Vanessa Anne Hudgens (born December 14, 1988) is an American actress and singer . After working in local theater plays and television commercials in her childhood, Hudgens made her screen debut in the 2003 drama film Thirteen as Noel . She next starred in the 2004 science-fiction-adventure film Thunderbirds . Hudgens's most prominent role was as Gabriella Montez in the High School Musical series . She earned critical acclaim for her role in the 2009 film Bandslam . Starting at the age of eight, Hudgens performed in musical theater as a singer, and appeared in local productions of Carousel, The Wizard of Oz, The King and I, The Music Man, and Cinderella, among others . Two years after her career in stage plays and musicals, she started auditioning for commercials and television shows . Her acting career started at the age of 15, and she was not able to finish high school in Orange County High School of the Arts, after being home schooled by tutors . In 2003, Hudgens played a minor role in the independent drama film Thirteen, where she plays Noel, a friend of a lead character (Tracy, played by Evan Rachel Wood) . The film was critically successful, receiving generally favorable reviews, and its receipts surpassed its $4 million budget. Hudgens subsequently landed a role in the 2004 science fiction-adventure film Thunderbirds as Tintin. Unfortunately, the film was commercially and critically unsuccessful, and received heavy criticism through the Internet prior to its release. By late 2005 Hudgens had appeared in television shows such as Quintuplets, Still Standing, The Brothers García, Drake & Josh, and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. In late 2005 she landed her breakout role of shy and meek Gabriella Montez in High School Musical, opposite to Zac Efron. Her performance received numerous nominations and awards. With the success of the film, the BBC predicted that Hudgens would be a "household name" in the US. .