Professional Life: After appearing in all three High School Musical films, Hudgens went on to star in films such as Bandslam, Beastly, Sucker Punch, Spring Breakers, Machete Kills, Second Act and Bad Boys for Life.

“High School Musical was a fantastic journey, but it completely derailed me from where I originally saw my career going,” Hudgens told The Guardian in an August 2018 interview. “I always wanted to be the indie girl; I always wanted to be in the movies where I’m playing a drug addict or a stripper or a prostitute. That was my goal since I was like, 11.”

In 2015, Hudgens produced her Broadway debut in a revival of the musical Gigi. The following year, she returned to her musical roots and played Rizzo in Fox’s Grease Live! Then, in 2019, she joined Fox’s reside staging of Rent. Plus, she starred in Lin-Manuel Miranda‘s film adaptation of Rent creator Jonathan Larson‘s autobiographical musical tick, tick…BOOM!. 

Personal Life: In 2011, a year soon after Hudgens and Zac Efron split, she started dating actor Austin Butler. The couple split in early 2020. In October 2023, she married MLB star Cole Tucker. The pair are now expecting their very first kid.