Vanessa Hudgens

Vanessa Anne Hudgens, born on December 14, 1988, is an American actress and singer who gained considerable mainstream media success after portraying Gabriella Montez in the High School Musical film series (2006–2008) following her feature film debut in Thirteen (2003). The success of High School Musical led Hudgens to sign a recording contract with Hollywood Records, releasing two studio albums, V (2006) and Identified (2008). Hudgens decided to focus on her acting career more after the High School Musical franchise and her studio albums. Since then, she has appeared in a variety of films such as Bandslam (2009), Beastly, Sucker Punch (both 2011), Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Spring Breakers (both 2012), Second Act (2018), Bad Boys for Life (2020), and Tick, Tick...Boom! (2021). Hudgens also starred in Netflix Christmas movies like The Princess Switch (2018) and its sequels (2020 and 2021) and The Knight Before Christmas (2019), co-producing the latter three. She made her Broadway debut playing the lead role in the musical revival of Gigi (2015) and took part in Fox's live musical productions: Rizzo in Grease Live! (2016) and Maureen Johnson in Rent: Live (2019). In 2022, Hudgens co-hosted the Met Gala in Manhattan.