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,” she 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, the actress made 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, Hudgens joined Fox’s live staging of Rent. Plus, she starred in Lin-Manuel Miranda‘s movie adaptation of Rent creator Jonathan Larson‘s autobiographical musical tick, tick…BOOM!. In 2024, the star also won The Masked Singer.
In addition to acting and singing, Hudgens is a founder of brands Caliwater and Know Beauty.
Personal Life: In 2011, a year after Hudgens and Efron split, she began dating actor Austin Butler. The couple broke things off in early 2020. In December 2023, Hudgens married MLB star Cole Tucker after three years of dating. Three months later, Hudgens announced her pregnancy by debuting her baby bump on the 2024 Oscars red carpet. She and her husband welcomed their baby that summer.