The two later reveal a passion for singing, and audition for the school play together.
The film saw Hudgens portraying the new girl at high school who falls for the captain of the basketball team.
In January 2006, Hudgens played Gabriella Montez, one of the lead roles in the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical. Hudgens performing at the High School Musical: The Concert in 2007 The film was a commercial failure and was strongly criticized for "abandoning the original concepts". Hudgens portrayed the character of Tin-tin. Hudgens subsequently landed a role in the 2004 science fiction-adventure film Thunderbirds, based on the 1960s television series. USA Today called Thirteen the most "powerful of all recent wayward-youth sagas". Despite its minor commercial success, the film received positive critical reviews. The film, which revolved around teenager Tracy trying to fit in and getting caught up in the wrong crowd, was somewhat of a commercial success, grossing $10 million worldwide. Hudgens made her theatrical debut in the 2003 drama film Thirteen, in the supporting role of Noel.
Later that year, she guest starred in an episode of the series Robbery Homicide Division, airing on CBS. Hudgens had her first acting role in an episode of the sitcom Still Standing, airing on CBS in 2002, in which she portrayed Tiffany. She began her acting career at age 15, and she briefly attended Orange County High School of the Arts, followed by homeschooling with tutors. Two years after her career in stage plays and musicals, she began auditioning for commercials and television shows, and her family moved to Los Angeles after she won a role in a television commercial. Starting in 1998, Hudgens performed in musical theater as a singer, and appeared in local productions of Carousel, The Wizard of Oz, The King and I, The Music Man, and Cinderella, among others. Her father, who died of cancer in February 2016, was of Irish, French and Native American descent, and her mother is Filipina, a native of Manila. She has a younger sister, Stella, who is also an actress. Her mother, Gina (née Guangco), held a succession of office jobs, and her father, Gregory Hudgens, was a firefighter. Hudgens was born in Salinas, California, and was raised along the West Coast, from Oregon to Southern California. 2.4 2018–present: Netflix deal and foray into film production.2.3 2009–2017: Mainstream film and television.2.2 2005–2008: High School Musical and music.In 2022, Hudgens co-hosted the Met Gala in Manhattan. She also played the title role in the Broadway musical 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). Hudgens played the role of Emily Locke in the NBC series Powerless (2017). She starred in the Netflix Christmas movies The Princess Switch (2018) and its sequels (20) and The Knight Before Christmas (2019), and co-produced the latter three. She appeared in the films Bandslam (2009), Beastly, Sucker Punch (both 2011), Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Spring Breakers (both 2012), Second Act (2018), Bad Boys for Life (2020), and Tick, Tick.Boom! (2021). Since the release of her studio albums and the High School Musical franchise, Hudgens has focused on her acting career. 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). 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. Vanessa Anne Hudgens ( / ˈ h ʌ dʒ ə n s/ born December 14, 1988) is an American actress and singer.