Vanessa Anne Hudgens

From Encyclopedia Jr, free information reference for Kids

Vanessa Anne Hudgens^[1] (born December 14, 1988) is an American actress and singer. She made her screen debut in 2003 and appeared in the Hollywood films Thirteen and Thunderbirds, before coming to fame in the 2006 hit made-for-television film, High School Musical. Hudgens also began a music career and released her debut album, entitled V, in 2006.

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Hudgens was born in Salinas, California and grew up in San Diego;^[2] she has a younger sister, Stella Hudgens, who is also an actress. Her father, Greg Hudgens, is of Irish and Native American descent and her mother, Gina Guangco, a Filipino. All of her grandparents were musicians during the big band period. Starting at the age of eight, Hudgens performed in musical theatre as a singer ,^[2] and appeared in local productions of Evita, Carousel, The Wizard of Oz, The King and I, The Music Man, Cinderella and Damn Yankees, among others. Hudgens successfully auditioned for a commercial and subsequently moved to Los Angeles with her family, with whom she is still close.

[edit] Career

Zac Efron with Hudgens in High School Musical, 2006

Hudgens made her feature debut in Thirteen as Noel and appeared in the 2004 summer film, Thunderbirds as Tintin. Her television appearances include guest roles on Quintuplets, Still Standing, Cover Me, Robbery Homicide Division, Brothers Garcia and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, as a classmate of Ashley Tisdale and Brenda Song's characters. Hudgens also appeared on Drake & Josh, playing Drake's girlfriend. She came to fame among teenage audiences after starring opposite Zac Efron, Ashley Tisdale and Lucas Grabeel in the Disney Channel Original Movie, High School Musical, which premiered in January of 2006; BBC News specified that the film's success turned Hudgens into a "household name" in North America^[3]. Hudgens and Efron won the "Best Chemistry" award at the Teen Choice Awards for their roles^[4]. As a result of the film's popularity, Hudgens was offered a contract by Old Navy to appear in multiple commercials for the company; Hudgens had previously appeared in a swimwear commercial for the company in 2005^[5].She also appeared in a Blockbuster commercial for no late fees, as the teenage daughter.

Hudgens participated in the Disney Channel Games 2006, which were filmed in April of 2006 and aired two months later. She was on the winning Blue Team, along with Brenda Song, Corbin Bleu, Cole Sprouse, Monique Coleman and Jason Earles.

Hudgens' debut album, V, released in September of 2006

In June of 2006, Hudgens signed a recording contract with Hollywood Records; her album, V was released September 26, 2006 in the United States and debuted at #24 on the album charts with 34,000 copies sold during its first week.^[6] The album is scheduled for a January 2007 release in the U.K.^[7] Hudgens has described her album as "pop-rock, pop-R&B and pop-dance... almost like a mix-tape".^[7] The first music video from the album, for the song "Come Back to Me", premiered on the Disney Channel in August of 2006; During the fall of 2006, Hudgens will be opening for The Cheetah Girls in their "The Party's Just Begun" tour; she will be performing at 20 out of the 40 cities included in the tour, between October 17, 2006 and November 15, 2006. She is also confirmed to be a part of the High School Musical tour which will cover 40 cities from November 29, 2006 - January 28, 2007. The only cast member not present on the tour will be Zac Efron, due to a scheduling conflict with filming another project.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

Album Cover	Album Information
"	V Released: September 26, 2006 (U.S.) October 10, 2006 (CAN) Label: Hollywood Records Peak U.S. Billboard: #24 (US) U.S. sales: 124,730[1] RIAA certification: TBR Official Singles: 2006: "Come Back to Me" 2006: "Let Go"

[edit] Soundtracks

Album Cover	Album Information
	High School Musical Released: January 10, 2006 (US) Label: Walt Disney Records Peak U.S. Billboard: #1 (US - 2 weeks) U.S. sales: 3,224,087 RIAA certification: 3x Platinum Singles feat. Vanessa Hudgens: 2006: "Breaking Free" 2006: "Start of Something New" 2006: "We're All in This Together" 2006: "What I've Been Looking For (Reprise) 2006: "When There Was Me and You"
	High School Musical 2: Sing It All Or Nothing! Released: early 2007 (US) Label: Walt Disney Records Peak U.S. Billboard: U.S. sales: RIAA certification: Singles feat. Vanessa Hudgens: 2007: "TBA"

[edit] Singles

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] External links

• Vanessa Anne Hudgens at the Internet Movie Database
• Vanessa Hudgens Official Site