Zac Efron was born Zachary David Alexander Efron on October 18, 1987 in San Luis Obispo, California. His parents are David Efron, a power plant engineer, and Starla Baskett Efron, a former secretary. Zac is best known for his role in the original Disney High School Musical film. He has also starred in the television series Summerland, as well as the film version of Hairspray. He has been touted as America’s biggest teen star since 2006. He has been featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, which declared him the “poster boy for the tweenyboppers.”

Zac Efron has always considered his childhood normal. He was born into a middle class family and has a younger brother named Dylan. He is agnostic, but has Jewish ancestry. At school, Zac was very studious, always aiming to get A’s. He was also considered the class clown. When he was eleven years old, Zac’s father encouraged him to act and take singing lessons. He then performed at the local theater in plays such as Peter Pan, Gypsy, Little Shop of Horrors, and The Music Man. Later, his theater teacher recommended him to an agent in Los Angeles, who later hired Zac for the Creative Artists Agency.

In 2002, Zac Efron began appearing as a guest on television shows such as ER, The Guardian, and Firefly. He had his first recurring role as Cameron Bale on Summerland, which he starred in alongside actors Lori Loughlin and Jesse McCartney. He went on to guest roles on various television shows such as The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, The Replacements, and CSI-Miami. In 2003, Efron was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Television Movie at the Young Artist Awards for his role as one of two autistic twins in the drama Miracle Run.

Efron got his biggest break in 2006, when he played Troy Bolton in the Disney Channel original movie High School Musical alongside his girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens. This role earned Efron several awards, including the Teen Choice Awards’ Breakout Star and the Choice Chemistry Award with Vanessa Hudgens. The songs Getcha Head in the Game and Breaking Free from High School Musical sung by Efron and Hudgens debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 shortly after the television movie was released. After High School Musical, Efron appeared in Vanessa Hudgens’ music video “Say OK”, as well as in an episode of Punk’d. He also starred in the big screen adaptation of the Broadway musical Hairspray, which received positive reviews. In 2007, High School Musical 2 was rereleased as a television movie that set a new record in American history with more than 18 million viewers watching its premiere. High School Musical 3 was released in 2008 in theaters. Zac Efron will star in upcoming movies like 17 Again, Me and Orson Welles, as well as the Footloose remake.