Zac Efron / Troy Bolton
His Life Story
Efron was born in San Luis Obispo, California and later moved to Arroyo Grande, California. His father, David Efron, is an engineer at a power plant, and his mother, Starla Baskett, is a former secretary who worked at the same power plant as Efron's father. Although of Jewish ancestry, Efron was raised agnostic and has never been religious. Efron had a self-described "normal childhood" in a middle class family, and has a younger brother, Dylan. He has said that he would "flip out" if he got a 'B' and not an 'A' in school, and that he was a "class clown." Efron's father encouraged him to begin acting when Efron was eleven. He subsequently appeared in theater productions at his high school, worked in a theater called the Melodrama, and began taking singing lessons. Efron performed in plays such as Gypsy, Peter Pan, Little Shop of Horrors, The Music Man and Mame, appearing at the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts. Efron was recommended to an agent in Los Angeles by his drama teacher, Robyn Metchik (the mother of actors Aaron Michael Metchik and Asher Metchik).
Venessa ann hugens gabriela montez
Venessa Ann Hugens
Vanessa Anne Hudgens was born on December 14, 1988, Oregon to to Greg (fire fighter) and Gina Hudgens. [Fast fact: she is half Caucasian (father) and half Filipino (mother)]. She has a younger sister named Stella. When she was still young, her family moved to San Diego, California.
She began her love of music and theater as a young child, in fact both sets of grandparents were musicians during the Big Band Era of the early part of the last century.
She began doing commercials and if other internet sources are correct - she received her first job when a friend could not go and she went in her place. She even began doing some modeling and even appeared on the cover of San Diego magazine.
She made her first television appearance in 2002 in an episode of the TV series Still Standing. This was followed up by another small TV appearance on an episode of Robbery Homicide Division later that year.
She was no stranger to acting and has had a number of theatrical roles including: The Wizard of Oz, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The King and I, Evita, Carousel, Dam Yankees and Cinderella.
Her first real role came only one year later, when in 2003 when she made her big screen debut in role of Noel in the movie Thirteen.
In 2004, she hit the big screen again as Tin-tin in the mildly successful sci-fi comedy/drama Thunderbirds.
She continued with her pursuit of an acting career and appeared in an episode of Quintuplets in 2005.
Her big break came in January 2006, when she appeared as Gabriella Montez in the Disney made for TV movie High School Musical opposite Zac Efron. The movie did very well in the ratings for its demographics, but to everyone's delight, the music from the soundtrack has made a big splash on the U.S. charts. In fact, the single "Breaking Free" - a duo she sings with Zac Efron has reached #4 on Billboard and made history when it dropped 82 places from #86 one week earlier - the largest single jump ever!
She continues to sing and act and has recently (2/06) appeared on an episode of The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.
Her debut album, V, was released in September 26, 2006 and had great success for her demographics.
High School Musical 2 was televised on Disney with even greater success than the first movie in Summer of 2007.
In September 2007, Vanessa found herself in the hot water with Disney when pictures of her naked surfaced on the Internet. These nude pictures sent shockwaves throughout Disney, who reprimanded her, but did not release her. The cast of HS Musical has supported her in her time of crisis, including her costar (and boyfreind?) Zac Efron.
Hobbies and Interests: Singing, dancing, acting, shopping
ashley tisdale / sharpey evans
ashly tisdale
Younger sister of actress Jennifer Tisdale
Sang at The White House at age 12.
Has a dog named "Blondie", which is her nickname on "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody" (2005).
Parents are Lisa and Mike Tisdale
On the Billboard Hot 100 chart of 2006-02-11, she became the first female ever to debut with 2 songs simultaneously. The songs, "Bop to the Top" and "What I've Been Looking For" were both duets with Lucas Grabeel from High School Musical (2006) (TV).
Cousin of inventor and infomercial maven Ron Popeil.
Her favorite cloths are Diesel, Bebe, Urban Outfitters and Forever 21
High School Musical (2006) (TV) DVD sold 400,000 on first day.
