PHOTOGRAPHED BY GILLES BENSIMON / STYLED BY JASON BOLDEN / WRITTEN BY ROXANNE ROBINSON
High School Musical fans have been buzzing, thanks to recent coincidental Instagram posts by Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron in front of the Salt Lake City school where teen musical history was made, suggesting yet another installment of the wildly successful franchise might include the original stars. Hudgens has said little to confirm or deny this. Her multifaceted career now points to everything possible to make the audience forget her image as America’s musical sweetheart. LVR Magazine chatted with the actress-singer-entrepreneur during the cover shoot for this issue and discovered that she is intent on showing you her darker, more complex, mysterious side.
“People sometimes forget I was in Thirteen,” she insists, referring to the disturbing 2003 film by Catherine Hardwicke and Nikki Reed. Hudgens’ character, Noel, is a fresh-faced studious adolescent and best friend of Tracy (played by Evan Rachel Wood) until Tracy falls under the spell of here-comes-trouble bad girl Evie, played by Reed. “What I took away from that experience at 13 was that I wanted to pierce my belly button,” she giggles infectiously. (She succeeded in that goal at 16 and proudly says she still has it today.)
“I think there is something always buried deep inside of me, something I’ve always loved,” she says when asked about more sinister-themed roles. “I’ve gravitated toward really needy projects. I love art films and Gaspar Noé’s work.”
She worked with her friend Eli Roth on his Haunted House: Trick-VR-Treat spooky Halloween show, which debuted in Horizon Worlds, playing a devious temptress disguised as a cheery forest fairy of sorts. “I told Eli I will follow you whatever you do—I trust you. Though I never wanted to play the girl running around screaming and crying. That just sounds exhausting,” she assures. “I would love to embrace my dark side and be the one doing the chasing. It’s definitely taken people a while to understand that I am more than the Gabriella character they fell in love with.”
Soon, thanks to a special project Hudgens and pal Georgia Magree (aka GG) dreamed up, fans will see another side of the actress exploring her interest in witchcraft. “It’s like the first baby that I dreamt up entirely,” she gushes, explaining how she and Magree, an electronic music producer and DJ, lived together during the pandemic and explored their spirituality, leaving them with more unanswered questions.
“I thought it would be so cool to bring a camera to Salem and seek people who are more knowledgeable and have a deeper understanding to help remove the stigma behind witchcraft and spirituality,” she explains, recalling how it has been negatively portrayed in film and TV. “There is so much ancestral trauma buried within it that the only way to heal it is to shine a light on it.”
The result was that she and Magree, whose image is more goth, raunchy and provocative than Hudgens, roamed the quaint New England hamlet in search of answers and spirits, according to an Instagram post. While the project is finished, it’s awaiting an announcement about distribution and release date.
I thought it would be so cool to bring a camera to Salem and seek people who are more knowledgeable and have a deeper understanding to help remove the stigma behind witchcraft and spirituality. There is so much ancestral trauma buried within it that the only way to heal it is to shine a light on it.
Hudgens is a believer in those with supernatural gifts. “That child you see in nature more than with others, that doesn’t always fit in. I remember seeing things and hearing things as a child, but as I grew older and moved out, I became more fearful. So I shut it out and turned it off—but that isn’t the reason you have gifts,” she reveals.
At 33, she is still deep in her journey, with spiritual witchcraft being one path. Hudgens also just wrapped some other film projects that explore her range. Recently, she was cast in French Girl, which stars Zach Braff as “a high school teacher living in Brooklyn, who accompanies his chef-girlfriend, Sophie Tremblay (Evelyne Brochu), to her hometown of Quebec City, where she’s testing for a Michelin 3 star restaurant at the Chateau Frontenac, owned by wunderkind super-chef Ruby Collins (Hudgens),” according to Deadline.
“I get to play a character—she is definitely a character. I got to speak a bit of Quebecoise French, which I love,” Hudgens says of the role. The film is currently in production.
I try not to stay in the same lane, so I mix it up. If I am getting bored with myself, I am sure others are, too.
Another upcoming film project also seems to stretch Hudgens’ oeuvre even further. Downtown Owl, which is adapted from the book of the same name by Chuck Klosterman and directed by Hamish Linklater and Lily Rae, tells the tale of another high school teacher (well, maybe there is no escaping a high school theme for Hudgens!) who shakes up a 1980s rural Minnesota town devoid of cable but with plenty of bars.
“I couldn’t get the story out of my mind. I play the degenerate bar bestie to leading character Rae. I try not to stay in the same lane, so I mix it up. If I am getting bored with myself, I am sure others are, too,” she suggests.
“This role is a real character-y character. She is out there with those big personalities, like a whirlwind of a human being. Since it’s set in the Eighties, it was the best glam! I have curly hair, so I got to wear my natural hair, only teased.”
The supernatural bug has also inspired her to develop and write another script with GG and another girlfriend. “It’s a witchcraft-themed female-driven art comedy. I want to shine a light on what it is to be someone outside the box in this day and age; to be a strong, independent woman. That project is the next baby that needs some watering,” she adds.
It’s a witchcraft-themed female-driven art comedy. I want to shine a light on what it is to be someone outside the box in this day and age; to be a strong, independent woman. That project is the next baby that needs some watering,
While mere mortals would find her acting gigs enough of a to-do list, Hudgens has a few side hustles that also require constant water. She has founded three businesses so far: Caliwater, a low-calorie prickly pear cactus fruit beverage that boosts hydration and offers skin-fortifying antioxidants; Thomas Ashbourne, a premium premixed cocktail brand founded by a group of celebs that includes Hudgens, Sarah Jessica Parker, John Cena, Ashley Benson, Rosario Dawson and Playboi Carti; and Know Beauty, a skincare line founded by Hudgens and Madison Beer. She also has a pretty healthy gig with Fabletics on a collaboration line.
