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).
Vanessa Hudgens
Movies
Rock On
Will centers on a high school outcast and a popular girl who form an unlikely bond through their shared love of music. Assembling a like-minded crew of misfits, the friends form a rock group and perform in the battle of the bands competition at their school.
Fun Facts
Older sister of actress Stella Hudgens.
Parents are Greg Hudgens and Gina Hudgens (née Guangco).
Her father had English, as well as 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
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.