Vanessa Hudgens does her own vacuuming. She also washes the dishes and waters the plants—and hates every minute of it. But since the 20-year-old actress and singer moved into her own house a few months ago, she says, “I feel like I need to earn my right to have a home. It’s nice to be spoiled, but I want to be able to know that I can do it.”
It’s an unusual point of view for any 20-year-old, let alone one of the stars of High School Musical, the Disney TV movie that spawned two sequels and has been seen by more than 255 million people worldwide. But then, Hudgens seems to be a singular young actress—self-possessed, friendly but correct, and completely unpretentious. Take her choice of meeting place: We’re sitting at an outdoor table at an L.A. greasy spoon—one where Hollywood movers and shakers wouldn’t be caught dead. “It’s nice,” Hudgens says, shrugging. “Just relaxed.”
What this also means is that it’s a place where nobody is likely to make a fuss over her.
Notoriety was the last thing Hudgens was looking for when she followed her heart into an acting career. But she’s gotten a bit of it anyway: In 2007, a nude photograph of her, apparently taken by an ex-boyfriend, showed up on the Internet. The actress apologized gracefully and said she’d learned a lesson, her family and Disney stood behind her, and the whole thing blew over. What has been less easy to dismiss is the public’s fixation on her romance with her High School Musical co-star, the equally young, equally ultra-cute Zac Efron. In the absence of any actual information—both Hudgens and Efron steadfastly refuse to discuss the relationship—rumors fly online and in the scandal sheets.
“That’s why I’m extremely guarded,” Hudgens tells me. “I really do try to watch everything I say. Because one little tiny slip, and it’s like the world is coming to an end! It is hard. I do always have a wall up. But I feel by doing it, I keep myself safe.”
How does she keep her equanimity?
“I honestly try not to pay attention,” Hudgens says. “I try to live my life, do what I want, and just let everything else follow along. I try not to read the blogs or what people say about me. Because that’s what brings everybody down—no matter what you do, you’re always going to have haters.
“I keep my head down,” she adds. “Usually I’ll run around in hoodies, and I’ve got this massive head of hair, and I throw it all in my face so that nobody can see me. But if I want to do something, I’m going to do it, and if people recognize me, the fans, then great. They’re the reason why High School Musical is what it is, and they’re the reason why I’m here, so I’m thankful.”
Her new movie, Bandslam, due out Aug. 14, is kind of a high school musical with rock instead of show tunes. Hudgens plays a very different character from HSM’s perky Gabriella Montez: This time she’s a moody outsider whose nose is always in a book. The role is a nice stretch for the actress, but nothing that will rattle her tween and teenage fan base.
Leaving home was a similarly modest stretch: Hudgens’ new place is 10 minutes from her parents. “They helped me move,” she says. “They helped me fix my house up. They know I’m growing up, and they’re proud that I can actually have my own home. I mean, of course I know they’re sad. I am so close to my family. I talk to my mom almost every day.”
The Hudgenses have always been close-knit and hardworking. While Vanessa was growing up, her dad, Greg, was a firefighter; her mom, Gina, held a succession of office jobs.
“I got her fired once,” Hudgens says, suppressing a laugh. “I was calling her at work way too much, because I missed her. Back then, I was so shy, I did not want to leave her side. I would call her at work nonstop, to the point where she got fired. It was horrible.”
The shyness stayed with Vanessa for a long time. “When I was young, I would not talk to anybody if I didn’t know them,” she says. “I’d hide behind my mom if she tried to introduce me to anyone.” In middle school, she came out of her shell: “I started to get into fashion, which tends to make you a little more popular,” Hudgens says. But school felt like a distraction. “When I was on the stage, I felt like I was hiding behind a person, and I adored it.”
Not surprisingly, she’s always loved musicals. “My parents had Grease lying around, and I watched that and fell in love with it. It was interesting to see people moving stories along with songs—it was exciting and different. West Side Story was one of my favorites.”
The performing bug first bit her in preschool, when she won the role of Mary in a Christmas musical. At 7, she began in community theater, “where you actually had to pay to be in the show,” she says, smiling. “I did that for two years, then moved on,” Hudgens adds, like the young old pro she is. “I started auditioning for commercials and TV shows.”
And started getting hired. Working steadily from age 15 on, she got the rest of her education from tutors. Ironically, the girl who made High School Musical famous never went to high school herself. She’s never regretted it for a minute.
The movie “was the best thing that could and possibly will ever happen to me,” Hudgens says. “I got to make lifelong friends. I had the most incredible time of my life.”
Now she’s on her own, at 20. How do her parents feel about it? “Of course I think they’re worried to a certain extent,” Hudgens tells me. “But they’re so proud of me.” And how does she feel about it? “It’s weird living by myself,” she admits. “I thought I’d be the person who, every time I hear a little noise, would hide under my bed. But I’ve fallen in love with my home. When I’m in there, I feel safe. I don’t think I’ve gotten scared once—knock on wood—in my house by myself. Then again, I do sleep with the TV on so that I don’t hear all the little clinks and clanks at night!”
