ACTRESS Vanessa Hudgens is famously recognized for her portrayal of Gabriella Montez in the hit Disney film High School Musical.
Over the years, Vanessa has attributed her success to her late father, Greg, and here’s all we know about him.
Who was Vanessa Hudgens’ dad, Greg Hudgens?
Greg Hudgens was a firefighter in San Diego, California, however, his family lived near Los Angeles.
Since her rise to fame, Vanessa has been candid about her parents making sacrifices for the High School Musical star’s career.
In an interview with Marie Claire, Vanessa said: “My parents gave up so much.
“He would keep driving back to the same place that he worked every time we moved. By the end, the commute was not fun.”
While Vanessa’s career was at the forefront of her parent’s priorities, they wanted her to focus on her education first.
“As she got more immersed, we made a pact,” Greg told The Washington Post in 2015.
“As long as she still applied herself to school and kept her head out of the clouds, we would continue to help her.”
Regardless of Greg’s sacrifices, Vanessa said she was “forever grateful” for his support, adding: “I will never be able to repay him with all the time he spent helping me reach my goals.”
When did Greg Hudgens die?
On January 30, 2016, Greg Hudgens passed away from a long battle with stage 4 cancer.
Vanessa announced the news just hours before she was set to appear on Fox’s Grease: Live musical special.
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“I am so sad to say that last night my daddy, Greg passed away from stage 4 cancer,” she wrote via X, formerly Twitter.
“Thank you to everyone who kept him in your prayers.”
In a separate tweet, she wrote: “Tonight, I do the show in his honor.”
His death comes mere months after Vanessa revealed he had stage 4 cancer in August 2015.
“…my dad has just been recently diagnosed with stage 4 cancer,” she shared.
“Let me tell you, I hate cancer. I hate cancer with every cell of my being. If you would have asked me two years ago what I thought of cancer, I would have said, ‘Man, you know, it sucks. It’s a horrible disease.’
“But that’s only because I had not been faced with it personally.”
Who is Vanessa Hudgens’ mom, Gina Guangco?
Like Greg, Vanessa’s mom, Gina, has also supported her rise to stardom.
Additionally, Vanessa said Gina’s optimism has helped her cope with losing her father.
“She’s so strong through the hardest of times,” Vanessa told People.
“But she has this lightheartedness and this light that just beams out of her very being and it’s so special.”
Gina and Greg first met as pen pals. The two began writing to each other while Gina was living in the Philippines and Greg was living in America.
Greg visited Gina one day, and the two tied the knot shortly after.
In 2023, Vanessa revealed she is working on a family-focused documentary that highlights her close relationship with her mother and her mother’s upbringing in the Philippines.
Speaking with Glamour UK, Vanessa said: “Growing up there weren’t really that many women who looked like me and my mom and my family on screen.
“As an immigrant, coming into the States and not knowing anyone, I can’t even imagine how difficult and challenging that is and what challenges she faced as a woman.
“I feel like that’s such a relatable story to so many women all over the world. The more that we can share, the more we can lift each other up.”
