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BySara Whitman/
Vanessa Hudgens was soarin' and flyin' into stardom once High School Musical premiered in 2006, and for the second half of the 2000s, she was one of the biggest household names. If you were a fan of Vanessa, you most likely know that she has a younger sister named Stella Hudgens, who got a taste of her own fame by association. Despite their seven year age difference, Vanessa and Stella are seemingly super close and have been spotted spending quality time together whether it be sitting courtside at aL.A. Lakers games or shopping in Beverly Hills.
Stella has followed her sister's footsteps by creating a career of her own in Hollywood, snagging roles in TV series like Smoky Knights and Players, landing magazine coversand even collaborating with fashion brands. Plus, she has more than one million followers on Instagram,where her fans can see loads of stunning photos and brand collaborations.
While the younger Hudgens sister has found some limelight of her own, there is still a lot to discover about the young actress. Here is what you don't know about Vanessa Hudgens' sister Stella.
Stella Hudgens has flown thousands of miles to see Vanessa Hudgens
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Stella Hudgens wasn't letting a few thousand miles separate her from her sister. At the end of 2019, Vanessa Hudgens was busy filming Netflix's The Princess Switch: Switched Again in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and she told People she got lonely. "The things that I miss most are the people I love," Vanessa said, adding that she especially missed her sister.
Well, Stella must have felt her older sister's loneliness, because she pulled off the ultimate surprise in December 2019. Stella bought a ticket and flew across the pond to Scotland just to surprise Vanessa for her 31st birthday. "I was literally talking to my producer and I was like, 'I think I'm going to call my sister and see if she wants to come out because I miss her,'" Vanessa recalled to Ryan Seacrest and guest co-host Katie Lowes in a January 2020 appearance on Live with Kelly and Ryan. "I get to my trailer and I open the door, and my mom was filming me. I was like, 'What are you doing?' And there was a massive box — my sister pops out of a box. I was dead. [I had] no idea whatsoever. It was the greatest thing."
Vanessa posted a video of the special moment to Instagram calling the ordeal "the best birthday present ever." It seems like Stella and Vanessa have quite the strong sibling telepathy!
Stella Hudgens stays true to herself
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While Stella Hudgens is a huge influencer and could easily revel in the perks of being in a comfortable position in Tinseltown, she seems to not be interested in the A-list life. Rather, she stays true to herself and follows the beat to her own drums. "I feel like to be cool in a sense is to be honest, unique and authentic to who you are. And so that's what I've tried to do. I feel like with Instagram you can't take it too seriously. You just gotta have fun," she told Boohoo's The Fix.
If Stella is ever feeling uncertain, she just follows the best advice her older sister Vanessa Hudgens has shared with her, which is "to be honest with how you feel and who you are." According to the Hudgens sisters, that outlook is the "only way you can find happiness."
Because Stella is in the public eye, she finds herself using this advice every day, including when deciding what to share on social media. "The thing I strive to tell about myself is to stay honest with how you're feeling, if you're feeling great and want to post a photo in a bathing suit or if you're not feeling great and want to talk about your skin issues, then do that too." It looks like Stella has the whole influencer life figured out, all while being her genuine self.
Social responsibility is important to Stella Hudgens
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While she's not mixing and matching her clothes to create unique outfits, Stella Hudgens is standing up for what she believes in, like the Black Lives Matter movementand owning up to her own privilege. In May 2020, the actress wrote an impassioned note about using her status to help others, especially those affected by racism in America. "we should've all been collectively demanding change years and years ago and i'm so embarrassed my privilege and lack of responsibility to mankind had me jaded for so long," she said. "i'm giving up what I can't control about the past and committing myself to being apart of changing the future. there is no more room for racism and police brutality to those of color," she argued.
Hudgens admitted she feels as if she "can't do enough," and she followed up with a second post in June 2020, in which she emphasized that the fight for equality will continue every day. "I plan on continuing to educate myself, stay open minded and use my voice (on social media and irl) to support the BLM movement," she said. Hudgens' sister, Vanessa Hudgens, was also vocal about the Back Lives Matter movement, sharing over a dozen posts in the form of videos, graphics, and guides about how to be an ally to the Black community.
Stella Hudgens is a fashionista
Aside from being an actress and influencer, Stella Hudgens is a budding fashionista. Fans first saw her make a mark in the fashion world through her 2015 campaign with Mudd, where she modeled the fashion brand's spring line with Miley Cyrus' little sister, Noah Cyrus, and Cody Simpson's younger sister, Ali Simpson.
Since then, Hudgens has continued to work in the fashion industry by collaborating with Boohoo in 2017 to create her own line. While her style has been described as "California cool (per Glamour)," she doesn't like to put herself in one category. "I'm constantly changing and evolving so I don't abide by just one certain style. I like to look at my personal style as an extension of my mood that day," she told Glamour in a 2015 interview. A quick look at her Instagram page shows her posing in mini dresses, fun bikinis, and flowy tops. Behind the scenes, the actress and trained dancer likes to keep her style casual. "Comfort is perennially important. Dance clothes are so comfortable and I try to find that in regular clothing as welling. I basically live in Lululemon leggings," she shared.
When it comes to inspiration, she told Hello! magazine that David Bowie is her "ultimate" style icon, and she would love to steal the closet of Sophia Loren "because she was so magical." She also admires "anyone who isn't afraid to take risks and try out things that aren't usually looked at as 'normal.'"
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