Vanessa Hudgens

Vanessa Hudgens made her Broadway debut playing the title role in the musical revival of Gigi (2015) and had roles in two of Fox's live musical productions: Rizzo in Grease Live! (2016) and Maureen Johnson in Rent: Live (2019). She also appeared in a production of Rent at the Kennedy Center in 2018. In November 2021, Hudgens appeared in Netflix's biographical film Tick, Tick... Boom!, adapted from the musical Tick, Tick... Boom!, with Hudgens portraying playwright Jonathan Larson's friend Karessa Johnson, directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda.

After making her feature film debut in Thirteen (2003), Hudgens rose to fame portraying Gabriella Montez in the High School Musical film series (2006–2008), which brought her significant mainstream media success. The success of the first film led Hudgens to acquire a recording contract with Hollywood Records, with whom she released two studio albums, V (2006) and Identified (2008).

Since the release of her studio albums and the High School Musical franchise, Hudgens has focused on her acting career. She appeared in the films Bandslam (2009), Beastly, Sucker Punch (both 2011), Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Spring Breakers (both 2012), Second Act (2018), and Bad Boys for Life (2020). She starred in the Netflix Christmas movies The Princess Switch (2018) and its sequels (2020 and 2021) and The Knight Before Christmas (2019), and co-produced the latter three.

Hudgens played the role of Emily Locke in the NBC series Powerless (2017). In 2022, Hudgens co-hosted the Met Gala in Manhattan.