Vanessa Hudgens' Heritage - Look inside the Roots of the Actress

Vanessa Hudgens, who shot to prominence as the lead in Disney's popular romance musical "High School Musical," has always been proud of her Filipino heritage. She has also repeatedly stated that her Filipina mother is her professional and personal inspiration.

On June 6, 2022, Vanessa Hudgens hosted the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards. The annual film and television awards show, which began in 1992, honors the works of film and television.

For its 30th edition, Vanessa Hudgens hosted the first half of the ceremony for film and scripted television series, while Tayshia Adams hosted the second half of the ceremony for awards in reality television.

As the host, Hudgens served a variety of looks as she announced the award category and winner. The actress arrived at the awards red carpet in a show-stopping blue dress, and when it was time to get on stage, she worked her magic.

Hudgens brought joy to the faces of fans who watched the show with her wardrobe choices. She took things up a notch when she appeared in a total of seven outfits and complemented each look with a different hairstyle.

She showed off a fiery red bob with bangs, an Ariana Grande-inspired ponytail, braids peeking from her cowboy hat, a double bun updo, a slicked back, middle-parted bun, and flowing wavy hair.

WHAT IS VANESSA HUDGENS ETHNICITY?

On December 14, 1988, the actress was born Vanessa Anne Hudgens in Salinas, California. When she was a toddler, her family relocated to San Diego, California. Stella Hudgens, her younger sister, is also an actress.

Her mother, Gina Hudgens (née Guangco), is an office worker from the Philippines, while her father, Greg Hudgens, was a firefighter from Missouri and Illinois.

It's unknown how many ethnicities the actress claims as she shares many heritages. Her mother is Filipino, Chinese, and Spanish, and her father is Irish and American Indian. However, she is always proud of her mother's Filipino heritage.

The homeschooled actress was interested in acting and singing at a young age, as her grandparents, musicians during the Big Band era, inspired her. Hudgens began acting when she was eight and took piano, dance, and singing lessons.

After making her feature film debut in 2003 when she starred in "Thirteen," she rose to fame between 2006 and 2008 when she portrayed Gabriella Montez in the "High School Musical" film series, which brought her significant mainstream media success.

The first film's success led Hudgens to acquire a recording contract with Hollywood Records, with whom she released two studio albums, "V" in 2006 and "Identified" in 2008.

WHO IS VANESSA HUDGENS DATING?

In 2021, E! confirmed that Hudgens was exclusively dating Pittsburgh Pirates baseball player Cole Tucker as they rang in the New Year together. On Valentine's Day, they made their relationship Instagram official.

Hudgens posted a picture of them kissing, and she wrote: "It's you, it's me, it's us." while tagging him and adding other loving symbols. In April 2022, Hudgens and Tucker continued strong as they celebrated Earth Day.