How much is Vanessa Hudgens worth?
| Net Worth: | $15 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional Actress |
| Date of Birth: | December 14, 1988 |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 1.55 m |
About Vanessa Hudgens
In January of 2006 a little movie called High School Musical premiered to record ratings on the Disney Channel. Its stars, including a then up-and-coming actress Vanessa Hudgens, became overnight tween icons. A flurry of opportunities, romance and scandal followed in rapid succession. Hudgens, however, took it all in stride and navigated her career and personal travails with an aplomb and grace that would garner her continued loyalty and respect from her young fans the world over.
You’ve seen her in the frenzy-inducing High School Musical franchise and starring in some not-so-Disney nude photo scandals.
The Young Theater Rat
Vanessa Anne Hudgens was born and raised in a culturally diverse family that boasts Irish and Native American roots from her father’s side and Filipina, Chinese and Spanish ancestry on her mother’s side. Although the family moved up and down the west coast during her childhood it didn’t stop Vanessa from pursuing and landing a number of musical theater roles.
She was featured in local productions of The Wizard of Oz, Carousel, The Music Man and Evita by the time she was eight.
After a successful stint in local theater she tried her hand at commercial and television auditions. She quickly won a role for a commercial and soon enough her family moved out to Los Angeles to support her career. It was a career move that served as a definite turning point for Hudgens.
By 2003, Vanessa made her feature film debut in films like Thunderbirds and the critically lauded Thirteen as well as a series of guest starring roles on Quintuplets, Still Standing, The Brothers Garcia, Drake & Josh and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.
Disney’s Newest Star
Of course her biggest break would happen in 2006 when she starred as Gabriella Montez in High School Musical. Not only did her role skyrocket her into household name status among the Disney set but it also set the stage for the beginning of her high-profile relationship with co-star Zac Efron, which ended in December 2010. Later that year, Hudgens would become the first of her HSM cast mates to release her own solo album, entitled V.
The album would go on to be certified gold by 2007 and win her a Teen Choice Award for Female Breakout Singer. Meanwhile, 2007 saw Vanessa signing on as the newest Neutrogena spokesperson as well as her reprisal of Gabriella in High School Musical 2.
However, while the year following her initial success with both HSM and its sequel led to many great opportunities, it also led to a public scandal for the young actress when nude and suggestive photos of her were posted online.
Many wondered whether she would be dropped by Disney prior to the filming of High School Musical 3:Senior Year, the final installment in the popular franchise.
Second Time Is Not A Charm
Yet, as embarrassing as it was, Hudgens took responsibility and publicly apologized for her indiscretions and went on to join the project without further issues. Then, in August of 2009, another set of photos surfaced on the Internet.
She has yet to make a public statement acknowledging the second incident.
Following her final performance as Gabriella, Vanessa has won critical praise for her role in Bandslam as well as released her second solo album Identified to reasonable success.
Hudgens has also kept herself busy playing a series of diverse roles such as Lindy in Beastly, Blondie in the highly anticipated Sucker Punch and Mimi in the Hollywood Bowl production of Rent.
Spawn Of A Empire
Although Vanessa has begun distancing herself from her Disney icon status, it still remains to be seen whether she can fully remove herself from the shadow of the High School Musical empire that launched her career. In time she just may be able to accomplish this feat as she continues to pick and choose mature, interesting and complex roles to add to her resume. She also maintains a continuous involvement in charitable activities and associations such as Best Buddies International and Stand Up to Cancer.
Therefore, despite her personal stumbles in the past, Vanessa Hudgens remains one of the brightest and most promising young stars and role models of her generation as she stands at the beginning of yet another new chapter in her career.
“When I am around kids and they come up to me, of course I am going to act a certain way, but at the end of the day, I’m doing this for myself. I’m going to be doing movies kids can’t watch.”
