Vanessa Anne Hudgens (born December 14, 1988) is an American actress and singer. She made her debut in 2003 appearing in the Hollywood films Thirteen and Thunderbirds, before reaching fame in 2006 after appearing as Gabriella Montez in the Disney Channel film High School Musical hit series. Hudgens began a music career and released her debut album, V, in 2006. Her second album, Identified, was released July 1, 2008.
Early life
Hudgens was born in Salinas, California, the daughter of Gina (née Guangco) and Greg Hudgens.[1][2][2][3] She has a sister, Stella Teodora Hudgens (born November 13, 1995, San Diego).[4] 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.[5][2] 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.[6]
Career
2004-2007: High School Musical and V
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 García and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody (episode title - Forever Plaid), as Corrie. Hudgens also appeared on Drake & Josh, playing Drake's girlfriend, Rebecca.
Hudgens's breakout role has been starring in the Disney Channel movie series High School Musical, starring as Gabriella Montez. Hudgens and Efron had won "Best Chemistry" award at the Teen Choice Awards for their roles.[7] 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.[8] Hudgens started concentrating on her music career by signing a record deal with Hollywood Records in 2006 as the start of her solo career, but
first covered the song "Colors Of The Wind" for Disneymania 5 album in that same year.
Hudgens' debut album, entitled V, was released in late September 2006. V debuted on the Billboard 200 in early Octobe
r 2006 at number twenty-four on the chart, with 34,000 copies sold that week.[9] 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.[10]
Hudgens promoted the album when opening for The Cheetah Girls during their The Party's Just Begun Tour.[7] The album was re-released in a limited Deluxe Edition format, released only in Japan.[11] The album was certified Gold for shipments to retailers of 500,000 copies on February 27, 2007.[12] The album was nominated as #7 on "Album of The Year" by Billboard Readers' Choice.[13]
Hudgens launched a worldwide tour with the rest of the cast of High School Musical in fall 2006, performing the songs from the soundtrack album as well of three songs from her debut album, "Come Back to Me", her lead single, "Say OK", and "Let's Dance.[14] A DVD and an album named High School Musical: The Concert were released in 2007, featuring only one of the three songs performed by Hudgens from her debut album in the tour. Hudgens sang the duet "Still There For Me" with Corbin Bleu for his debut album. Hudgens also appeared on the soundtrack of High School Musical 2, performing several songs such as "
Gotta Go My Own Way", "You Are The Music In Me" and "What Time Is It?". In late 2007, she had appeared in The White House's Christmas in Washington with popular acts such as Neyo and Katharine McPhee, performing "The Christmas Song". [15][16]
2008-present: Identified and other projects
Hudgens's second album was Identified and was released on July 1, 2008.[17] On the first week of the release of her album, Identified sold more than 22,000 copies, 12,000 less than her debut album. Though the album had poor sales its first week, Identified received generally positive reviews from music critics. The first single from this album, "Sneakernight", premiered on Radio Disney on April 11, 2008. Though the album wasn't very successful on the charts, the lead single was able to climb at the top 10 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play and peaked at #8.[18] Hudgens launched on July 31, 2008 her first solo tour called "Identified Summer Tour" in order to promote her first two albums. The tour reached Mexico too and she appeared in the Neutrogena Fresh Face Concert on September 7, 2008 at Santa Monica, California Powerhouses.[19][20] She closed officially concert tour on October, 2008,
On January 11, 2008, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Hudgens would star in the comedy, Bandslam. Hudgens will play 15-year old Sam and the movie is set to premiere on July 31, 2009.[21][22][23] Hudgens recorded the soundtrack to the film.[24] which tracklist remain not confirmed. Bandslam will take full advantage of Anschutz’s AEG Live to boost the film’s awareness level. AEG Live will book dates at the Anschutz-owned Nokia venues in New York and Los Angeles, where the girls and other acts from the film will play.[25]
Hudgens reprised her role as Gabriella for the third time in High School Musical 3: Senior Year. She also appeared on the soundtrack of the movie, performing songs such as "Can I Have This Dance" and "Walk Away". She also presented an award in the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards along with the rest of the HSM cast.[26] Hudgens and the cast of HSM 3 launched a European promotional tour to promote the movie.[27] Vanessa made only $2 million for the film, reportedly due to the photo scandal that hurt her image.[28] > Hudgens and Efron also toured in Japan to promote High School Musical 3: Senior Year, which
opens on February 7, 2009 in Japan. [29]
Endorsement
In 2007, Hudgens signed a promotional deal for the Eckō Red footwear in which she did two commercials for the brand. She also endorsed the sneakers in the video for the song, "Sneakernight".[30][31] Sears has teamed up with Hudgens for a b
ack-to-school marketing campaign that began in July and had the theme, "Don't just go back. Arrive."
