A multi-talented artist of Irish, Native American, Filipino, Chinese, and Spanish extraction, Vanessa Hudgens was born as the oldest daughter of Greg Hudgens and Gina Guangco on December 14, 1988 in Salinas, California. She has a younger sister named Stella who grew up with her in San Diego. Vanessa enrolled in Orange County High School of the Arts before opting a home-school system as soon as she completed the seventh grade. Inheriting a deep fondness for both music and acting from her artistic grandparents, she has developed her knack in those two fields since an early age which then led her to various stage performances in musical theater as a singer starting at the age of eight. With the rich experience, it was not really surprising to later see the girl successfully passed an audition for a commercial that inevitably brought her to the next phase of her life.