2011 to 2019, Hudgens dated actor Austin Butler. In 2020, Hudgens began dating Major League Baseball shortstop Cole Tucker. Hudgens and Tucker married on December 2, 2023, in Tulum, Mexico. The couple have two children, born in late June or early July 2024 and November 2025. In May 2016, Hudgens paid $1,000 in restitution for damage of U.S. Forest Service property by carving initials within a heart on a rock in the Coconino National Forest and displaying it on her personal Instagram feed. In March 2020, Hudgens posted an Instagram video where she stated that it is "inevitable" that people will die from the COVID-19 pandemic. The video caused controversy as critics accused her of minimizing the impact of the disease and the need for preventive measures. She subsequently apologized for her "insensitive" remarks. In October 2021, Hudgens was shown by Architectural Digest to be living in the "Little DeMille" house, which director Cecil B. DeMille built for his mistress.

On September 6, 2007, photos allegedly stolen from Hudgens were leaked online, one showing her posing in lingerie and another showing her nude. A statement from her publicist said 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". In January 2008, Hudgens released a statement indicating that she declined to comment further on the subject. In October 2007, OK! magazine speculated that Hudgens would be dropped from High School Musical 3 as a result of the explicit images, but The Walt Disney Company denied this, stating, "Vanessa has apologized for what was obviously a lapse in judgment. We hope she's learned a valuable lesson." In August 2009, another set of images showing Hudgens topless emerged on the Internet. Hudgens's representatives did not comment, though her lawyers requested the removal of the pictures. In late 2009, Hudgens sued www.moejackson.com for posting nude "self-portrait photographs" of her taken on a mobile phone in a private home. Hudgens later commented on the photos' impact on her career in the October issue of Allure, stating, "Whenever anybody asks me, would I do nudity in a film, if I say that it's something I'm not comfortable with, they're like, 'Bullshit, you've already done it.' If anything, it makes it more embarrassing, because that was a private thing. It's screwed up that someone screwed me over like that. At least some people are learning from my mistake." According to Us Weekly, additional nude images were released on the Internet on March 15, 2011.

• Illustration — Hudgens in January 2012 at Bondi Beach, Sydney • Illustration — Philippine president Bongbong Marcos presenting the Global Tourism Ambassador Award to Hudgens in March 2023 Hudgens was represented by William Morris Agency but signed on to Creative Artists Agency in 2011. In 2006, Hudgens's earnings were estimated to be $2 million. Hudgens was included in the Forbes richest list in early 2007, and the Forbes article noted that she was included in Young Hollywood's Top Earning-Stars. On December 12, 2008, Hudgens was ranked No. 20 in the list of Forbess "High Earners Under 30", having reported to have an estimated earnings of $3 million in 2008. She was number 62 at FHM's 100 Sexiest Women 2008 and number 42 in the 2009 list. Hudgens is also featured in Maxims lists. She was included in Peoples annual "100 Most Beautiful People" 2008 and 2009 lists. Hudgens promotes Neutrogena and was the 2008 featured celebrity for Sears's back-to school campaign. In 2007, she became a spokesperson for Marc Eckō products but ended the contract after two years. Hudgens regularly volunteers for charitable activities, including those for Best Buddies International, Lollipop Theater Network, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the VH1 Save The Music Foundation. Hudgens is also featured in A Very Special Christmas Vol.7 disc which benefits the Special Olympics. Hudgens is also part of the "Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C): Change The Odds" along with other Hollywood stars including Zac Efron, Dakota Fanning, Kristen Bell, and others. Brian Schall sued Hudgens in 2007 for an alleged "breach of contract"; according to the suit, Schall claims he advanced costs and expenses on Hudgens's behalf for her songwriting and recording career. Schall claims Hudgens owed him $150,000 after helping her earn more than $5 million for her music career. Hudgens argued that she was a 16-year-old minor when she signed the contract in October 2005, and therefore too young to do so. She subsequently disaffirmed it on October 9, 2008. Papers filed in court by her lawyer say California's Family Code "provides that the contract of a minor is voidable and may be disaffirmed before (age 18) or within a reasonable time afterward." In 2008, Hudgens was sued by Johnny Vieira, who claims he was owed a share of Hudgens's advances, royalties and merchandising revenue in exchange for his management services. Vieira accuses Hudgens of abandoning her talent team as soon as she became a commercial name. In early May 2009, the case was settled. Hudgens is a frequent attendee of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. She has been unofficially called the "Queen of Coachella". She is known for her boho-chic fashion style, occasionally going barefoot at the festival as well. In March 2023, Hudgens was named as a global tourism ambassador by the Philippine government.

Hudgens has over 80 credits to her name within film, television, and on stage.

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)

Vanessa Hudgens was recorded at birth as Vanessa Anne Hudgens. Her recorded languages were English and American English. Her recorded confession was Catholicism. She married Cole Tucker.

Works recorded as notable number 8: High School Musical 2, High School Musical 3: Senior Year, Beastly, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Spring Breakers, Grease: Live, High School Musical and The Princess Switch. Her recorded genres are pop, dance, contemporary R&B and Romantica.