Vanessa Hudgens

Actress Vanessa Hudgens showed a talent for performing so early in life that she was appearing on-stage in musicals by the time she was eight years old. After cutting her teeth in shows like The Wizard of Oz, Carousel, and The Music Man, Hudgens won an audition for a commercial, which was the catalyst her career needed to transplant her to L.A. Her feature-film debut came in 2002 with the movie Thirteen, though it wasn't until a few years later that her popularity skyrocketed when she was cast in the Disney TV movie High School Musical. A chance both to showcase her charisma and her singing ability, the movie became a huge success that was wildly popular among kids and preteens, and the young actress signed on for the sequel while heading into the studio to record her first solo CD. - Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide