Vanessa Hudgens
Hudgens in 2010, photo by kathclick/Bigstock.com
Birth Name: Vanessa Anne Hudgens
Place of Birth: Salinas, Monterey, California, United States
Date of Birth: December 14, 1988
Ethnicity:
*father – English, some Scottish, Irish, and German
*mother – Filipino, along with Spanish and Chinese
Vanessa Hudgens is an American actress and singer, also credited under her full name, Vanessa Anne Hudgens. Her roles include High School Musical, Bandslam, Sucker Punch, Machete Kills, and Dog Days, among other films. Her sister is actress Stella Hudgens.
Vanessa’s father, Gregory Hudgens, was of English, and some Scottish, Irish, and German, descent. He was also said to have Native American roots, although it is not clear if this Native American ancestry has been verified/documented.
Vanessa’s mother, Gina (Guangco), is Filipino, and has Filipino, Spanish, and Chinese ancestry.
Vanessa does not speak Tagalog. She has stated that her mother tried to teach her the language when she was younger. Vanessa has also stated that she loves Filipino food and is proud to be a Filipina.
Vanessa’s paternal grandfather was John Robert Hudgens (the son of Claude Bryan Hudgens and Elsie Simpson). John was born in Illinois, and was a trumpet player during the big band era. Claude was the son of Zachariah/Zack Hudgens and Carrie Fly. Elsie was the daughter of John A. Simpson and Elizer J. White.
Vanessa’s paternal grandmother is Bonnie Lee Karnes (the daughter of Dawsey Karnes and Freda Colene Pemberton). Bonnie was born in Missouri. Dawsey was the son of Charles Herman Karnes and Emma Jane Sloan. Freda was the daughter of William Riley Pemberton and Lucy Eva Sessions.
Sources: Genealogy of Vanessa Hudgens (focusing on her father’s side) – https://famouskin.com
Genealogy of Vanessa’s father (focusing on his father’s side) – https://hudgensillinois.com
Vanessa’s paternal grandfather, John Robert Hudgens, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Obituary of Vanessa’s paternal grandfather, John Robert Hudgens – https://www.newspapers.com
Genealogies of Vanessa’s paternal great-grandparents, Dawsey Karnes and Freda Colene Pemberton – https://www.findagrave.com
I’m surprised to hear she has Asian in her, I don’t see it at all.
She doesn’t look white either. People saying she looks spaniard and I just don’t see it. Her cheekbones, mouth shape, eye shape etc are ethnic. She doesn’t look asian but she doesn’t look white either. She looks mixed because that’s what she is. At first glance I’d assume she’s a Mestiza Latina.
“Looks ethnic” is a silly way to phrase it. Everyone “looks ethnic” because everyone is apart of an ethnicity, so it’s a misnomer.
What I think you meant was that, t she looks like she has heritage of an ethnicity that is a minority in the US, and would be a minority in a multitude of other places. Yet it can also be said her look would be apart the majority in other places.
Idk how to break that down succinctly, but “looks ethnic” just seems too inaccurate. Especially considering that this website gets international traffic. Some people out in the Philippines or Meso-America may say she doesn’t look ethnic at all, because that’s their version of typical.
All these international posters have put me on edge lately. No need to only speak from a white US, or even European, stand point and fan their flames of perceived racism.
Such comments make no sense. You can’t assume an half-Filipino person to look white.
I don’t disagree. But the East Asian/Malayo-Polynesians/mestizo look out numbers the European look. So implying that she looks like an ethnic minority is a mislabel.
I was just calling for more accurate description. If you want to say she doesn’t look white, fine it makes sense to the general public, but saying she looks ethnic, is a hollow incorrect statement, especially considering world wide stats. Put a caveat to it, if you want, she looks ethnic for an American.
A call for accuracy is not nonsensical. This site has international posters and alot of them are accusing Americans of being racist. Using more taxonomical correct terminology may help quell these accusations.
