2024 Academy Awards: Vanessa Hudgens announces pregnancy

LOS ANGELES — Actress Vanessa Hudgens announced she was pregnant on Sunday, showing off her baby bump while walking the red carpet for the 96th Academy Awards.

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The “High School Musical” star, 35, is expecting her first child with Cole Tucker, Variety reported. She made the announcement while walking the red carpet before Sunday’s night’s award ceremony at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

Hudgens showed off her baby bump while sporting a long-sleeved black dress and blew kisses to the photographers, Variety reported.

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Hudgens, along with Julianne Hough, is hosting “The Oscars Red Carpet Show.” It is her third consecutive year hosting the event, with Hough joining her for the first time, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Hudgens and Tucker, 27, were married in December in Mexico after dating for about three years, Variety reported. Tucker is a five-year major league veteran who went to spring training this season with the Seattle Mariners, according to Baseball-Reference.com.

The infielder was a No. 1 choice of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the June amateur draft in 2014. He played four seasons with the Pirates and was with the Colorado Rockies in 2023.

Hudgens criticized speculation about her pregnancy on Wednesday, rumors that began surfacing in October, according to Variety.

“I literally just had a run-in with the public taking control over their opinion of me in a way that was disrespectful,” Hudgens said on the March 6 episode of the “She Pivots” podcast. “I went out on my bachelorette party in October and I posted video of me, and there are all these comments that are like, ‘Oh my god, you’re pregnant.’

“I’m sorry I don’t wear Spanx every day and am a real woman and have a real body.”

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