Vanessa Anne Hudgens (born December 14, 1988) is an American actress and singer. After making her feature film debut in "Thirteen" (2003), Hudgens rose to prominence portraying Gabriella Montez in the "High School Musical" film series, which brought her significant mainstream success. The success of the first film led to Hudgens acquiring a recording contract with Hollywood Records, with whom she released two studio albums, "V" (2006) and "Identified" (2008)