Vanessa Hudgens Opens Up About Life After Losing Her Father to Cancer

Vanessa Hudgens is getting candid with fans about the feelings she’s experienced since losing her dad.

The High School Musical star opened up in a recent interview with Haute Living.

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“At 25, I felt like I had life figured out,” she said. “Like, ‘I’ve got this, I’m great at life; I understand how to do it.’ And then, at 27, I woke up on my birthday and felt like I had no idea who I was, what I stood for, what I was doing with my life. I felt kind of lost. I realized, ‘I am not a child anymore. I am not a teen. I am fully an adult, and there are so many responsibilities that come with that.’ I felt extremely overwhelmed.”

“My 20s were such a roller coaster,” she continued. “I had so many high moments, but I lost my dad. My [boyfriend of seven years, actor Austin Butler] also lost his mom. We dealt with a lot of death.”

Vanessa sadly lost her father to cancer in 2016, a day before one of her biggest career moments – performing in Fox’s Grease Live.

“I felt like [the death of my father] really pushed me to expand and grow as a person, whether I liked it or not,” she shared. “I [now] feel like those moments are really great to have because they force you to reassess your life, what you believe in, what you stand for, who you want to be.”

“The last year of my 20s was very informative as to the woman I am becoming,” she added. “I feel very empowered and very scared because I know there are big things ahead of me. [On the flip side], I feel like I’m grounded, I’ve gotten rid of my baggage, so to speak, and have made way for myself to go into my 30s just a bit more streamlined, leading with love and light.”