Ashley Tisdale

About Ashley Tisdale

Ashley Michelle Tisdale (born July 2, 1985) is an American actress and singer. After appearing in several television roles during the late 1990s and early 2000s, she became known to young audiences for playing Maddie Fitzpatrick on the Disney Channel Original Series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and Sharpay Evans in High School Musical, High School Musical 2 and will reprise her role in High School Musical 3: Senior Year. Tisdale is currently voicing Candace in the Disney Channel original series Phineas and Ferb. Tisdale has also pursued a solo music career and released her debut album Headstrong on February 6, 2007.

Tisdale was born in Monmouth County, New Jersey on July 2, 1985, to Lisa (née Morris) and Mike Tisdale. She grew up there in Ocean Township. Her elder sister Jennifer Tisdale is also an actress. Her maternal grandfather is Arnold Morris, the developer of Ginsu Knives; and through her grandfather, she is also related to businessman Ron Popeil. Tisdale is Jewish. She was discovered by Bill Perlman, her current manager, at South Shores Mall, when she was three. At the age of eight, she got a leading role in the Broadway musical, Les Misérables and later toured internationally with the cast of Annie. She began acting, appearing in stage productions of Gypsy: A Musical Fable and The Sound of Music at the Jewish Community Center of Monmouth County.

During the late 1990s, Tisdale had guest appearances in several television series, which included Smart Guy, 7th Heaven, Grounded for Life, Boston Public, Strong Medicine, Charmed, and Beverly Hills, 90210. She had a minor role in the 2001 film Donnie Darko and a guest appearance on The Amanda Show. She had recurring roles on the sitcoms The Hughleys, and Still Standing.