Her most prized possession is her new Louis Vuitton bag.
Has naturally curly, dark brown hair that reached her waist. Had to dye it blond to play Maddie Fitzpatrick, up to the point where it broke off to her shoulder. She now wears extensions.
Was a Ford Model along with Lindsay Lohan and Mischa Barton
Is good friends with Zac Efron, her co-star in High School Musical (2006) (TV).
Her favorite movies are Just Married (2003), My Best Friend's Wedding (1997), and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003).
Tried out for the role of Karen in the movie Mean Girls (2004) but lost it to Amanda Seyfried.
Is currently (2006) recording her debut CD with Warner Bros records
Her favorite music groups are Billy Joel, Elton John, Mariah Carey, The Used, All American Rejects, and Nick Lachey.
Best friends with Brittany Snow
Loves to shop at Hollister.
Her favorite TV show is "Friends" (1994).
Says her favorite sport is basketball, because it is the only one she can slightly understand.
Got her start acting at the local Jewish Community Centre of Monmouth County, appearing in productions of Gypsy, Sound of Music, and Annie Warbucks.
Childhood friend of Mischa Barton.
Has her own Youtube Channel.
Her debut album: Headstrong sold 70,000 copies on its first week.
Originally they were debating between 'Kiss the Girl' and 'Part of Your World' to be Ashley's song for Disney Mania 5. Ashley ended up singing 'Kiss the Girl' and her good friend Miley Cyrus was given 'Part of Your World'.
The down-to-earth rising star was dubbed "The Anti-Paris" by TMZ -- a compliment of the highest tabloid degree.
Personal Quotes
My favorite subject was English or creative writing. We did poems and making a magazine and I did one on celebrities. I called it Celebrity Life Magazine. I interviewed my good friend Kaley Cuoco.
I love Christmas, not just because of the presents but because of all the decorations and lights and the warmth of the season.
I'm happy that i was able to experience a normal life besides show business, because it gives you something to draw from.
My agent didn't want me on Disney because I'm older. But honestly, I'm not ready for older roles yet, or even the things older girls do. I am still young.
I love change, and I love changing my hair. But it was strange to look in the mirror and think 'Who is this girl?'
I loved my long brown curls, but most mean girls look like this, don't they?...The blond thing...it's the stereotype of a popular mean girl.
I feel like people expect a lot out of girls, like you're supposed to know who you are and what you want out of life right now. Some girls know. I did. But lots of people don't know. You have to try a lot of things and not worry about what people are thinking. Fans might think I'm mean or shallow, like Sharpay, in real life, but I don't care. The mean girl is in every school. People relate to her even if they don't like her.
I helped put together Sharpay's look, and I wanted it to be over-the-top, flashy, attention-getting, because that's her. But she has a heart. You never know what someone is about. People look at me and think I'm a young teen. I'm 21!
I moved from New Jersey to California, so I know what it feels like being the new girl trying to figure it all out. There was this girl in the popular group who was jealous of me, even though I bought my own clothes and car-my parents didn't give them to me. I never told people in school I was an actress. I am a girl, and acting is my job.
The best thing that could happen is people get to see me as the smart and nice girl again, not as the mean or ditsy character. Hollywood makes brainiac girls sort of plain but, in High School Musical (2006) (TV), they're gorgeous. I'm glad girls get to see that it's not one or the other. They get to see that they can be pretty and smart...There's a saying - 'I have the looks but I don't have the books' - that captures the whole idea of expectations, especially in high school. You can be plain and smart, or pretty and smart. You can even be plain and dumb! You just have to be yourself. What do people see when they see me? I'm comfortable with myself, so I really don't care. People seem surprised to discover that I worked hard to be here.
You never know what's going to be big. It's the fans. It was just a Disney Channel Movie and the kids made it huge... For High School Musical 2 (2007) (TV), we just wanted to have fun and make something together (On High School Musical (2006) (TV)).
In real life, I'm shy. I never played a mean girl before. (On playing Sharpay, in High School Musical (2006) (TV)).
