Hollywood Actress 2011

Vanessa Anne Hudgens was born on December 14, 1988, in Salinas, California. While still a toddler, Vanessa and her younger sister, Stella, were uprooted and moved to San Diego. Vanessa’s passion for music was borne early on, and undoubtedly stems from the presence of her grandparents, who were actively involved in the big-band scene in the 1930s.

By the time she was just 8 years old, Vanessa successfully petitioned her parents to allow her to try out for a whole host of local musicals (including The King and I, Cinderella and Evita). It quickly became evident that Vanessa had a real gift for both performing and singing, and she consequently decided (along with her parents, of course) to spend some time in London studying drama and music.

vanessa hudgens in still standing

Upon her return from the United Kingdom, Vanessa decided that her best shot at securing a bona fide career in show business involved a move to Los Angeles. There’s little doubt that Vanessa would still be toiling on local stages were it not for the support of her family, who abandoned their comfortable lives in San Diego to support the burgeoning star. Vanessa immediately dived into the grueling auditioning scene, trying out for anything and everything she was allowed access to. Her hard work paid off in 2002, when she landed one-off guest spots on a pair of television shows: the sitcom Still Standing and the crime drama Robbery Homicide Division.

vanessa hudgens in thirteen

A year later, Vanessa found herself cast opposite fellow up-and-comers Evan Rachel Wood and Nikki Reed in Thirteen, a drama revolving around the reckless exploits of several teenagers. She followed that up with a role in the 2004 live-action adaptation of Thunderbirds (opposite no less than Ben Kingsley), and popped up on TV shows such as The Brothers Garcia and Quintuplets. But it wasn’t until she successfully auditioned for the part of Gabriella Montez in the Disney Channel movie High School Musical that Vanessa finally began to receive the recognition she so richly deserved.

vanessa hudgens in high school musical

After blowing away the producers with a stirring rendition of Robbie Williams’ “Angels” during her audition, Vanessa soon found herself starring alongside folks like Zac Efron and Ashley Tisdale in the smash hit High School Musical (2006). The film, along with its soundtrack, quickly became a sensation among the tweener set, propelling Vanessa to household-name status within the ranks of such viewers. Vanessa soon found herself being offered spots on commercials for high-profile companies like Old Navy and Blockbuster, and the actress even won a Teen Choice Award for Choice Chemistry with costar Zac Efron (it was a good choice -- as the pair became a couple).

Vanessa Hudgens went on to star in High School Musical 2 and High School Musical 3.

vanessa hudgens releases v

Buoyed by her massive High School Musical success, Vanessa decided the time was right to fulfill her lifelong dream of recording an album of her own, and consequently signed with Hollywood Records in 2006. Hoping to take advantage of the heat surrounding her, Vanessa worked day and night on the album for two months. On September 26, 2006, V was released to monstrous success. It premiered at No. 24 on the U.S. pop album charts and sold 34,000 copies. The album spawned a hit single, “Come Back to Me,” and Vanessa spent the latter part of 2006 touring in support of the disc (first as an opener for The Cheetah Girls, then as part of the High School Musical concert series). In addition to her relentless touring schedule, Vanessa found time to make a series of appearances on the popular Disney Channel show The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.

vanessa hudgens is named no. 61 in 2008 and 2009 top 99

In September 2007, a collection of nude photos of Vanessa Hudgens surfaced online, sparking a major controversy. Both she and her publicist addressed the scandal, citing that the photos were taken in privacy and that it was a shame they were leaked to the public. Despite this, Disney indicated that they intended to continue working with the young star. With more eyes on her than ever before, Vanessa successfully bounced back from the scandal, as evidenced by her position at No. 61 on AskMen.com's list of the Top 99 Most Desirable Women of 2008 and again in 2009.

In April 2008, Vanessa Hudgens released the first single "Sneakernight" from her second album Identified. She also appeared in the third installment of the hit movie franchise High School Musical 3: Senior Year and, in '09, she worked on the flick Rock On with Lisa Kudrow.

Rania Al-Yasin was born in Kuwait on August 31, 1970. The daughter of Palestinian parents, she attended Kuwait's prestigious New English School, where she was given the opportunity to interact with children of all races and backgrounds.

"There was a very large expatriate community in Kuwait," she recalls. "My classroom had children from many different nationalities, so I grew up with people from Europe, the United States, Africa, the Far East. These interactions made me realize how alike we are, that what makes us similar is much more than what separates us."

rania begins a career

Following the completion of her secondary education, Rania moved to Egypt, where she received a degree in business administration from The American University in Cairo in 1991. Upon her graduation, Rania made tracks once again. This time, she set her sights on Jordan, where she began a career at Citibank before taking a job in information technology at Apple Computers.

Rania's fate changed forever one night in 1993 when she met Abdullah Bin Al-Hussein, the son of Jordan's King Hussein, at a party. "I could never have imagined what fate had in store for me," she says. "At that time, as a recent graduate, I was living and working in Amman, and certainly never expected to marry a Prince of the Hashemite lineage or, one day, become the Queen of Jordan."

rania and prince abdullah are wed

Less than six months later, on June 10, 1993, the pair married in a lavish ceremony. Despite his royal lineage, neither one of them expected to ascend to the throne since Prince Abdullah was not officially a crown prince. That honor belonged to Prince Hassan. Reflecting upon that time, Rania considers Prince Abdullah's status to have been something of a blessing.

"I was lucky, because when I came into the family, I had the opportunity to get used to a new way of life," she says. "My husband was just a prince, and I was just a princess, so I could control, to some extent, the separation of my public duties from my private life."

rania begins a family

Left to their own devices, the young couple began planning a family, and on June 28, 1994, Rania gave birth to their first son, Prince Hussein. Princess Iman followed just two years later on September 27, 1996.

Sadly, the family suffered a devastating setback in 1999 with the death of His Majesty King Hussein. Two weeks before succumbing to cancer, the King shocked many observers around the world by switching the line of dynastic succession and making Abdullah his heir rather than Hassan.

queen rania ascends to the throne

The newly crowned Queen Rania remembers it as being an overwhelming time. "Following the sad passing of His Late Majesty King Hussein, and the ascension of His Majesty King Abdullah, we were faced with enormous responsibilities and challenges," she recalls. "Fortunately, we had had a taste of public life in our roles as Prince and Princess, but still the adjustments to King and Queen were considerable. In fact, we are still learning."

That may be so, but Jordan's new queen took to her role admirably, immediately giving a voice to many of Jordan's disenfranchised. "I work in areas related to child protection and family safety, women's empowerment, the creation of opportunities for youth, and culture and tourism," she says. "Daunting? Yes. Impossible? No. In fact, such challenges energize me.

rania and abdullah extend their family

Queen Rania and King Abdullah have since had two other children. Princess Salma was born on September 26, 2000, and Prince Hashem was welcomed into the world on January 30, 2005. "For now, I am cherishing Prince Hashem and this special time at home with my family," she says. "Being surrounded by them grounds me and reminds me of what is important."