THEN AND NOW: The cast of the 'High School Musical' movies 14 years later

Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron starred in "High School Musical."Disney Channel

• "High School Musical" came out in 2006 on Disney Channel.
• The cast has gone on to star in movies and TV shows.
• Zac Efron is a bona fide movie star now, and portrayed Ted Bundy in Netflix's "Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile."
• Vanessa Hudgens starred in the 2019 Netflix movie "The Knight Before Christmas."

On January 20, 2006, Disney Channel premiered "High School Musical." The movie centered on a jock (played by then-unknown Zac Efron) falling in love with a shy, book-smart girl named Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) and shaking up the norms after auditioning for the school's musical.

Catchy tracks and perfectly synchronized choreography resulted in the film being viewed by millions of people nationwide, and the soundtrack became the top-selling album of 2006. The success also led to two sequels and a new series called "High School Musical: The Musical," recently debuted on Disney's streaming service (Disney Plus). The 10-episode show features a new generation of actors, rather than the familiar faces from the three films.

Keep reading to see what the cast has been up to in the 14 years since "HSM" was released.