Vanessa Anne Vanessa Hudgens and her personal life

Vanessa Hudgens was born in Salinas, California; her younger sister, Stella Vanessa Hudgens, is also an actress. She has been home-schooled since after her seventh-grade year at the Orange County High School of the Arts. Her parents are Greg Vanessa Hudgens and Gina Guangco. In regards to her ethnic background, Vanessa was quoted:

"Pretty much I'm Filipino and Caucasian but within that, I'm Spain Spanish, Chinese, American Indian, Irish."

Starting at the age of eight, Vanessa Hudgens performed in musical theater as a singer, and appeared in local productions of Carousel, The Wizard of Oz, The King and I, The Music Man, and Cinderella, among others. Vanessa Hudgens successfully auditioned for a commercial and subsequently moved to Los Angeles with her family, with whom she is still close.

Vanessa Anne Hudgens (born December 14, 1988), also known simply as Vanessa Hudgens, is an American actress and singer. She made her screen debut in 2003 and appeared in the Hollywood films Thirteen and Thunderbirds, before reaching fame in the 2006 hit Disney Channel film, High School Musical. Vanessa Hudgens also began a music career and released her debut album, entitled V, in 2006. In 2007, Vanessa Hudgens became the spokesperson for Neutrogena.

Music

Vanessa Hudgens' debut album, entitled V, was released in early September 2006. She is signed with Hollywood Records, a Disney-owned record label. A music video for her first single, "Come Back To Me", debuted after the world premiere of The Cheetah Girls 2 in late August. The official music video for her second single, "Say OK", was first shown following the premiere of Disney's Jump In!

"Let Go" and "Let's Dance" have both been used in commercials for ABC, "Let Go" for a Desperate Housewives commercial, and "Let's Dance" for Dancing With The Stars. "Say OK" has also been used in commercials for ABC Family's Lincoln Heights.

Vanessa Hudgens has stated that she is interested in recording a second album sometime soon. In an August 2007 issue of TV Guide magazine, with the cast of High School Musical on the cover, Vanessa Hudgens expressed interest in writing songs about the negative side of Hollywood and how it can change people.

In August 2007 at the 2007 Teen Choice Awards, Vanessa Hudgens was named the Choice Breakout Singer - Female, beating out other noteworthy nominees including American Idol contestant Katharine McPhee, Amy Winehouse, Corrine Bailey Rae and Lily Allen, who all have a decidedly older sound with their music.

Personal life

Vanessa Hudgens confirmed in an interview with Teen Magzine that, as of August 2007, she was dating her High School Musical and High School Musical 2 co-star Zac Efron.

Photo scandal

On September 6, 2007, controversy erupted after a nude photo of Vanessa Hudgens surfaced online. A statement from her publicist claims that the photo was taken privately and it was "unfortunate" that it was released on the Internet. Vanessa Hudgens later apologized, saying that she was "embarrassed over the situation" and regretted having "taken [those] photos". Disney Channel spokeswoman Patti McTeague indicated that Disney will still be working with Vanessa Hudgens, stating, "Vanessa has apologized for what was obviously a lapse in judgment. We hope she's learned a valuable lesson."