Vanessa Hudgens Gives Birth to First Child

Vanessa Hudgens is starting the month of July with a wonderful new addition to her family–and as a first-time mom!

The 35-year-old actress said she welcomed her first child with MLB player husband Cole Tucker in a statement posted to her Instagram Stories on Thursday, July 4, confirming that "mom dad and baby are happy and healthy."

Elsewhere in the statement, the new parents slammed the paparazzi for "disrespect[ing] and exploit[ing]" the family's privacy during this "very special time due to the greed of a long lens camera feeding the media"–a dig that appears to be in response to photos first obtained and published by TMZ on Wednesday, July 3, which captured Vanessa leaving the hospital in a wheelchair while cradling a newborn.

The couple hasn't yet officially announced the exact date their child was born or what name they have decided on.

The High School Musical alum first announced she was pregnant while hosting the 96th Annual Academy Awards in March, where she put her baby bump on full display while strutting the red carpet in a black curve-hugging gown.

Their happy baby news came about three months after it was first reported that the couple wed in a private ceremony surrounded by family and friends on Saturday, Dec. 2, in Tulum, Mexico.

Hudgens and Tucker had been dating since 2020 before they shared the news of their engagement about three years later. "YES. We couldn’t be happier ??," the former Disney Channel star joyfully announced in the caption of the February 2023 Instagram post from Paris.

The Spring Breakers actress later claimed she knew the professional baseball player was "the one" shortly after the two hit it off while appearing on Today With Hoda and Jenna in April 2023. "After our first weekend together, I called my sister and was like, ‘I think I just found my future husband,'” she recalled. And boy, was she right.

Though the couple haven't yet shared any personal details about their baby's birth, it appeared that they were bringing the new member of their family home on the same day that Tucker was celebrating his 28th birthday. In a five-part Instagram post on Wednesday, Hudgens celebrated her "slice of heaven" husband, writing, "you make the world a brighter place just by being you ??????."

Parade reached out to the actress' rep for comment.

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