California-born Zac Efron first caught the acting bug at the age of 11 when he appeared in a production of "Gypsy", which he starred in for nearly a hundred performances. This led in to more stage roles in "Peter Pan", "Mame", "Little Shop of Horrors", and "The Music Man, before" Zac landed guest parts on television shows like "ER", "Firefly" and "The Guardian".

When he made guest appearances in several episodes of now-canceled show "Summerland", he proved so popular that he was made a regular cast member, and took on the role of girl-crazy Cameron Bale, the love interest of Nikki Westerly. This was Zac's breakthrough role and is probably the part he is best known for.

"Summerland" proved a springboard to other TV and movie roles, like roles in many pilot shows like "The Big, Wide World of Carl Laemke" and "Triple Play", plus the small screen movie "Miracle Run", in which he starred as an autistic child, alongside Mary-Louise Parker and Aidan Quinn. For his role, he was nominated for a Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Movie, Mini-series or Special - Supporting Young Actor. He has also made guest appearances in "CSI: Miami", "NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service" and "The Suite Life of Zack and Trevor".

He also has the beginnings of a music career. He kick-started it with a bang in 2006 when he became the first artist to debut on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with two songs in the same week. The two tracks,  "Get'cha head In the Game" and "Breaking Free" (on which he collaborated with Vanessa Anne Hudgens, were both from the Disney Channel movie "High School Musical", in which he starred. "Breaking Free" also holds another record, being the fastest climbing record in the history of the chart, after jumping from number 84 to number 4 in one week. A soundtrack to the movie "High School Musical" was also released. It boosted Zac's profile as both an actor and singer, despite claims that his vocals were 'enhanced' on the records by Andrew Seeley. A sequel to the movie is in the works.

In his spare time, active Efron likes to play sports like gold, skiing, rock climbing and snowboarding, as well as surfing which he got into after spending days at the beach filming "Summerland". He also enjoys playing the piano, learning the guitar, and working on two cars (a Delorean and '65 Mustang convertible) which his grandfather gave him.

Zac's family includes his parents, his younger brother Dylan, and three pets – two Australian Shepherds and a Siamese cat.