Vanessa Anne Hudgens (born December 14, 1988) is an American actress.

Hudgens was born in Salinas, California and grew up in San Diego. Her father, Greg Hudgens, is of Irish and Native American descent and her mother, Gina Guangco, was born in the Philippines and is of Filipino, Chinese and Spanish descent. Starting at the age of nine, Hudgens performed in musical theatre as a singer and dancer.

Hudgens made her feature debut in Thirteen. Her TV appearances include guest roles in Still Standing, Cover Me, "Drake and Josh", Robbery Homicide Division, Brothers Garcia, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and more. She also has an extensive list of stage credits. Hudgens came to fame among teenage audiences after starring opposite Zac Efron, Ashley Tisdale and Lucas Grabeel in the Disney Channel film, High School Musical, which aired in January of 2006 and received some of the channel's highest ratings!