Vanessa Anne Hudgens (born December 14, 1988) is an American actress and singer. As an actress, she guest starred in television shows like Quintuplets, Still Standing, The Brothers García, Drake & Josh, and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. Hudgens made her screen debut in the 2003 drama film Thirteen as Noel. She got her first starring role in the 2004 science-fiction-adventure filmThunderbirds as Tintin.
Hudgens garnered prominence with her portrayal of the fictional character Gabriella Montez in the High School Musical series. She earned critical acclaim for her role in the 2009 film Bandslam.During this time nude self-taken images were released to the public, purportedly sent to boyfriend Zac Efron. Another incident of nude images, this time taken with a camera phone, arose a few years later.
Hudgens's debut album V was released on September 26, 2006. The album entered the Billboard 200 at number twenty four, and was later certified Gold. Hudgens released her second album, Identified, on July 1, 2008 in the U.S.
Career[]
2003-2008: Career beginnings[]
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 film Thunderbirds as Tintin. Unfortunately, the film was commercially and critically unsuccessful, and received heavy criticism through the Internet prior to its release. By late 2005 Hudgens had 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. Her performance received numerous nominations and awards.With the success of the film, the BBC predicted that Hudgens would be a "household name" in the US.
V Album[]
Hudgens received a recording contract with Hollywood Records.On September 2006 her debut album entitled V was released. It charted on the Billboard 200 at number twenty-four,and was certified Gold on February 27, 2007.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.Hudgens was named Female Breakout Singer of the year at the 2007 Teen Choice Awards.
V[]
In December 2007, she sang to George Bush, who was then the president of the U.S., and hip family, at The National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. with other singers at a Christmas event. Hudgens reprised her role as Gabriella Montez in High School Musical 3: Senior Year.Her performance in the film made her win favorite movie actress in the 2009 Kids Choice Awards. Her sophomore album, Identified, which received generally favorable reviews,[29] was released on July 1, 2008, debuting at #23 on the Billboard 200.The album's lead single was "Sneakernight", which was a moderate commercial success, peaking at #88 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #94 on the Australian Singles Chart.Hudgens's Identified Summer Tour began on August 1, 2008 and ended on September 9 of the same year.
2009-present: Critical success[]
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. She played a supporting role in a musical comedy Bandslam, which was released theatrically on August 14, 2009. Hudgens plays "Sa5m", a 15-year-old awkward freshman with untapped talents. Although Bandslam was commercially unsuccessful, Hudgens's performance received praise from critics. 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," and Philip French of The Guardian compared her acting to Thandie Newton and Dorothy Parker.
Hudgens performed a musical number with other artists during the 81st Academy Awards.Hudgens later provided voice roles in an episode ofRobot Chicken. Hudgens' involvement in Beastly, a film based on Alex Flinn's novel of the same name was announced in early 2009. 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. Along with Beastly co-star, Alex Pettyfer, Hudgens was recognized as ShoWest stars of Tomorrow.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.
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.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.”
Filmography[]
| Theatrical Films | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Years | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2003 | Thirteen | Noel | First theatrical film |
| 2004 | Thunderbirds | Tintin | Main character |
| 2008 | High School Musical 3: Senior Year | Gabriella Montez | Third time to reprise her role as Gabriella Montez |
| 2009 | Bandslam | Sa5m | Main character |
| 2011 | Beastly | Lindy Taylor | Completed |
| Sucker Punch | Blondie | post-production | |
| Films made for television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Channel |
| 2006 | High School Musical | Gabriella Montez | Disney Channel |
| 2007 | High School Musical 2 | ||
| Television guest appearances | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Episode(s) |
| 2002 | Still Standing | Tiffany | "Still Rocking" (Season 1, Episode 4) |
| Robbery Homicide Division | Nicole | "Had" (Season 1, Episode 10) | |
| 2003 | The Brothers Garcia | Lindsay | "New Tunes" (Season 4, Episode 37) |
| 2005 | Quintuplets | Carmen | "The Coconut Kapow" (Season 1, Episode 22) |
| 2006 | Drake & Josh | Rebecca | "Little Sibling" (Season 3, Episode 13) |
| The Suite Life of Zack and Cody | Corrie | Season 2, Recurring role | |
| 2009 | Robot Chicken | Lara Lor-Van / Butterbear / Erin Esurance | "Especially the Animal Keith Crofford" (Season 4, Episode 19) |
Awards and nominations[]
| Year | Award | Category | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Imagen Foundation Awards | "Best Actress - Television" | Nominated | |
| Teen Choice Awards | "Choice TV Chemistry" (shared with Zac Efron) | Won | ||
| 2007 | "Choice Music: Breakout Artist - Female" | Won | ||
| Young Artist Award | Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries, or Special (Comedy or Drama) - Leading Young Actress | Nominated | ||
| 2008 | Teen Choice Awards | "Choice Hottie" | Won | |
| 2009 | Kids Choice Awards | "Favorite Movie Actress" | Won | |
| MTV Movie Awards | "Breakthrough Female Performance" | Nominated | ||
| "Best Kiss" (shared with Zac Efron) | Nominated | |||
| Teen Choice Awards | "Choice Movie Actress: Music/Dance" | Nominated | ||
| "Choice Movie: Liplock" (shared with Zac Efron) | Nominated | |||
| "Choice Hottie" | Nominated |