Vanessa Anne Hudgens is an Filipino 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 in the Disney Channel film High School Musical hit series. Hudgens began a music career and released her debut album, V, in 2006. In 2007, Hudgens became the spokesperson for Neutrogena. Her sophomore album, Identified, will be released July 1, 2008.
Hudgens was born in Salinas, California, the daughter of Gina and Greg Hudgens.She has a younger sister, Stella Hudgens. 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 descent.Hudgens has been home-schooled since after her seventh-grade year at the Orange County High School of the Arts.
Hudgens' largest role among teenage audiences has been starring in the Disney Channel movie High School Musical, High School Musical 2 and will reprise her role in High School Musical 3: Senior Year starring as the shy, intelligent student Gabriella Montez. Hudgens and Efron had won "Best Chemistry" award at the Teen Choice Awards for their roles.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.
Hudgens' debut album, entitled V, was released in early September 2006. She is signed with Hollywood Records, a Disney-owned record label. 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!.
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.Hudgens later apologized, saying that she was "embarrassed over the situation" and regretted having taken photos.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.
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