Vanessa Hudgens first came into stardom by singing her heart out as Gabriella Montez in the High School Musical franchise. But since then she has taken on a variety of roles – some good and some not so good.
However, it is definitely clear the older the actress is getting, the more comfortable she is in her roles and truly finding her voice.
Let’s take a look at some of Vanessa’s most significant roles in her career:
Tick, Tick… Boom! (2021)
This is one of Vanessa’s most recent roles as she plays “Karessa Johnson”, one of the singers in Jonathan Larson’s production.
Directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, the film stars Andrew Garfield as Jonathan Larson, the composer of Rent as he struggles through life before writing his New York Theatre Workshop piece, Tick, Tick…Boom!
Vanessa really belts it out in this film and sounds great on the cast album too.
The Princess Switch 3: Romancing The Star (2021)
The Princess Switch 3 is the third in a trilogy of Netflix Christmas movies and is based on a Mark Twain novel. With it’s ridiculous but captivating plot, this is a classic for those guilty pleasure chickflicks
This might also be the perfect film for Vanessa to showcase her acting abilities since she’s playing all three main characters. Oh, and all of them are royalty – Lady Fiona Pembroke, Stacy Juliette De Novo Wyndham, Princess of Belgravia, and Lady Margaret Katherine Claire Delacourt, Queen of Montenaro.
Grease: Live (2016)
Vanessa absolutely stole the show as Rizzo and truly reminded everyone that she is first and foremost a theater actor.
And what makes this performance so much more impressive and special, is that the actress’ father sadly passed away the day before the live show aired.
This live version of Grease is definitely one of the best and scored a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Powerless (2017)
It would seem that, technically, Vanessa Hudgens is a member of the DC Unverse. And even though Powerless was short-lived, it had the potential to get a larger audience. Especially with it’s easy-watching feel and its nerdy and funny cast.
Powerless follows a group of employees who work at Wayne Enterprises. As in Bruce Wayne…as in Batman.
Vannesa and Dany Pudi from Dan Harmon’s hit show Community play the leads as they try to create products to help the humans who are living in a superhero world.
Spring Breakers (2012)
This film came with a bit of controversy as it was the first for some of the cast members to go from playing a certain type of teenage role to a more proactive role. So of course this was a big step and risk in Vanessa’s career, as she was so well known as sweet and innocent Gabriella from High School Musical at the time.
The cast include Selena Gomez, Ashley Benson, Rachel Corine as they, with Vanessa‘s character, go on a trip to Florida for spring break. But here they get caught up in the criminal underworld with “Alien”, played by James Franco.