Vanessa's Butterfly Tattoo Inspired by Her Namesake, Which Is a Butterfly
Actress Vanessa Hudgens arrives at the 19th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation's Oscar viewing party held at the Pacific Design Center on February 27, 2011 in West Hollywood, California. (Getty Images)
Vanessa Hudgens got a butterfly tattoo while she was in New York for Fashion Week, and she says it’s something she has always wanted to have done because of the significance of the animal to her life.
She said: “It was very last minute, but I've actually wanted it for years. A butterfly landed on my mom's stomach a week before I was born and that's how I got my name, because Vanessa means butterfly -- it's a Latin derivative.” (Don't believe her? See Wikipedia.)
While the tattoo may look very pretty, the 22-year-old actress says she feels rebellious getting it done. While speaking with
David Letterman, she said: “It's my very first tattoo, and I kind of feel like a badass now!”
As well as getting a piece of body art, Vanessa is moving on from her
High School Musical days and wants to be taken more seriously as an actress.
Speaking about the Disney franchise, which she starred in alongside ex-boyfriend
Zac Efron, the
Beastly star said: “It was so much fun. It's kind of a thing of the past now though.”