Ashley Michelle Tisdale (born July 2, 1985) is an American actress, singer-songwriter and television producer. Tisdale's first major role as an actress was as Maddie Fitzpatrick in Disney's The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. She went on to star in the High School Musical film series as the female antagonist Sharpay Evans. She made music history by becoming the first female artist to debut with two songs simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100 with "What I've Been Looking For" and "Bop to the Top".

After her first High School Musical appearance, she pursued a solo music career and on February 6, 2007, she released her debut album Headstrong. The album debuted at number five on the U.S. charts, selling over 64,000 copies in the first week, and was later certified Gold. Tisdale has a supporting role as Candace Flynn in Disney Channel's Phineas and Ferb. Tisdale's second studio album, Guilty Pleasure was first released on June 16, 2009 and in North America on July 28, 2009. Tisdale starred in the 2009 feature film, Aliens in the Attic as Bethany Person.

Early life and career beginnings

Tisdale was born in West Deal, Monmouth County, New Jersey on July 2, 1985, to Lisa (née Morris) and Mike Tisdale, who run a construction company. She grew up in Ocean Township. While her elder sister, Jennifer Tisdale, is also an actress and model, her maternal grandfather, Arnold Morris, developed the Ginsu Knives; through her grandfather, she is also related to businessman Ron Popeil. Tisdale is Jewish.

At the age of three, Tisdale was discovered by Bill Perlman, her current manager, at a New Jersey mall. He sent Tisdale on auditions for commercials and on her first audition, Tisdale landed a JC Penney spot and went on to appear in more than 100 commercials as a kid. At the age of eight, she was cast in a leading role in the Broadway musical, Les Misérables, and later toured internationally with the cast of Annie. She began her theatrical career by appearing in Gypsy: A Musical Fable and The Sound of Music at the Jewish Community Center of Monmouth County. At the age of twelve, Tisdale sang for Bill Clinton in the White House.

Tisdale was a Ford Model. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, Tisdale made minor appearances on several television series such as George Lopez, Smart Guy, 7th Heaven, Strong Medicine and Bette, where she co-starred with Brenda Song for the first time. For her role in Boston Public she received a 2000 Young Artist Award nomination for "best guest performance in a TV drama". Tisdale had a voice role in the 1998 animated movie A Bug's Life, and a minor role in the 2001 film Donnie Darko. She had recurring roles on The Hughleys in 2002 and Still Standing in 2003.

Career

2004-2006: Fame rise and career development

In 2004, Tisdale was cast the role of Maddie Fitzpatrick on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody after auditioning for the roles of Maddie and London Tipton. She also appeared in Whisper of the Heart, the English-language version of the Japanese animated feature, Mimi wo Sumaseba. Tisdale was soon cast as Sharpay Evans in Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical. Tisdale's role required her to perform several songs on the soundtrack. All the songs charted on the Billboard Hot 100. Tisdale made music history by becoming the first female artist ever to debut with two songs simultaneously on the "Hot 100" with "What I've Been Looking For" and "Bop to the Top".The soundtrack became the top-selling album of 2006. Tisdale also appeared in the Disney Channel Games 2006.

In 2006, Tisdale signed a record deal with Warner Bros. Records. She also covered Wham!'s "Last Christmas", which was the first single released in her Warner Bros deal. She also covered "Some Day My Prince Will Come" with Drew Seeley for DisneyMania 4 and covered "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" with other members of the Disney Channel Circle of Stars. She was featured on the music video which was later included on Cinderella: Platinum Edition DVD. Tisdale also recorded a cover version of the song "Kiss the Girl" and shot a music video, which premiered on Disney Channel and was later included on The Little Mermaid: Platinum Edition DVD. In December 2006, prior to the release of her debut album, she released a three-song EP, He Said She Said EP to promote the album. Tisdale also launched a tour with the cast of High School Musical, performing songs from the soundtrack and songs from her debut album. In 2007, a DVD and a live album called High School Musical: The Concert was released featuring Tisdale's songs.

2007-2008: Headstrong and acting roles

In February 2007, Tisdale released her first solo album, Headstrong which was distributed by Warner Bros Records. The album debuted at number five on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 64,000 copies. Tisdale described Headstrong as a chance for her fans to get to know her better. "I want people to know that I’m a real person, and that I’ve been through normal situations, like crushes and heartbreaks", said Tisdale. "Be Good to Me" was released as the first single from the album in fall 2006 and "He Said She Said" was released as the second. In 2008, a third single, "Not Like That" was released in European countries and Brazil, while a fourth single, "Suddenly" had a limited release in Germany and Brazil.

