Vanessa Hudgens takes a lot of heat for being an actress associated with kid-friendly films but yet can’t seem to avoid getting caught without her clothes on.
But while Hudgens, 21, said she still harbors pain from the infamous leaked snapshots of her topless, she told Glamour magazine that the whole episode has made her stronger. "It sucks because [the photos were] supposed to be private, but at the same time a lot of actresses do it [in movies]," she said. "Eventually, I’m sure that I will [too]. But I don't know if I would be able to do that now."
Yet right from the start, before she grew into a tween idol, Hudgens "wanted to be a nitty-gritty actress," she told Glamour.
And then, "‘High School Musical’ came along, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, fun!’ But the more we did it, the more prude I became,” Hudgens said. So yes, when she’s around kids, “of course I am going to act a certain way, but at the end of the day, I’m doing this for myself. I’m going to be doing movies kids can’t watch.”
Hudgens’ boyfriend, Zac Efron, has also been trying to transition out of the kiddie spotlight (we’re pretty sure his newly developed muscles won’t hurt), but it doesn’t sound like their growing pains have hurt their relationship.
“Right off the bat, we had a connection. I think everybody could see it,” Hudgens said. “When we had our audition, they paired us together. And he was adorable. I mean, he wasn’t the guy that he is today. Like, he had a gap in his teeth. He was a whole different person.”
Now when she looks at him, she "sees a man," she told Glamour. While they've had a few bouts of jealousy, in the end, Hudgens thinks they push each other to do better. "[I love] having someone to grow with," she said.