We can only imagine what a jam-packed mess Vanessa Hudgens' iCal must be this month. After all, few Hollywood starlets are having as busy of a March as the "High School Musical" actress. Vanessa premiered her modern day fairy tale, "Beastly," earlier this month alongside dreamboat co-star Alex Pettyfer, and in fewer than two weeks, her kick-butt action flick "Sucker Punch" will storm into theaters. Yet, the 22-year-old somehow found time to cover Shape's April issue, in which she talks about bulking up, her design aspirations and saying good bye to beau Zac Efron.
If you've watched the trailer for "Sucker Punch" (which if you haven't yet, um, WHY!?!), you know the female ensemble film is not your average chick flick. These girls come out swinging, and to portray the character Blondie, Vanessa spent some serious time working on her fitness. "In the beginning, I could dead lift 135 pounds. By the end, I lifted 180. I was a monster!" she enthused. Pumping iron was a lot easier, though, with a gym-full of co-stars to keep her motivated. "I wouldn't have been able to do it if it weren't for the other girls [Jena Malone, Abbie Cornish, Emily Browning, and Jamie Chung]. It's because of them that I got so strong." YES! Girl power at its finest.
Though she shows off that hard-earned body in little more than a skimpy bikini on the magazine's cover, Vanessa admitted to being quite the fashionista who wouldn't mind following in the footsteps of celebrities, like "Beastly" co-star Mary-Kate Olsen, who have their own clothing lines. "I'm really, really into fashion," she said. "Right now, I'm pulling pictures from the '60s and '70s and studying women like Cher and Bianca Jagger for inspiration. It would take a while to get something going, but I want to do it. Designing is about being creative and having fun too."
Hopefully, Vanessa was able to find some sort of catharsis in her design work after ending things with long-time boyfriend Zac. But from the sounds of it, the break-up wasn't the nasty affair some tabloids would like to make it out to be, with Vanessa blaming hectic work schedules for the split. "Long-distance relationships are hard no matter what," she said. "When you don't have face-to-face time, it's just different. Having an iPhone helped, but it just wasn't the same."
"We grew up together," she continued. "It was nice to have someone to share all of those experiences with."
What do you think of Vanessa's cover? Will you be seeing "Sucker Punch" later this month? Do you think it was for the best that Vanessa and Zac parted ways? Tell us in the comments and on Twitter!
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