If white means blue eyed, blonde hair and pale skin, then I don’t have any of them. What am I, an alien? Lol. You can’t assume a “white person” to have actual white skin either. “White” was coined as a way to separate those of European extraction from the rest of the world, it’s Western tribalism. It’s an offensive, racist and incorrect term to use, same with “black”
White means European. North South East West European. They have a melange of skin tones red, to pink, to brownish, to pale as ghosts, variety of hair and eye coloring. Southern and South Eastern Europeans come in majority darker varieties. Caucasian is a different story, the entire MENA area is chock full of Caucasians, doesn’t make them white. They come with variations on skin tone and hair and eyes, but they’re phenotypical a separate ethnicity. North India has tons of Caucasians. The further south you go, you get more of an Austronesian influence.
All races and ethnicities are wonderfully diverse. Different skin tones, different skull and face shapes, different bone geometry, higher prevalence of pelvis types, different tissue types, different dental arches, the list goes on. Anthropologist, pathologist, medical examiners can clearly distinguish between the races from a skeleton. This isn’t ground breaking stuff. It’s just anthropology.
You can eyeball a person and if they don’t have high admixture, you should at the very least get a continent or ocean of origin. Most people don’t pay attention to this stuff, but a large number of posters on this site do this categorization as a hobby or a fun pass time. Berating us will not make us stop.
The spanish part is most likely false. Most filipinos dont have any spanish ancestry and her mother is most likely one of them. It is merely a myth in filipino families. The same myth in african american families about a “cherokee princess” grandmother.
My friend’s wife who is Filipino swore up and down she had distant Spaniard and Italian ancestry only to find out her results came out 100% East Asian and Polynesian. Self hate is real.
Some online trees have this man as her paternal grandfather, but I haven’t been able to confirm:
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XSY6-444
good effort
Her father’s background has to be solved
Irish/Native American looks very fake. Hudgens is not even an Irish last name
Fathers ethnicity should be “English, Scottish, Irish” NO Native American.
Father was Gregory T. Hudgens (1950-2016). His father was John Robert Hudgens 1926-1977, born in Illinois died in Nevada, the son of Claude Bryan Hudgens (1896-1967) and Elsie Simpson (1897-1968). Both of these great-grandparents were from Illinois. I could go on but Vanessa’s paternal grandfather was mainly English with a little bit of Scottish. Her paternal grandmother, who I think is still alive possibly last name is “Karnes” and according to records is the daughter of Dawsey Karnes (1903) Illinois and Freda C. Pemberton (1903). To sum up, she was also mostly English descent with some Irish.
Here are some links for everyone… https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/157705308 (fathers obituary)
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46746849 (paternal grandfathers obituary)
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/135675685 (paternal grandmothers fathers obituary)
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/135675613/freda-colene-karnes (paternal grandmothers mothers obituary)
I’m guessing you got that from the same family tree I did, but do you have any evidence that this is true? An obituary, maybe?
This Hudgens family website states that John was Vanessa’s grandfather.
https://hudgensillinois.com/2011/02/07/claude-bryan-hudgens-1896-1967/
The obituary of John Hudgens states that he has a son, Gregory, who lives in Fairbanks, Alaska. It looks like only one Gregory Hudgens had ever lived in Alaska, and it was Vanessa’s father.
https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/85259782/
Her grandparents married in March 1950, and her father was born in June 1950.
Aside of which, Hudgens said that all her grandparents were big band entertainers, and John certainly was deeply part of that world.
Thanks.
@Bablah, an obituary? the fathers obituary I sent as a source said that he was Vanessa Hudgens father. It wasn’t a tree.
@jackson9
I was talking about grandparents. Her father’s name is well known. But follers found the obituary I was asking about.
The second link I sent was of the grandfather? I even labeled it “paternal grandfathers obituary”
There was no mention of his children or grandchildren in your link. That would’ve been needed for confirmation.
ah okay. now I understand. point taken!