Highlights the life and achievements of the actress and singer best known for her role in "High School Musical" and its sequels.

Vanessa Hudgens is a talented actress and singer. This book introduces her childhood, family, educational background, rise to fame, and future plans. Readers will learn how Vanessa's early talent for performing led her to star in Disney Channel's Emmy award-winning High School Musical. Also included are Vanessa's singing career and upcoming movies. Colorful graphics, oversized photographs, and short, engaging sentences draw in reluctant readers. Buddy Books is an imprint of ABDO Publishing Company.

Vanessa Hudgens is the star to watch. She has admiring fans the world over, thanks to her starring role as Gabriella Montez in the Disney Channel’s smash hit High School Musical. Plus she’s burning up the charts with her single “Come Back to Me” from her debut album, V.

This book offers a series of biographical portraits of the young performers who have reached superstardom in today's popular culture. Who are the superstar icons of the new century—the singers and actors who are captivating today's audiences? Get to know them in this exciting and informative new resource. In a series of biographical essays, Superstars of the 21st Century: Pop Favorites of America's Teens explores the lives of these extraordinary talents, giving readers an up-close look at their upbringings and families, their professional beginnings, and the remarkable accomplishments of their careers. Did you know singing star Rhianna was a member of her high school military cadet corps? That despite earning millions for her movie roles, Dakota Fanning has never received an allowance? That Twilight's Robert Pattinson was routinely dressed up as a girl by his sisters? The biographies included in Superstars of the 21st Century are filled with little-known facts like these, as well as career highlights and real insights into the daily lives of this generation's iconic figures.

"An astute intervention into both girlhood studies and feminist media studies." - Yvonne Tasker, University of East Anglia

This work describes the crucial role celebrities played in the emergence of two competing narratives about Covid-19, one a pro-science narrative that advocated for preventive measures and the other a skeptical counter narrative that denied the disease's existence or downplayed its severity. During the first postmodern pandemic, a slew of interactions took place across a variety of platforms between prominent figures and those who connected with them, forming parasocial communities that framed perspectives on Covid-19. The author first describes how Covid-19 unfolded in the world of sports, then goes on to explain how supportive behavior toward public officials fueled the two competing narratives, emphasizing how celebrities themselves aided in the development of common perspectives. The text concludes with a description of how citizens initially regarded health care professionals as "heroes," but even the most powerful public appeals could not persuade some that Covid-19 posed a genuine threat. Exploring the polarity of publicly held beliefs, this book documents how celebrity advocacy had a lasting effect on people's health choices during a global pandemic.