Biography
As one of the more popular tween stars of the early millennium, singer-actress Vanessa Hudgens rapidly rose to stardom thanks to her leading role in the wildly popular hit "High School Musical" (Disney Channel, 2006). Thanks to the movie's surprisingly massive success, Hudgens and co-star Zac Efron - with whom she engaged in a high-profile romance from 2006-2010 - led the way for a new generation of kid-friendly Disney superstars. But after the equally popular "High School Musical 2" (Disney Channel, 2007), her wholesome image came crashing down when nude photos taken on her phone were leaked on the Internet. Apologizing profusely to fans and expressing embarrassment over the incident, Hudgens soldiered on with the theatrically released "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" (2008) while branching out with "Bandslam" (2009) and the unusual "Beastly" (2011). On the music side, she recorded her first album V (2006) and followed up with Identified (2008), but appeared better suited on the screen with roles in "Sucker Punch" (2011), high-octane thriller "Spring Breakers" (2013), and Robert Rodriguez's "Machete Kills" (2013), which allowed Hudgens to expand her horizons into more adult roles and begin the process of shedding her Disney image. She then moved easily into stage work, culminating in a turn in the title role in a revival of "Gigi" on Broadway in 2015 and the iconic role of Rizzo in the television event "Grease Live!" (2016), before moving to prime-time TV with the superhero comedy "Powerless" (NBC 2017).
