Vanessa Hudgens is a talented singer and actress who rose to fame on the set of the High School Musical. Here are 45 interesting facts about this young star.
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Vanessa Anne Hudgens is her full name and she was born in Salinas, California on December 14, 1988.
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Her mother is Filipino, Chinese and Latina and her father is a mix of Irish and American Indian.
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She has a younger sister, Stella Hudgens, who is also an actress.
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She started her career in show business at the young age of 8 as a singer.
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She got her first gig when her friend couldn't go to an audition for a commercial and asked if Vanessa could go.
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Her first kiss was in fifth grade. "It was with my first boyfriend when I was 10 years old, but it was just a peck," she told PEOPLE in 2008.
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Vanessa had supporting roles in musical productions including "Evita," "Carousel," "The Wizard of Oz," "The King & I," "The Music Man," "Cinderella" and "Damn Yankees."
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Vanessa made her feature film debut in Catherine Hardwicke's Thirteen (2003), starring Holly Hunter and Evan Rachel Wood.
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Vanessa Hudgens was homeschooled since 8th Grade and is now a high school graduate.
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She once attended the Orange County High School of the Arts.
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She co-starred in the action-adventure film Thunderbirds.
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Hudgens was featured in an episode of the Nickelodeon show Drake & Josh. After the taping, Hudgens, then16, reportedly took a nude photo of herself and sent to show star Drake Bell. The photo resurfaced on the internet two years later and caused a controversy for the young actress.
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Her major breakthrough role was as Gabriella in the hit Disney Channel TV movie High School Musical.
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She sang "Angels" by Robbie Williams at her "High School Musical" audition.
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High School Musical debuts and becomes the highest rated program in Disney Channel history with 7.7 million viewers in its first U.S. broadcast.
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Before she landed the role in the High School Musical, she said she considered auditioning for American Idol.
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The High School Musical soundtrack generates five Top 40 singles, sells some 4 million copies, and becomes the first TV show soundtrack to land at No. 1 in SoundScan's history. Efron and Hudgens' "Breaking Free" shoots from No. 86 to No. 4, becoming Billboard's biggest chart climber to date.
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While on set, she begins a romance with fellow co-star Zac Efron and they date from 2006 until 2010.
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Vanessa admitted to feeling jealous on several occasion over all the girl groupies that would lavish attention on her boyfriend.
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Her favorite scene in High School Musical is the final one in which the cast sang and danced to "We're All In This Together".
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Her debut solo album was titled "V". She is the first one from the High School Musical fame to do so.
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Her debut album has sold over 500,000 copies and it was certified gold for the first time in 2007.
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In 2007, Zac starred in her music video for "Say OK."
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That same year, she went on a tour with fellow Disney sensations the Cheetah Girls.
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Vanessa Hudgens says she can't whistle.
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In 2007, she became the spokesperson for Neutrogena products.
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Supposed to star in 'Prom Night' (2008) but turned it down, only to give the role to Brittany Snow.
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She has said in interviews that she doesn't like eating carrots because they make her "gag".
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Her favorite fast food joint is In-and-Out burger.
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Hudgens released her more grown-up sophomore album in 2008, Identified, which she tells EW is "definitely sophisticated. But it's also funky and fun - something that I would, like, actually listen to."
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In August 2009, another set of pictures showing Hudgens topless emerged on the Internet. Hudgens's representatives did not comment, though her lawyers requested the removal of the pictures from the Internet
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She trained with the Navy Seals for five months. It was the most intense thing that anyone could ever do," she said in an interview in 2010.
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She is a confessed shopaholic. Her favorite thing to buy are shoes and she says she has three closets devoted entirely to her show collection.
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Vanessa is a huge fan of horror movies.
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She is a big fan of Natalie Wood.
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Her two favorite singers are Alicia Keys and Céline Dion.
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She has a toy poodle named Shadow, three turtles, and some fish.
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She is face for brand Ecko Boys & Girls in Brazil.
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Hudgens learned to play the guitar while filming Bandslam (2009).
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In November 2011, Hudgens starred in Spring Breakers with Selena Gomez and James Franco. The film followed four college-aged girls who decide to rob a fast food restaurant in order to pay for their spring break.
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In 2011, she appeared on the big screen in the Sucker Punch film.
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Her most favorite TV show is "Degrassi: The Next Generation."
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Some of her nicknames include Nessa, V, and Van.
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Vanessa's net worth is $10 million.
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She admitted in an interview to Tyra Banks that she has a major crush on Matt Damon. "I was 14 years old and I met him. I completely freaked out. Like, I did to him what my fans do to me. I was like, 'Ohmigosh, I love you so much, can I have your autograph?'"