I'm not into clubbing. I want to be known for my work.
Where Are They Now
(January 2007) Currently touring cities on the "High School Musical Concert" with co-stars Lucas Grabeel, Monique Coleman, Corbin Bleu and Vanessa Anne Hudgens. Also touring is 'Drew Seeley', who was the actual singing voice for "Troy Bolton" in High School Musical (2006) (TV).
(March 2007) Currently filming High School Musical 2 (2007) (TV) in Utah
Lucas Grabeel / Ryan Evans
life story
Birth Name
Lucas Stephen Grabeel
Nickname
Mr. Go-Get-Em
Gramps
Height
5' 10" (1.78 m)
Trivia
Attended Kickapoo High School in Springfield, Missouri.
Came in 5th at the 52nd MSHSAA Speech & Debate Championships in 2003.
At one point in early 2006, Lucas had three songs on the top ten iTunes downloads. At that time, six of the top ten were from the soundtrack to High School Musical.
Lucas landed his first commercial 2 months after moving to LA, and his first movie, Halloweentown High, came just a few months after that.
Attended Kickapoo High School, the same high school Brad Pitt attended.
Prior to attending Kickapoo High School, Lucas attended Logan-Rogersville High School. At Logan-Rogersville, he performed in many school productions, as well as the varsity choir.
While in Rogersville, Missouri, he regularly attended Harmony Baptist Church, where he was a part of the children's and youth groups.
Lucas also went to Guatemala on an annual basis with his family as a part of a mission's team for six years.
Lucas played drums for a local church and initiated a men's a cappella singing group at Kickapoo High school.
Memorized the entire "Get'Cha Head in the Game" dance, even though his character in High School Musical (2006) (TV) wasn't involved in the sequence.
Auditioned for a role on "The Young and the Restless" (1973).
Was offered a role on "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody" (2005), but when the script called for him to kiss co-star Ashley Tisdale, the role went to another actor, Zac Efron, due to the brother- sister dynamic established in High School Musical (2006) (TV). Zac is also in High School Musical and plays Ashley's crush.
Is a fan of actor/writer Christopher Guest.
His favorite dance as a kid was the hokey poky.
Personal Quotes
"It's nice to know you're working on something that will mean something to kids."
"I still feel like a little boy on the set, watching the movie magic being made."
"I can't live without creating so being an artist is never going to be out of the question for me. If not in acting, some other art form."
"Success is the most important thing to many. To me, it's just a bonus."
"I dislike math, yet I respect and appreciate the fact that math is the language of the universe."
"I have just cleaned my apartment a lot and have spent a lot of time hanging out with my sister's dog in the apartment! I am the same as everyone else- working and just trying to get the next role."
"I want to do more mature, artistic, twisted, edgy films. That is my goal."
"It's amazing with the album going Gold and all the i-Tunes downloads and everything. It's insane. We don't have a Grease or Footloose or Flashdance in this generation. And it's great that they have something that's readily available tp all these kids so they can download the music and listen to the songs. Now they can learn the dances and watch it at home, and soon they'll be able to buy it on DVD, and then they'll have some part of the music, because the music is so important, especially to a child's life."
"Every day it seems like something happens to assure me I'm in the right place, and that doing anything else would be wrong. I feel so incredibly blessed."
"I don't care about money or fame or anything like that, but it would be a perk."
"The greatest thing about where my life is right now is it's very relaxed and chill. I'm just hanging out, being myself and doing my work."
"It is absolutely amazing; singing is what got me into acting, and it's crazy that once i moved out to Los Angeles, I thought that it wouldn't be part of my life anymore. But then here it goes... It's just out of nowhere and I had no idea it was gonna have this much success. It's great."
"I'm taking the biggest risk I've ever taken in my life, to just pick up and move, But this is what I've always wanted to do."
