Hollywood Child Stars

Zac Efron Biography

Zachary David Alexander Efron was born in San Luis Obispo, California, on October 18th 1987, and grew up nearby in Arroyo Grande with his engineer father David and mother Starla. His first step toward fame was at the tender age of 11 when his parents noted his singing ability, and provided him with singing lessons. He acquired a part in the production of “Gypsy” which ran Efron in 90 of its shows. After getting a small taste of acting, Efron was floored and his career began to flourish.

The Early Years
After “Gypsy”, Zac Efron landed some meatier roles in the on-stage production of “Peter Pan”, “Little Shop of Horrors”, “Auntie Mame,” and the “Music Man.” Thereafter, he earned several guest roles on well-established television programs such as “ER”, “Firefly”, and “The Guardian.”

Summerland
Zac was on a roll and soon landed a guest spot on the now-cancelled WB program “Summerland”, opposite Lori Loughlin and Jesse McCartney. Audiences fell immediately in love with him, and after an overwhelming amount of positive viewer feedback, Zac’s character (the skirt-chasing Cameron Bale) was given a regular spot on the cast for Season 2. Since the cancellation of “Summerland”.

Television Credits
Efron’s television credits have expanded to include guest roles on “CSI Miami”, “Navy NCIS”, “The Replacements”, and “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.” In June 2006, Zac Efron graduated from Arroyo Grande High School, where he had been very involved in his drama program and high school productions. In fact, it was his drama teacher Robyn Metchik who recommended Zac to an agency in Los Angeles.

High School Musical
Zac Efron was a steadily rising talent. Although intent on becoming known in the entertainment industry, nothing could have prepared him for his catapult into stardom when he appeared in Disney’s original movie, “High School Musical.” in 2006. His popularity among younger audiences has soared and he has gained recognition as a talented actor and singer, as well as a teen heartthrob. He has since won awards for Choice Chemistry (shared with co-star Vanessa Hudgens) and Breakout Star in the 2006 Teen Choice Awards. Zac’s singing talent was also showcased in this production.

In February 2006, The Billboard Hot 100 Chart had five simultaneous song credits by Zac Efron, “Getcha Head in the Game”, “We’re All in This Together”, and three duets with co-star Vanessa Hudgens (Breaking Free, Start of Something New, What I’ve Been Looking For.) All songs are from the High School Musical soundtrack.

Zac Efron’s star gets brighter as he ages into adulthood. Zac was named one of People’s 100 Most Beautiful People in 2007. His relationship with Vanessa Hudgens, a co-star he met on the set of High School Musical, went public and the pair have been dating ever since.

The High School Musical movies continue to be the highlight of Zac’s career. HSM2 was released in 2007 and HSM3 in 2008, with much fanfare and success. The movies were top grosser for each year they were released, respectively.

Zac has worked on several movies besides the High School Musical franchise. He starred in the screen adaptation of Hairspray, and landed roles in the movies 17 Again, Me and Orson Wells, and Charlie St. Cloud. This popular actor was cast as the lead character for the remake of Footloose, but backed out of the role for fear of being typecast for too many musicals.

In 2009, Zac hosted Saturday Night Live and had cameo roles in several TV shows, including Entourage.

He has starred in movies such as the cartoon adaptation of Jonny Quest, Charlie St. Cloud, and his new movie, The Lucky One, comes out in April 2012.

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