She reprised her role as Sharpay Evans in High School Musical 2. She also appeared in the soundtrack. Tisdale has a voice role in Disney Channel's Phineas and Ferb as Candace Flynn. She also voiced Camille Leon in Kim Possible. Tisdale received her first award at Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards UK as "Best TV Actress" for her performance in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. In 2007, Tisdale released a music DVD, There's Something About Ashley, with a three-song trilogy comprising music videos and a documentary about the creation of Headstrong. The album was re-released again in a limited Deluxe Edition format in Germany. The album was certified Gold in the U.S. for reaching 500,000 copies shipped, and Billboard readers chose it as the sixth best album of the year.

In 2008, Tisdale starred in the ABC Family Original Movie, Picture This with Kevin Pollak. She portrayed Mandy Gilbert and the movie was released on DVD. In addition, Tisdale was credited as one of the executive producers of the movie. Tisdale reprised her role as Sharpay Evans in High School Musical 3: Senior Year and also sang songs on the the soundtrack. Tisdale sang the lead vocals in the song "I Want It All", which received praises from Billboard.

2009-present: Guilty Pleasure and other projects

Tisdale began working on her second solo album entitled Guilty Pleasure in early 2008. In a April 2008 interview, she stated she has recorded several songs for the album. Tisdale also stated her album would include "more rock and edgier" music. The album's lead single, "It's Alright, It's OK", was released on April 14, 2009 in the United States in airplay and digital formats. Guilty Pleasure was released on June 11, 2009 and had a North American release on July 28, 2009. Tisdale is featured in Boys Like Girls's "Love Drunk" music video.

Tisdale starred in the 20th Century Fox's film, Aliens in the Attic with Robert Hoffman and Carter Jenkins, as Bethany Pearson. In 2009, she guest starred as Maddie Fitzpatrick on The Suite Life on Deck. Tisdale is also a producer, she has a production company named Blondie Girl Productions and as of June 2009, is working in two projects. Tisdale also signed a deal with FremantleMedia to produce a reality show. She also left Gersh Agency and joined Creative Artists Agency. Tisdale has collaborated with Jessica Horowitz to create an animated series, After Midnight which is currently being shopped around for distribution.

Music influences

Tisdale's music is predominantly considered pop, and has included ballads and contemporary R&B. For her sophomore album, Tisdale decided to move to a pop rock style. Love and heartbreak are the major themes in Tisdale's songs. Her output makes use of electronic instruments such as drum machines, guitars and pianos. Tisdale has cowritten four songs on her debut album, which include "Not Like That" and "Suddenly". She has also cowritten several tracks on Guilty Pleasure.

Her musical influences include Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Michael Jackson and many '80 songs. In a AOL interview, Tisdale said, "I’ve been a big fan of Pink ever since she started. I love Katy Perry’s sense of humor and her pop/rock feel. I love Pat Benatar's music. I’m inspired by all these women when I’m going into the studio, but almost anything inspires me."

Products and endorsement

In October 2007, Tisdale signed a promotional deal for the Eckō Red clothing brand in which she toured malls across the U.S. Tisdale functioned as spokesperson and performed in conjunction with fashion shows hosted at each mall. In 2008, Tisdale teamed up with Huckleberry Toys to produce a limited edition of dolls modelled after herself. The dolls were manufactured by Huckleberry Toys and featured outfits from her music videos. She also appeared in commercials for Toys "R" Us, T-Mobile, and appeared in one promotional campaign for Staples, Inc.'s "Geared 4 School" sweepstakes. She was the face of Degree Girl in the United States and recorded multiple commercials to promote the product. She covered several popular '80s songs to promote the product. In 2009, Tisdale signed a five-year contract with Italian clothes line, Puerco Espin to be their new face.

Public image and personal life

Tisdale underwent a septoplasty procedure on November 30, 2007 to correct her partially deviated septum. According to Tisdale, this was done for health-related reasons and not out of a belief in plastic surgery;" The procedure also corrected two small fractures in her nose which were interfering with her breathing. She spoke to People magazine about the surgery, saying that it was important to her to be honest with her fans.

In January 2007, Blender magazine said, "Tisdale has a gift. Not an angelic voice or a dazzling personality, but an even rarer commodity: millions of "pre-sold" tweens eager to buy her debut album!". Tisdale was romantically involved with Jared Murillo until March 2009. In March 2007, Tisdale told Blender she was drug and alcohol-free, and doesn't smoke and went on to add, "my mom really instilled confidence in me, so I'm not somebody who'd be under peer pressure". She was ranked #10 in Maxim's 2008 Hot 100 list. and was ranked at #94 on 2008 Forbes' Celebrity 100 list. She has appeared on the magazine cover of Seventeen, Cosmopolitan, Shape and other magazines during her career. Tisdale is cited several times in David Denby's book Snark. She was ranked #6 in "Forbes' Hollywood's 10 Top-Paid Tweens" list and earned $2.8 million for her performance in High School Musical 3. In 2008, Tisdale was ranked #17 in "Forbes' High Earners Under 30" list. Tisdale is a volunteer for "Get on the Bus" 2009 campaign promoted by the reality show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.