Vanessa Hudgens Biography

Name

Vanessa Hudgens

Date of Birth

December 14, 1988

Birth Place

Salinas, Calif.

Relationships

Zac Efron, boyfriend (2006 to present)

1997

The World's A Stage

Vanessa Anne Hudgens, who has been taking piano, dance and vocal lessons, begins performing in local theater productions such as The Wizard of Oz and The Music Man. Recognizing their daughter's passion for musicals and acting, Greg and Gina Hudgens relocate their family from Salinas, Calif. to L.A. so Vanessa can pursue acting professionally.

2002

October

Vanessa Goes Professional

Hudgens, 13, makes her TV debut on an episode of the CBS comedy Still Standing before landing in the R-rated coming-of-age drama Thirteen. Appearing in the film with Evan Rachel Wood (right), she plays Noel, a pig-tailed, good-girl classmate of Wood's out-of-control character.

2005

The Naked Truth

Hudgens tapes an episode of the Nickelodeon show Drake & Josh. After the taping, Hudgens, then 16, reportedly takes a nude photo of herself and sends it to show star Drake Bell (left). Bell's rep later tells PEOPLE, "Drake says he never received those photos." Nevertheless, the shot will surface on the web and cause an uproar two years later.

High School Romance

Tapped to star as brainy good girl Gabriella Montez in High School Musical, a new, made-for-TV Disney film, Hudgens meets and eventually begins secretly dating costar Zac Efron (right). Efron, also a relative unknown, will soon become a world class teen heartthrob. "We kind of hit it off in the very beginning," Hudgens tells CBS's The Early Show in 2007. "He's not a hard guy to get along with, so it's fun."

2006

January 20

The Sound of Music

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. The soundtrack, on which Hudgens sings lead vocals in several songs, becomes the top-selling album of 2006. Nine original songs make the Billboard"Hot 100, including Hudgens' "When There Was Me and You."

September 26

Vanessa Goes Solo

Hudgens becomes the first High School Musical alum to release her own album, V, which peaks at No. 24 on the Billboard 200 album chart on the strength of the singles, "Come Back to Me" and "Say OK." That November, without Efron (he's filming Hairspray), Hudgens sets off on a 40-city concert tour with fellow castmembers, including Ashley Tisdale and Corbin Bleu.

2007

April 29

'Zanessa'

While on vacation in Hawaii, Hudgens, 18, is photographed canoodling and kissing Efron, 19. Fans get a hold of the photos and chronicle the couple's vacation on YouTube with slideshows showing them kissing, building sandcastles and lying on the beach. Fans dub the new pair "Zanessa." Efron tells Rolling Stone, "The weird thing that no one expected about Vanessa is that underneath such a sweet girl...is a very, very sexy woman."

August 17

Back to School

A record-breaking 17.2 million viewers tune into the premiere of High School Musical 2, in which Hudgens reprises her role as Gabriella. The summer-themed musical is the highest-rated basic cable broadcast in U.S. history, and the HSM2 soundtrack takes the No. 1 spot on Billboard. The New York Times calls the movie "a wonderful throwback, a candy-colored song-and-dance extravaganza set among teenagers for whom A.D.D. is rhythm and early-onset puberty is romantic comedy."

August 22

Inside Zanessa

Efron and Hudgens open up to PEOPLE about their real-life romance. Although they have kept their relationship relatively low-profile, Efron says their fans would cause "chat-room pandemonium and teen magazine hysteria" over the silver bands they both wear.

September 06

Nude Photo Hits the Web

Hudgens' clean image is threatened when a nude photo of her surfaces on the web. Her rep says the shot was taken privately, and Hudgens apologizes to her fans. While many speculate that she will be dropped from the film, HSM 3: Senior Year, Hudgens confirms that she is officially on board.

2008

February

Hudgens Breaks Her Silence

Hudgens appears on the cover of Seventeen, where she opens up about her nude photo scandal. "Truthfully I don't like talking about it," she tells the magazine. "It was very traumatic, and I am extremely upset it happened. I hope all my fans can learn from my mistake and make smart decisions." Surprisingly, though, she reveals that her mom was "just so cute. She was like, 'Well, everyone can be naked if they want to.'"

May

Vanessa's Beautiful Territory

After returning to the Utah set of HSM 3: Senior Year and filming her non-Disney effort, Will, Hudgens lands on PEOPLE's Most Beautiful list – without a stitch of makeup. "Just recently I've learned to be okay with myself without wearing makeup," the Neutrogena spokesmodel tells PEOPLE. "I think it was a special someone telling me that I didn't need it."

July

Identified

Hudgens releases her more grown-up sophomore album, Identified, which she tells EW is "definitely sophisticated. But it's also funky and fun – something that I would, like, actually listen to." Her first single, "Sneakernight," "is a fun song about hanging out with girlfriends and wearing sneakers," the singer-actress explains.

Fall

Last Song

Hudgens and her HSM costars cover PEOPLE's HSM3: Senior Year special issue. "We spent three years together," Hudgens tells PEOPLE. "I got to go to prom. I wore a cap and gown. HSM was my version of high school." And as for the future? "No one says it's the last time." When the film opens in October, it takes the No. 1 spot, making $42 million in its first week.

2009

August 14

A Major Slam!

Hudgens channels her inner rock star for her new musical flick Bandslam, where she plays Sa5m, a student with untapped musical talents. "It was awkward for me," she says of the role. "I don't do rock ... that's not my thing." But nothing could be more awkward than comedian Dane Cook telling Hudgens at the Teen Choice Awards to keep her clothes on, after a second round of nude photos surfaced online.