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In an exhilarating finale on Wednesday, May 22, Vanessa Hudgens won in the popular Fox singing competition, The Masked Singer, surprising audiences as the enigmatic Goldfish. The 35-year-old actress, celebrated for her breakout role in “High School Musical,” revealed her profound experience of performing incognito and the unexpected emotional journey it entailed.
Reflecting on her triumph, Hudgens shared her thoughts with Entertainment Tonight, expressing that the experience was far more impactful than anticipated. “It was definitely quite the ride,” she said. “A ride I did not think would affect me so deeply.”
Hudgens, who is currently expecting her first child with husband Cole Tucker, elaborated on how the anonymity of her Goldfish costume provided a liberating escape from her public persona. Having spent much of her life under the glaring spotlight, the actress found a newfound sense of freedom and authenticity on The Masked Singer stage.
“I’ve been in the spotlight for many, many moons now, and there’s just a preconceived idea, I think, when you see yourself on stage, that you’re familiar with,” Hudgens explained. She described the experience of performing without the weight of her established identity as profoundly freeing. “And being able to take that away and be completely stripped of that and show up as myself and feel completely free to do so, because I was completely covered up, really just gave me a sense of freedom that I hadn’t had in a minute. And it was really empowering.”
Throughout the competition, she embraced her role “as an actor first,” allowing her theatrical instincts to shine through. She eagerly anticipates sharing this creative expression with her future child. “I can’t wait to have a kid when that time comes so I can be like, ‘Look at mommy go,’” she gushed.
The joyous news of Hudgens‘ pregnancy was shared with the world when she debuted her baby bump on the 2024 Oscars red carpet in March alongside her 27-year-old husband, baseball player Cole Tucker.