“It’s another fun outlet for creativity. I’m a crafty girl,” she says, referring to the artsy types.
“You can always catch me at Michaels. Similarly, I love getting my eyes on the packaging, to figure out how it pops on the shelf.”
She devotes as much time as possible to these roles, showing up to store events and meeting shop owners and staff. She also chooses to align with those who stand for the same core values that she finds essential: environmentally friendly and sustainable. “I can only partner with things I love and am passionate about and can get behind 110 percent,” she says, recalling an earlier campaign partnership with Ecko Red, which was off-brand at the time. “You have to be willing to get your hands dirty,” she adds.
So far, the payoff has been good. The actress has been learning the business and its lingo as she goes. “I can put on my business-school hat and understand what they are talking about now,” she affirms.
She gets a kick out of sharing these ventures with the ones she loves, getting especially excited by a new Caliwater pouch for kids as a healthier alternative to more sugary options. “The reward is making people’s lives better,” she notes.
I can put on my business-school hat and understand what they are talking about now.
If it sounds like a lot to juggle, it is. “You caught me at the moment where I feel like I have not been able to stay on top of it; It’s very exhausting,” she admits frankly, taking a drag off her nicotine-filled vape pen. In this particular moment—in New York for the LVR cover shoot and to attend the CFDA awards with Vera Wang—she was pretty spent and looking forward to getting some rest after the shoot at her hotel. (PS: She showed up to Monday night’s awards looking fresh as a daisy. “I slept 13 hours yesterday, can you believe it?”)
Still, she reaffirms her belief in glam and fashion. “Literally said this today: it’s amazing what good hair and make-up, incredible outfits and diamonds can do,” she proclaims. “I showed up like I walked out of a dumpster—it’s true! Once they finished with the works, I looked in the mirror and thought, ‘Bitch you got this, you are so fierce.’ I love fashion’s transformative side.”
Literally said this today: it’s amazing what good hair and make-up, incredible outfits and diamonds can do,” she proclaims. “I showed up like I walked out of a dumpster—it’s true! Once they finished with the works, I looked in the mirror and thought, ‘Bitch you got this, you are so fierce.’ I love fashion’s transformative side.
It also helps to balance things. “I make sure not to go too long without seeing the people I love. It’s always important to catch up with my friends. They are the ones who ground me and make life more colorful,” she insists.
A lot of that grounding fun can be caught on Hudgens’ wildly popular Instagram feed, with over 47.5 million followers, where friends like GG, Jessamine Bliss Bell, Sarah Hyland and guy pal Vince Rossi can be seen having a ball.
I make sure not to go too long without seeing the people I love. It’s always important to catch up with my friends. They are the ones who ground me and make life more colorful.
Her feed also featured her hosting her favorite holiday party—Halloween, duh—where the band The Scarlet Opera, fronted by buddy Luka Bazulka, played to a roaring crowd in her backyard. The star hasn’t spent much time there, even though it’s a new home. “Girl has been on the move between projects,” she laughs.
While it was a success, Hudgens, who dressed as Miss Argentina from Beetlejuice, almost had to cancel when she woke up in head-to-toe hives the day before. “I woke up in hives because I accidentally installed a bunch of dyed pollen plants and had to go to urgent care, and they sent me home with an epi-pen in case the first round of treatment needed a boost,” she explains of her medical misadventure. “I woke up the next day panicking because my skin was crawling.” Her boyfriend, Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Cole Tucker, offered to inject the self-serve adrenaline. The two met in a “Meditation Zoom” during the 2021 phase of the pandemic.
“I said, ‘no, I got it—I’m a bad bitch,’ so I stabbed myself with it,” she recalls. “When I took it out, blood was shooting out of my leg. This happened to me on Halloween. If anyone is going to have to stab me with a needle, it’s me.”
It was a rare time that they were together in one of their homes. “With our schedules, we are often in hotel rooms as we travel a lot, so we love spending as much time as possible ordering food and watching movies in bed, because he loves them.” Moments like these are not captured on her feed as she draws the line with her intimate relationships.
With our schedules, we are often in hotel rooms as we travel a lot, so we love spending as much time as possible ordering food and watching movies in bed, because he loves them.
While not naming Tucker just yet, Hudgens is clear she wants to have children, and can’t wait to bring them to Disneyland one day.“Probably more for the little kid still in me.” She says she adores kids and backs it up with action, naming her favorite charity, No Kid Hungry, plus contributing to cancer charities and environmental causes as well. Another recent role in Entergalactic, the album/feature-length cartoon movie by Kid Cudi, had her playing the expectant mother friend to the female lead.
Political concerns are also on her mind, however profound they might be. “The news wasn’t on non-stop in my home, and my parents weren’t overly political. So it’s overwhelming, but I am trying to study the issues and do my part, specifically for women and the reasons their voices matter so much right now,” she explains. “I feel the responsibility now more than ever; I’m thinking about the world I want to raise my kids in.”
So it’s overwhelming, but I am trying to study the issues and do my part, specifically for women and the reasons their voices matter so much right now,” she explains. “I feel the responsibility now more than ever; I’m thinking about the world I want to raise my kids in.
Whoever wins, Hudgens’s world will always contain musical theater. “Musicals are the reasons I became an outgoing person. I was a timid child and found my fantasy within them, and I feel like I am still living them. Cinderella with Brandy and Whitney Houston was everything to me.”
As for combining her dark mystical side and the joy of performance theater, rumor has it a Hocus Pocus stage production is in development.
