Biography

Actress and recording artist Vanessa Hudgens stars as academic decathlete Gabriella Montez in the Disney Channel Original Movie "High School Musical 2," reprising her role from the worldwide smash hit "High School Musical." Born on December 14 in Salinas, California, Hudgens career began at age eight when she starred in local stage productions of "Evita," "Carousel," "The Wizard of Oz," "The King & I," "The Music Man," "Cinderella" and "Damn Yankees." She made her feature film debut in Catherine Hardwicke's "Thirteen," starring Holly Hunter and Evan Rachel Wood. Next she co-starred in the action-adventure film "Thunderbirds." Her television credits include guest starring roles on "Quintuplets," "Brothers Garcia," "Still Standing" and "Robbery Homicide Division,” as well as a recurring role on Disney Channel's "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody." Hudgens’ debut album, "V," a hybrid of pop, hip-hop and dance music, was released in September 2006 by Hollywood Records. At the same time, she went on a 20-city concert tour with The Cheetah Girls, followed by a sold-out 42 date arena concert tour of "High School Musical: The Concert," which carried on through spring 2007 in Latin America, visiting Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Venezuela and Mexico. For her role in "High School Musical," Hudgens won a Teen Choice Award and was nominated for an Imagen Award. She was also selected as one of Teen People's 25 Under 25, Teen Vogue's Young Hollywood Stars, and was part of Entertainment Weekly's annual "Must List." Hudgens’ lineage is an exotic mix -- her mother is Filipino, Chinese and Latin and her father's ancestry is Irish and American Indian. She lives in Los Angeles with her parents and 11-year-old sister, Stella, and her toy poodle, Shadow.