Like, what do you mean Ms. Gabriella MONTEZ isn’t Latina?????

I'm a Costa Rican-American writer covering all the impolite dinner party topics — religion, politics, witches, identity, Da Pope, and the internet.

Hudgens is Filipina! But, apparently, I'm not the only one who assumed she was Latina because of her High School Musical character's name. She's addressed this common misconception in the years since, saying, "My character is Gabriella Montez, so everyone automatically assumed that I was Latina, and most people still do. And when I tell them I'm Filipino, they're like, 'What?!'"

Note: Responses have been edited for length/clarity.

Sidenote — Jones has talked about playing Latina characters, saying, "I played the lead in Zorro, and I screen-tested with six Hispanic women, and I got the role. I don't know what to say. And I was a complete unknown at this point; it wasn't because I had a name or box-office value... I can't be the person to fight against a very big issue, and I won't take on that role. There have been so many actors who have played 'against type.' That's sort of what we do." She also remarked that she is Welsh, but "doesn't happen to look like what you think someone from Wales would look like." Some of the Hispanic roles the white actor has played include infamous Colombian drug lord Griselda Blanco in Cocaine Godmother, Elena Montero in The Mask of Zorro, and Helena Ayala in Traffic. 

"When she started to get some buzz back in the early '10s, I totally assumed she was Latina because of the name."

(NOTE: Bezos gets his last name from his stepfather, who is Cuban.)