Vanessa was born in Salinas, California. Her family moved to San Diego whilst she was still a toddler. She has a younger sister, Stella Hudgens, who is also an actress. Her mother, Gina (Guangco), an officer worker, is from the Philippines. Her father, Gregory Hudgens, a firefighter, has Irish and Native American ancestry.
Vanessa was interested in acting and singing at a young age, inspired by her grandparents who were musicians. At the age of 8, she started appearing in musical theatre. She briefly attended Orange County High School of the Arts. She began auditioning and was successfully cast in a TV commercial. This prompted her family to move to Los Angeles. She started homeschooling so she missed out on the high school experience, until she landed her breakthrough role in High School Musical: Premiers pas sur scène (2006).
