Who is Vanessa Anne Hudgens? [2] The entertainment and acting world knows her as Vanessa Hudgens. Hudgens is an American actressand singer, who is best known for her portrayal of the character Gabriella Montezin the High School Musical series.[4] She also earned critical acclaim for her role in the 2009 film Bandslam.[5]
As an actress, Hudgens has appeared in several television programs includingQuintuplets, Still Standing, The Brothers García, Drake & Josh, and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. She made her screen debut in the 2003 drama film Thirteenas Noel. She got her first starring role in the 2004 science-fiction-adventure filmThunderbirds as Tintin.
Hudgens' debut album V was released on September 26, 2006. The album entered the Billboard 200 at number twenty four,[6] and was later certified Gold. Hudgens released her second album, Identified, on July 1, 2008 in the U.S.
Hudgens' fame has also been marked by scandal caused by the release of private, self-taken nude photographs of herself on the Internet without her permission on several occasions.
Early life
Hudgens was
born December 14, 1988 in
Salinas, California, and lived all over the
West Coast – from
Oregon to
Southern California – with her parents, Gina (
née Guangco), who held a succession of office jobs, and Gregory Hudgens, a firefighter.
[2][3] She was raised as a Roman Catholic
[7] and has a younger sister, Stella Hudgens, who is also an actress. Hudgens is of mixed cultural background,
[8] as her father is of
Irish and
Native Americandescent, and her mother, a native of
Manila,
Philippines is a
Filipina.
[3][9][10] All of her grandparents were musicians.
[11]
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.
[12] Two years after her career in stage plays and musicals, she started auditioning for commercials and television shows, and her family moved to
Los Angeles after she won a role in a television commercial.
[11][13] Her acting career started at the age of 15, and she briefly attended
Orange County High School of the Arts, followed by homeschooling with tutors.
[14][15]
Acting career
In 2003, Hudgens played a minor role in the
independent drama film Thirteen, where she plays Noel, a friend of a lead character (Tracy, played by
Evan Rachel Wood). The film was critically successful, receiving generally favorable reviews, and its receipts surpassed its $4 million budget. Hudgens subsequently landed a role in the
2004 science fiction-
adventure filmThunderbirds as Tintin. Unfortunately, the film was commercially and critically unsuccessful, and received heavy criticism through the
Internet prior to its release.
In late 2005 Hudgens appeared in television shows such as
Quintuplets,
Still Standing,
The Brothers García,
Drake & Josh, and
The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.
In late 2005 she landed her breakout role of shy and meek
Gabriella Montez in
High School Musical, opposite to
Zac Efron.
[16] Her performance received numerous nominations and awards.
[17][18] With the success of the film, the
BBC predicted that Hudgens would be a "household name" in the
US.
[19]
In 2007, Hudgens reprised her role as Gabriella Montez in the
sequel of
High School Musical,
High School Musical 2.
[20] Virginia Heffernan of
TV Review described Hudgens in her performance in the movie as "matte" as she "glows like a proper ingénue".
[21]
Hudgens reprised her role as Gabriella Montez in
High School Musical 3: Senior Year.
[22] Her performance in the film made her win favorite movie actress in the 2009
Kids Choice Awards.
[23]
Post-
High School Musical, Hudgens remarked that she will focus in her acting and films, while "taking a break" from her music career as a solo artist.
[24] She played a supporting role in a musical comedy
Bandslam, which was released theatrically on August 14, 2009.
[25][26] Hudgens plays "Sa5m", a 15-year-old awkward freshman with untapped talents.
[27]Although
Bandslam was commercially unsuccessful, Hudgens's performance received praise from critics.
[28] David Waddington of the
North Wales Pioneer noted that Hudgens "outshines the rest of the cast, failing to fit in with the outcast narrative and making the inevitable climactic ending all the more expected,"
[29] and Philip French of
The Guardian compared her acting to
Thandie Newton and
Dorothy Parker.
[30]
Hudgens performed a musical number with other artists during the
81st Academy Awards.
[31]Hudgens later provided voice roles in an episode of
Robot Chicken. Hudgens' involvement in
Beastly, a film based on
Alex Flinn's
novel of the same name was announced in early 2009.
[32] She will be playing one of the main characters in the film as
Linda Taylor, described by Hudgens as the "beauty" of the story but not the stereotypical beauty everyone thinks of.
[33] Along with
Beastly co-star, Alex Pettyfer, Hudgens was recognized as
ShoWest stars of Tomorrow.
[34] Hudgens was later cast in an
action film directed by
Zack Snyder,
Sucker Punch, playing Blondie, an institutionalized girl in the asylum, which will release in March 2011.
[35]
After so many years, Hudgens returned to theater productions wherein she starred in the musical
Rent as Mimi. The stage production ran from August 6–8, 2010 at the
Hollywood Bowl.
[36] Her involvement in the production drew negative comments, but director
Neil Patrick Harris defended his decision with casting Hudgens by saying, “Vanessa [Hudgens] is awesome. She’s a friend. I asked her to come in and sing to make sure she had the chops for it. And she was very committed and seemed great.”"
