Vanessa Hudgens

Some Lesser Known Facts About Vanessa Hudgens

• Her father was English, and her mother is Filipino and grew up in Mindanao.

• All her grandparents were musicians.

• Vanessa Hudgens grew up in different places on the West Coast, from Oregon to Southern California.

  

• In 1998, she began singing in musical theatre and acted in local plays like Carousel, The Wizard of Oz, The King and I, The Music Man, and Cinderella.

• After two years, Vanessa Hudgens started appearing in television commercials and shows.

• After appearing in a commercial, her family moved to Los Angeles.

• When she was 15 years old, Vanessa Hudgens began acting professionally.

• In 2002, after appearing as Tiffany in a TV show, Still Standing, on CBS, she appeared in another show called Robbery Homicide Division.

• In 2003, Vanessa Hudgens appeared in a supporting role as Noel in the film Thirteen.

• She then starred in the films Thunderbirds (2004) and High School Musical (2006).

  

• Vanessa Hudgens recorded songs for the 2006 film High School Musical, including ‘Breaking Free’ with Efron, which reached #4 on the US charts.

• In September 2006, she released her first music album, “V,” which sold 34,000 copies in the first week and reached #24 on the Billboard 200.

• In 2006, Vanessa Hudgens reportedly earned around $2 million.

• In February 2007, the album was certified Gold and had sold 570,000 copies by 2009.

• In August 2007, Vanessa Hudgens appeared as Gabriella in High School Musical 2, which had 17.2 million viewers in the US, making it the most-watched Disney Channel film ever at the time.

  

• In 2007, she became a spokesperson for Marc Eckō; however, she ended the contract after two years.

• Her second music album, Identified, was released in July 2008. It sold 22,000 copies in its first week and reached #23 on the Billboard 200.

• The album’s main song, ‘Sneakernight,’ reached #88 on the Billboard Hot 100.

  

• In 2008, Vanessa Hudgens acted in the film High School Musical 3: Senior Year, which was the first film of the series shown in theatres.

• After High School Musical, she took a break from music to focus on acting.

• In 2009, Vanessa Hudgens appeared as Sa5m in the film Bandslam, in which her acting skills were praised.

  

• In 2010, she played Mimi in the stage musical ‘Rent’ at the Hollywood Bowl. Some critics questioned her casting, but director Neil Patrick Harris supported her.

• In 2011, Vanessa Hudgens appeared in Beastly with Alex Pettyfer, in which she played the role of Linda, the ‘beauty’ of the story.

• That same year, she appeared as Blondie in the film Sucker Punch, which was directed by Zack Snyder.

  

• Initially, she was represented by William Morris Agency. In 2011, she switched to Creative Artists Agency.

• In 2012, Vanessa Hudgens was cast in the film Journey 2: The Mysterious Island with Dwayne Johnson and Josh Hutcherson.

• In 2013, she played a bold role in the film Spring Breakers with Selena Gomez and others. The film had adult themes and was praised by critics.

• Vanessa Hudgens released a dubstep song “$$$ex” in the film, but later said she was uncomfortable with a sex scene in the film.

  

• That same year, she played the role of Cindy Paulson, a real-life survivor, in the film The Frozen Ground alongside Nicolas Cage and John Cusack.

• Vanessa Hudgens then appeared in the film Machete Kills and performed in Spike Jonze’s short film Choose You, which debuted at the YouTube Music Awards.

  

• She then went on to appear in many films, such as Gimme Shelter (2014), Freaks of Nature (2015), Dog Days (2018), Polar (2019), Bad Boys for Life (2020), Asking for It (2022), and Downtown Owl (2023).

  

• In 2015, Vanessa Hudgens made her Broadway debut in the musical ‘Gigi’ and appeared in ‘Grease Live!’ (2016), which she dedicated to her late father.

• In 2017, she was cast in the television show Powerless, which was later cancelled.

• That year, Vanessa Hudgens was featured in the music video of the song Reminding Me with Shawn Hook, hosted the Billboard Music Awards, and judged So You Think You Can Dance.

  

• In 2018, she released a song called ‘Lay With Me’ with the EDM duo Phantoms.

• Vanessa Hudgens then starred in Netflix’s television series The Princess Switch, in which she played both a duchess and a pastry chef.

• That same year, she appeared as a judge on the reality show So You Think You Can Dance Season 15, which aired on Fox.

  

• After that, she played Vanessa Morales in a stage production of In the Heights at the Kennedy Centre.

• In January 2019, Vanessa Hudgens appeared in the musical Rent: Live on Fox, where she played the role of Maureen Johnson.

• She then worked as a producer and appeared in the television show The Princess Switch: Switched Again.

• In December 2019, Vanessa Hudgens hosted the MTV Movie & TV Awards: Greatest of All Time special.

  

• In 2021, she lent her voice to the main character, Sunny Starscout, in the film My Little Pony: A New Generation, a cartoon film.

• In November, Vanessa Hudgens produced the film The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star and also played three roles in the film.

• In October 2021, Architectural Digest, an American magazine, showed that she was living in the ‘Little DeMille’ house, a historic home once built by director Cecil B. DeMille for his mistress.

• In 2022, Vanessa Hudgens co-hosted the Oscars red carpet show and later the Met Gala livestream for Vogue.

  

• In June 2022, she co-hosted the MTV Movie & TV Awards with Tayshia Adams.

• In March 2023, the Philippine government appointed Vanessa Hudgens as a global tourism ambassador.

  

• In 2024, she competed as ‘Goldfish’ on the television reality show The Masked Singer Season 11 and won. The show aired on Fox.

• Vanessa Hudgens supports many charities, including Best Buddies International, Lollipop Theatre Network, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, VH1 Save The Music, Special Olympics (via A Very Special Christmas Vol. 7), and Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C): Change The Odds.

• She is often seen at Coachella and is nicknamed the ‘Queen of Coachella’ for her boho-chic style and love for the festival.

  

• Vanessa Hudgens has been featured on the covers of many noted magazines and tabloids.

  

• She is an animal lover and has a pet dog. She often shares pictures of her pet on social media.

  

• Vanessa Hudgens has walked the ramp for many popular fashion designers.

  

• She is often spotted enjoying alcoholic beverages on various occasions.

  

• Vanessa Hudgens is a fitness enthusiast and goes to the gym regularly. She often shares pictures of her gym sessions on social media.

  

• She enjoys smoking cigarettes occasionally.