As a celebrated actress and thriving entrepreneur, there are more than a few things Vanessa Hudgens’ two children can learn from watching their mom work — but there’s just one takeaway she wants her babies to truly remember.
“I just want my kids to always know that mom was there for them, because that’s the most important thing I feel in life, honestly — being a parent and being there for your children and creating wonder for them,” Hudgens, 37, exclusively told Us on Friday, September 25, while attending the Golden Hour With Caliwater poolside gathering at the Chateau Mavn in Beverly Hills, California.
“I think that’s the most magical thing, to be able to provide another human being that I created inside my body,” the High School Musical star added.
Hudgens is the proud mom of two, welcoming baby No. 1 with her husband, Cole Tucker, in July 2024 before welcoming their second baby in November 2025. (The pair did not immediately reveal their children’s names or sexes. Tucker, 30, later revealed in a podcast interview that the pair had “one of each.”)
“Becoming a mother has been the hardest, most exhausting but also incredibly fulfilling and joyous chapter of my life,” the actress wrote via Instagram in May 2025 and as she prepared to welcome baby No. 2. “I couldn’t be more grateful for my little family. Happy Mother’s Day to all who’ve done their time or are in the grind. The power mamas hold is truly supernatural and I admire us all.”
While speaking to Us on Friday, Hudgens also dished on how she finds that elusive work-life balance as a successful businesswoman and actress — by admitting a “balance” doesn’t actually exist at all.
“There is no such thing as balance. I don’t believe in balance,” she told Us. “With me, it’s literally all or nothing. I think [business partner] Oliver [Trevena] mentioned it, but I’m a very present person. I’m very proud of myself for being able to stay in the present, and I feel like in the present, you can only focus on one thing at a time in order to be fully present.”
She continued, “So it’s all or nothing for me. I try to stay present because if I get ahead of myself, I get extremely overwhelmed. But I’m so blessed and so fortunate to be able to do everything that I do, and I try to just breathe and enjoy every moment.”
Hudgens and Trevena, who have been friends for many years, decided to go into business together, cofounding Caliwater, a beverage brand that produces antioxidant-rich cactus water that offers consumers several health benefits.
“We both had a passion for Prickly Pear in different ways,” Trevena, 45, told Us on Friday. “Vanessa was more of a Prickly Pear Margarita.”
“I was on a road trip in New Mexico, and I got a Prickly Pear Margarita, and I was like, ‘What is this amazing concoction, and why do I know nothing about it?’ I looked into it and realized it was just a super-fruit that had full untapped potential, a ton of health benefits and a beautiful fruit.”
In addition to her children always remembering that mom was there for them, creating magic, Hudgens’ two children also have a front row seat watching their mom run a business.
“She’s a dream partner because she shows up,” Trevena told Us of what it was like to work with Hudgens as a business partner. “She’s passionate about what she does. She cares. I mean, even going back before we even launched it — the tastings, the everything. She’s so particular about everything that she does, and I think that’s what shows up in her work, whether it’s on screen, whether it’s a brand, whether it’s anything she’s building.”
He added, “She is hands-on and passionate about it. As far as a partner, it makes my job easy because she’s got my back personally and professionally.”
