Powerless

Season 1 Vuzu (*116) 19:30 Comedy

She’s only 28 but Vanessa Hudgens is an acting veteran, having been on film for nearly 20 years. While she is often had the sidekick role, she’s front and centre as research and development director Emily Locke in sci-fi comedy Powerless (2017). “We’re a superhero show set in the DC world, but I’m singing on set like I’m in High School Musical (2006-2008) again!” jokes the actress.

Her first acting work was musi1

cals, where she performed in The King And I and The Wizard Of Oz as an eight-year-old. That got Vanessa work in TV commercials and she moved her family from Southern California to LA.

Vanessa graduated high school 2

when she was 15 but she jokes that it’s “only because I was home-schooled from 7th grade. I don’t think I would’ve liked regular school life”.

She almost lost her role in 2008’s 3

High School Musical 3 movie after private photos were leaked online. Production company Disney stood by her and said that “Vanessa has apologised for her lapse in judgement and she remains an integral team member”.

That wasn’t her only error in 4

judgement though. In 2016 she posted a photo to Instagram of her and actor boyfriend Austin Butler’s initials that they’d carved into a tree. Vanessa was fined $1 000 (R14 000) by the US Forest Service.

While she is multi-talented (sing5

ing, dancing and acting), Vanessa does have a flaw: she can’t whistle.

She isn’t allergic to carrots but 6 hates them “more than anything”. And Vanessa gave herself two 7

nicknames for the different people in her life: “Van” for family and “Ness” for her friends.