Vanessa Hudgens

Vanessa Hudgens (birthname: Vanessa Anne Hudgens) is best known for her character Gabriella Montez in Disney’s High School Musical TV and movie franchise as well as her starring double-role in Netflix’s The Princess Switch trilogy of streaming movies, but has built up a wide range of performances in feature dramas, comedies and musicals since her debut big-screen turn (as “Vanessa Anne Hudgens”) in Thirteen (2003), directed by Catherine Hardwicke and co-starring the movie’s co-writer, Nikki Reed, and also co-starring the Oscar-nominated Holly Hunter and Evan Rachel Wood, and grossing $10 million for Fox Searchlight after premiering at the Sundance film festival.

Hudgens had her first voice role in an animated movie, the poorly received movie version of the cult TV classic, Thunderbirds (2004), directed by Jonathan Frakes and with the voices of Bill Paxton, Anthony Edwards, and Ben Kingsley, but which lost money for distributor Universal Pictures and producers Working Title Films and StudioCanal.

Hudgens brought her lead role as Gabriella Montez to the cinema with Disney’s High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008), starring Zac Efron, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu, and Monique Coleman, under Kenny Ortega’s direction, and grossing $253 million worldwide. Hudgens co-starred with Aly Michalka, Gaelan Connell, and Lisa Kudrow in another musical comedy, Bandslam (2009), directed and co-written by Todd Graff, and which earned excellent critical response but poor box office ($12 million globally) for Summit Entertainment.

Vanessa Hudgens co-starred with Alex Pettyfer in director-writer Daniel Barnz’s fantasy-romance take on Beauty and the Beast titled Beastly (2011), with Mary-Kate Olsen, Peter Krause, LisaGay Hamilton, and Neil Patrick Harris, which grossed a good $43.2 million against $17 million costs for CBS Films. Hudgens was cast by filmmaker Zack Snyder for his action fantasy movie, Sucker Punch (2011), co-starring Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Carla Gugino, Oscar Isaac, Jon Hamm, and Scott Glenn, but losing money for Warner Bros., and producer Legendary Pictures with a poor $89.8 million global return on an $82 million budget.

Hudgens was cast in her first big-budget franchise movie with Warner Bros.’ Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012), based on Jules Verne’s 1875 novel, The Mysterious Island, and the sequel to Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008), with Dwayne Johnson, Michael Caine, Josh Hutcherson, and Luis Guzman under Brad Peyton’s direction, and turning in a terrific $335 million worldwide gross (on $80 million costs).

Hudgens took a big turn away from mainstream studio fare by joining inventive indie filmmaker Harmony Korine for his wild crime comedy, Spring Breakers (2012), co-starring James Franco, Selena Gomez, and Ashley Benson, proving to be highly profitable ($31.7 million gross against $5 million costs) for producers (including Annapurna Pictures) and distributor A24 after premiering in competition at the Venice film festival.

Vanessa Hudgens branched out into genre dramas by co-starring opposite Nicolas Cage and John Cusack and 50 Cent in writer-director Scott Walker’s thriller, The Frozen Ground (2013), earning a poor $5.6 million worldwide for Lionsgate. Hudgens was cast by filmmaker Robert Rodriguez in the sprawling cast of his tumultuous sequel, Machete Kills (2013), starring Danny Trejo and with Michelle Rodriguez, Sofia Vergara, Amber Heard, Antonio Banderas, Cuba Gooding Jr., Walton Goggins, Willam Sadler, Demian Bichir, and Mel Gibson, but delivered a disappointing $27.5 million return on a $20 million budget for distributor Open Road Films.

Hudgens starred in director-writer Ronald Krauss’s little-seen Christian-themed drama, Gimme Shelter (2013), with James Earl Jones, Rosario Dawson, Ann Dowd, and Brendan Fraser, and then appeared in a supporting role in one of the biggest bombs in the history of Columbia/Sony Pictures Releasing, the $33 million-budgeted horror comedy Freaks of Natures (2015), with Nicholas Braun, Mackenzie Davis, Joan Cusack, Bob Odenkirk, Patton Oswalt, and Denis Leary under Robbie Pickering’s direction, and which delivered a crushing $70,000 box office.

Hudgens led director Ken Marino’s ensemble in the Los Angeles-based rom-com, Dog Days (2018), with Nina Dobrev, Eva Longoria, Rob Corddry, Tone Bell, Jon Bass, Tig Notaro, and Finn Wolfhard, and earning $6.8 million for distributor LD Entertainment. Vanessa Hudgens co-starred with Jennifer Lopez in the Peter Segal-directed rom-com, Second Act (2018), with Leah Remini, Treat Williams, Milo Ventimiglia, and Charlyne Yi, and which grossed an excellent $72.3 million worldwide return (on $16 million costs) for STXfilms.

Hudgens landed the female role opposite Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in the wildly successful Bad Boys series sequel, Bad Boys for Life (2020), directed by Adil & Bilall with cast members Alexander Ludwig, Paola Nunez, Charles Melton, Kate del Castillo, Nicky Jam, and Joe Pantoliano, grossing a knockout $426.5 million for Columbia/Sony Releasing; Hudgens then reunited with directors Adil & Bilal and stars Smith and Lawrence for the fourth entry in the Bad Boys franchise, Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024), with new cast members Ioan Gruffudd, Rhea Seehorn, and Tiffany Haddish.

Hudgens joined the excellent cast of director Lin-Manuel Miranda and screenwriter Steven Levenson’s screen version of Jonathan Larson’s autobiographical musical about creating musicals, Tick, Tick…Boom! (2021), with lead Andrew Garfield, Alexandra Shipp, Robin de Jesus, Joshua Henry, and Judith Light, which was released in a limited theatrical window by Netflix. Hudgens starred in director-writer Eamon O’Rourke’s thriller, Asking for It (2021), with co-stars and producers Kiersey Clemons and Ezra Miller, and cast members Alexandra Shipp, Gabourey Sidibe, and Luke Hemsworth, and which premiered at the Tribeca film festival before a limited release by Saban Films.

Vanessa Hudgens again joined an interesting ensemble in an indie movie with Downtown Owl (2023), co-directed by screenwriter Hamish Linklater and star Lily Rabe, adapting Chuck Closterman’s 2008 novel, and co-starring Ed Harris, August Blanco Rosenstein, Jack Dylan Grazer, Finn Wittrock, and Henry Golding, and followed its Tribeca film festival premiere with a limited Sony Pictures Releasing release.

Hudgens played support in her first Canadian film production to stars Zach Braff and Evelyn Brochu in co-directors/writers James A. Woods’s and Nicolas Wright’s culinary comedy set in Quebec City, French Girl (2024), with Luc Picard, Antoine Olivier Picon, and William Fichtner. Hudgens joined Swedish filmmaker Jonas Åkerlund as co-star with Mads Mikkelsen (who co-wrote) in the conspiracy thriller, The Black Kaiser (date to be announced), produced by Constantin Film/Dark Horse Entertainment/JB Pictures.