"I always wish life could be a musical. One person just says 5, 6, 7, 8."
monique coleman /
about her
Monique Coleman is an African-American actress best known for being one of the co-stars of the hit Disney Channel Original Movie, High School Musical, in which she plays Gabriella Montez's (Vanessa Anne Hudgens) best friend Taylor. She is part Indian and part Creole. As of August 14th, 2006, she was revealed to be one of the contestants on Season 3 of Dancing with the Stars.
corbin bleu / chad danforth
about him
Birth Name
Corbin Bleu Reivers
Nickname
Bleu Man
Height
5' 10" (1.78 m)
Mini Biography
Born: February 21, 1989 in Brooklyn, New York, Corbin Bleu followed in his father's footsteps and began appearing in television commercials at the age two, for products such as Life cereal, Bounty, Hasbro, and Nabisco. It was at that time he also discovered his love for dance when he began taking jazz and ballet classes, usually the only boy in the class. By the age of four he was a model with the Ford Modeling Agency in New York. He appeared in print ads for stores such as Macy's, Gap, Target, and Toys R Us, and fashion spreads in Child, Parent, and American Baby magazines, as well as having his image on toys and game packaging. At age six Corbin appeared in his first professional theater production off Broadway playing an abandon homeless mute in the play "Tiny Tim is Dead".
Corbin and his family moved to Los Angeles in 1996 and he quickly landed a recurring role on the television series "High Incident" (1996). He continued to land small roles in such feature films as Soldier (1998/I) with Kurt Russell, Mystery Men (1999) with Ben Stiller, William H. Macy, and Greg Kinnear, and Galaxy Quest (1999) with Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, and Alan Rickman. He also guest starred on such television shows as "ER" (1994), "Malcolm & Eddie" (1996), "Cover Me" (1999) (mini), and "The Amanda Show" (1999). Corbin also continued dancing, eventually becoming one of the first students at the prestigious Debbie Allen Dance Academy. He then attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts as a theater major, this time following in his mother's footsteps who attended New York City's famed High School of Performing Arts. While in his freshman year Corbin was cast in his first lead role in the feature film Catch That Kid (2004). Back in school in his sophomore year he played the lead role of Ren in the musical "Footloose" and the role of Sonny in the musical "Grease". That same year Corbin was honored with the award of Theatre Student of the Year. In the summer of 2004 Corbin became a part of the ensemble cast for the new Discovery Kids television series "Flight 29 Down" (2005), filmed on location in Hawaii on the island of Oahu. During the summer of 2005 Corbin was cast as Chad in the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical (2006) (TV) which was directed by Kenny Ortega. Being a big fan of musical theater, Corbin was thrilled to be a part of this musical movie project in which he gets to showcase his dance skills.
IMDb Mini Biography By: Corbin Bleu
Trade Mark
Big Curly Afro
Trivia
Favorite Movies: Chicago (2002) and The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975).
His favorite actresses are Jennifer Garner and Angelina Jolie.
Son of David Reivers.
His favorite book is The Great Gatsby.
His favorite candy bar is Twix.
Has appeared in two of the three highest rated Disney Channel Original Movies ever: High School Musical (2006) (TV) and Jump In! (2007) (TV).
Appeared in 3 of the 4 highest premier night movies on Disney Channel.
Personal Quotes
I'm a very outgoing person. I'm always happy, I'm one of those people who are always smiling. If somebody described me to somebody else, they'd say the kid with the curly hair with the big smile on his face. I get along with everybody.
I mean, to see somebody else when they put so much work into whatever they do... that inspires me. My dad, he does that very much so. An actor that I really look up to is Johnny Depp. The amount of work that he puts into his stuff, he is such an amazing actor I think!
"We've been having a lot of fun, and it's always great to be back with these guys! I'm a very social person and all of us got close on set!" - On the High School Musical cast & tour.
"You name a show business faux pas and it has happened to me - from pants with the zipper down on the red carpet to having hair that looked like I put my finger in a light socket. It's kinda like that naturally so when it gets freaky looking, it gets really freaky!"
Where Are They Now
(December 2006) On tour with the High School Musical Cast.
(February 2007) currently filming High School Musical 2: Sing It All or Nothing!
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