[37]
In October 2010, it was announced that Hudgens will be joining the
sequel to the 2008 film
Journey to the Center of the Earth alongside
Dwayne Johnson and
Josh Hutcherson, playing Hutcherson's love interest. The film is set to release in 2011.
[38]
Music career
Hudgens received a recording contract with
Hollywood Records.
[39] On September 2006 her debut album entitled
V was released. It charted on the
Billboard 200 at number twenty-four,
[6] and was certified
Gold on February 27, 2007.
[40] Her first single, "
Come Back to Me"
became her highest-charting single. Her second single was "
Say OK".
Billboard readers chose "V" as the seventh best album of the year.
[41] Hudgens was named Female Breakout Singer of the year at the 2007
Teen Choice Awards.
[42]
Hudgens also participated in the nationwide
High School Musical: The Concert tour in fall 2006, performing the songs from the soundtrack album as well as the three songs from her debut album.
[43] She sang the duet "Still There For Me" with
Corbin Bleu for his debut album.
In December 2007, she sang to
George Bush, who was then the president of the U.S., and his family, at The
National Building Museumin Washington, D.C. with other singers at a Christmas event.
[44]
Her second album,
Identified, which received generally favorable reviews,
[45] was released on July 1, 2008, debuting at #23 on the
Billboard 200.
[46] The album's lead single was "
Sneakernight", which was a moderate commercial success, peaking at #88 on the
Billboard Hot 100
[47] and #94 on the
Australian Singles Chart.
[48] Hudgens's
Identified Summer Tour began on August 1, 2008 and ended on
September 9 of the same year.
[49]
Image and personal life
Her height is 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m).
[50] Us magazine said Hudgens and her
High School Musical series co-star
Zac Efron "met in 2005 while making the first
High School Musical flick, and became a romantic item about two years later."
[51] The two were paired together during the audition process and got the part because of their chemistry.
[52] The two ended their relationship in December 2010.
[51]
In 2006, Hudgens's earnings were estimated to be
$2 million.
[53] Hudgens was included in
Forbes richest list in early 2007, it was posted in
Forbes website, that Hudgens was included in
Young Hollywood's Top Earning-Stars.
[54] On December 12, 2008, Hudgens was ranked #20 in the list of
Forbes "High Earners Under 30", having reported to have an estimated earnings of
$3 million in
2008.
[55][56] She was number 62 at
FHM's Sexiest Women in the World of 2008 and number 42 in the 2009 list.
[57][58] Hudgens is also featured in
Maxim's lists.
[59] She was included in
People's annual "100 Most Beautiful People" 2008 and 2009 lists.
[60][61]
Hudgens is represented by
William Morris Agency.
[62] Hudgens also promotes
Neutrogena[63] and was the 2008 featured celebrity for
Sears' back-to school campaign.
[64] She was a spokesperson for
Mark Ecko products.
[65] But in late 2009, she ended the 2-year contract with Ecko products.
[66]Hudgens regularly volunteers for charitable activities, including those for
Best Buddies International,
[67][68] Lollipop Theater Network,
[69] St. Jude Children's Research Hospital[70] and the
VH1 Save The Music Foundation.
[71] Hudgens is also featured in
A Very Special Christmas Vol.7 disc which benefits the
Special Olympics.
[72] 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.
[73]
On September 6, 2007, photos of Hudgens appeared online, one showing her posing in
lingerie and another showing 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 [those] photos."
[74]Hudgens subsequently released a statement indicating that she declined to comment further on the scandal.
[75] OK! magazine speculated that Hudgens would be dropped from
High School Musical 3 as a result of the images.
[76] The Walt Disney Company denied the reports, saying, "Vanessa has apologized for what was obviously a lapse in judgment. We hope she's learned a valuable lesson."
[77][78][79]
In August 2009, a new set of pictures showing Hudgens topless emerged on the Internet. Hudgens's representatives did not comment, though her lawyers requested the removal of the pictures from the Internet.
[80][81] In late 2009, Hudgens sued "www.moejackson.com" for posting Hudgens's nude 'self-portrait photographs' taken on a mobile phone in a private home.
[82] Hudgens later commented on the photos' impact on her career in the October issue of
Allure with, "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."
[83] According to
Us Weekly, further pictures were released on the internet March 15, 2011.
[84]
Brian Schall sued Hudgens last 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.
[85] Schall claims Hudgens owes him $150,000 after helping her earn more than $5 million for her music career. Hudgens argues that she was underage to sign her contract on October 2005 as she was just 16 then. Hudgens 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."
[86]In 2008, Hudgens was sued by Johnny Vieira, who claims he is owed a share of Hudgens' 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 the
High School Musical era.
[87] In early May 2009, the case was settled.
[88]
Filmography
Discography
Theatre
- Rent - Mimi Marquez (Hollywood Bowl, 2010)[89]
Awards and nominations
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