Young Actress Profile: Vanessa Hudgens

Vanessa Hudgens is one of the most popular "It girls" in Hollywood right now. She is about to star in Beastly, a modern version of Beauty and the Beast. She is also scheduled to be an a movie of a more mature genre called Sucker punch. She will be nude for this role. In her own words, "I'm playing a character named Blondie, and it's set in a brothel in the 1950s, so there's not a whole lot of clothes!... I think this is my time to really step it up and get to grow up." She talks about her role as a sexy woman "strutting her stuff" ... and she does things "I would never have imagined doing."

This is very interesting as the last time Vanessa was nude in any public way, it bordered on child pornography when she sent pictures to her boyfriend Zac Efron, and they ended up all over the internet. She reports that it had a negative impact on her career as it is now more difficult and embarrassing to try to turn down roles that require nudity. It seems like she got over it.

More About Vanessa Hudgens: Actress/singer Vanessa Hudgens was born December 14, 1988 in Salinas California. Vanessa is American with a diverse ethnic mix. Her father is Irish and Native American. Her mother is from Manila and is Filipino Chinese and Latina.

She began doing local theater productions beginning at age 8. She and her family moved to Los Angeles after she was given her first commercial role. She attended Orange county High School of the Arts, and was also homeschooled to accommodate her acting career. Vanessa made her film Debut in 2003 in the movie Thirteen. She became a household name in 2006 with the High School Musical Series. In addition to these roles, she has made numerous appearances on television shows, including several Disney Channel televisions shows. She has also done voices for characters in a 2009 episode of Robot Chicken.

Interesting things you may not know about Vanessa Hudgens: Vanessa is best friends with Kayslee Collins, a model/actress. She hates carrots and loves In-n-Out Burgers. She enjoys photography and is quoted as saying, "I think it's a lot of fun...savoring the moment, I get to go to all these beautiful places, so it's nice being able to take pictures of it." Notable quotes by Vanessa Hudgens are "Confidence is key. Sometimes, you need to look like you're confident even when you're not." and "Guys act strange around me. I swear I don't know why! " Vanessa Hudgens was named by Forbes as one of "Young Hollywood's Top Earning Stars in 2007" and ranked #20 on the list of "High Earners Under 30" in December 2008.

In addition to her acting career, Vanessa also has a budding music career. Her first Album, "V" was released in September 2006, followed by "Identified" in July 2008. She has received numerous awards including Several Teen Choice, and Kids Choice Awards. Her upcoming movie releases include the movies "Beastly", with a 2010 release and and "Sucker Punch" scheduled to be released in 2011.

Vanessa Hudgens Official Website

Vanessa Hudgens IMDB page