Hudgens is also currently a Neutrogena spokesperson. "Vanessa Hudgens has an energetic, dynamic personality that will truly complement the spirit of Neutrogena. We are pleased to welcome her to our team", says Neutrogena President, North America, Jim Colleran. As a new spokesperson for Neutrogena, Hudgens will be featured in both
national TV and print campaigns.[32] In September 2008, she performed in the Neutrogena Fresh Faces Concert.
Personal life
Hudgens confirmed, in an October 2007 interview with Teen magazine, that she was dating her High School Musical series co-star Zac Efron and had been since the filming of High School Musical.[33][34] They were still dating as of September 3, 2008.[35]
In 2008, she was ranked as FHM's 62nd Sexiest Woman[36] and Maxim's number 12 in their 100 Hot List.[37] She was included in People's annual "100 Most Beautiful People" list in May 2008. As of 2008, she has been a cover girl for CosmoGirl and Lucky magazine.[38] She has also done photoshoots with her boyfriend, Zac Efron and High School Musical co-star Ashley Tisdale for Elle magazine,[39]Glamour magazine for the May issue, and InStyle for October.[40]
She ranked #20 for Forbes magazine 2008 highest earners under 30 [41] and #7 at the ten best dressed list for October 2008. [42] She also made the "Maxim’s Sexiest of 2009" list. [43] In an internet poll, she garnered rank #61 in AskMen.com's Top 99 Women of 2009. [44] Moreover, she is ranked #10 in Cosmopolitan magazine's Best Dressed Celebs of 2008. [45]
Controversies
Nude photo scandal
On September 6, 2007, controversy erupted after provocative photos of Hudgens surfaced online. Two showed her posing in suggestive lingerie, and another showed her nude. A statement from her publicist claims that the photo was taken privately and it was "unfortunate" that they were released on the Internet.[46] Hudgens later apologized, saying that she was "embarrassed over the situation" and regretted having "taken [those] photos."[47] 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."[48][49] Early speculation that Vanessa Hudgens would be dropped from High School Musical 3 due to her nude photo scandal proved untrue.[50] Although it was reported by OK! magazine that Vanessa would be replaced by Adrienne Bailon or Sabrina Bryan from the Cheetah Girls in High School Musical 3,[51]Access Hollywood confirmed that the cast was still in negotiations and Vanessa would not be cut from High School Musical 3. "Totally untrue. It is an old rumor", Vanessa's representative told Access, "OK! Magazine never bothered to check the fact with me, but they did call Disney who said it wasn't true, but yet OK! ran it anyway. Apparently, OK! Magazine was having a slow news day."[52] She also claims that she did not regret on the leakage of the photos.[53]
Lawsuits
Hudgens was sued by music producer Johnny Vieira, who claims she reneged on a deal to share her earnings with him after he helped make her a star. In the lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Vieira accuses Hudgens and father, Greg Hudgens, of breach of contract and fraud, seeking more than $27 million in damages. Hudgens's record label, Hollywood, also is named as a defendant in the suit. Vieira said he was dumped from Hudgens's management team soon after she was cast in HSM. However, "it became clear that Hudgens and her new 'team' ... all directed by her father ... would take every possible opportunity to deprive Vieira of the benefits to be derived from the settlement agreement", the lawsuit says. Hudgens's publicist could not immediately be reached for comment. A Disney spokesman said the company had not had a chance to review the lawsuit.[54] According to the suit, they subsequently reached a settlement under which Hudgens agreed to pay Vieira a percentage of her earnings from her first three albums under her solo recording contract with Hollywood Records.
