- 2007
'Zanessa'
While on vacation in Hawaii, Efron, 19, is photographed canoodling and kissing HSM costar Vanessa Hudgens, 18. Fans get a hold of the photos and chronicle the couple's vacation on YouTube with slideshows showing them kissing, building sandcastles and lying on the beach. Fans dub the new pair "Zanessa." Efron tells Rolling Stone, "The weird thing that no one expected about Vanessa is that underneath such a sweet girl is a very, very sexy woman."
Coming of Age
After making PEOPLE's Most Beautiful list, Efron lands the cover of Rolling Stone, which proclaims the 19-year-old: "The New American Heartthrob." "I'm such a regular dude," Efron tells the magazine. "This whole [celebrity] thing is kind of awkward for me. I feel like the kid that snuck into some party and shouldn't be there."
Making TV History
When Disney's High School Musical 2 premieres, it attracts 17.24 million viewers and is the single most-watched show in cable TV history. The New York Times calls HSM2, "A candy-colored song-and-dance extravaganza set among teenagers for whom A.D.D. is rhythm and early-onset puberty is romantic comedy...Hating a phenomenon like HSM no longer makes you appear tasteful. It makes you seem stupid, as if you hated all of market capitalism, or all winners."
Inside Zanessa's Romance
As the High School Musical 2 soundtrack takes the No. 1 spot on Billboard, selling more than 600,000 copies, details of Efron and Hudgens' real-life romance is featured in PEOPLE. Although they have kept their relationship relatively low-profile, their fans cause "chat-room pandemonium and teen magazine hysteria" over the silver bands they both wear. And in a testament to their commitment, Efron stands by his girl when nude photos of Hudgens surface on the Internet that September.
- 2008
Efron Wins MTV Movie Award
Taking a break from filming High School Musical 3: Senior Year, Efron wins an MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance for his role in Hairspray. When his name is announced for the award, Efron gets a kiss from his date, Vanessa Hudgens. Winning, says Efron, was "frightening. It's crazy. It's the last thing you expect."
Photo Credits
BIOGRAPHY (top to bottom): Todd Williamson/WireImage;inset: Splash News; Courtesy of Rolling Stone; ADAM LARKEY/DISNEY CHANNEL; Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic
- Name
- Zac Efron
- Birth Date
- October 18, 1987
- Birth Place
- San Luis Obispo, Calif.
- Heart Monitor
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Vanessa Hudgens, girlfriend (2006 to present)
