UniCelebs Photo Gallery

Vanessa Anne Hudgens, who was born on Dec. 14, 1988 in Salinas, CA, lived all over the West Coast - from Oregon to Southern California with her parents and younger sister Stella. Hudgens came from a very ethnically diverse background, with her father Greg being of Irish and Native American descent, while her mother Gina was a mix of Filipino, Chinese and Spanish. When she was eight, Hudgens started performing in local theater productions of "Carousel," "The Wizard of Oz" and "Cinderella." After a successful commercial audition, the young actress moved to Los Angeles with her family to pursue a full time acting career. She made her feature film debut with a small role in "Thirteen" (2003) - the brutal look at modern-day teenage lives starring Holly Hunter and Evan Rachel Wood - which was enough to get the ambitious teen's foot in the door.