Zac Efron Through the Years: Photos

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Zac Efron Through The Years

From dreamy teen heartthrob to leading man! Zac Efron has done everything from musicals to comedy to crime thrillers during his career, and his love life has been just as interesting as his work.

The actor first won over audiences as Troy Bolton in Disney Channel’s High School Musical, which premiered in 2006. Efron became a household name overnight and reprised his role in 2007’s High School Musical 2 and 2008’s High School Musical 3: Senior Year.

The up-and-comer’s onscreen romance with Vanessa Hudgens’ Gabriella Montez translated beyond the cameras when the pair began dating in real life. The costars were together for three years, but the relationship ended in 2010.

Meanwhile, Efron attempted to shed his squeaky-clean image, venturing into raunchier roles. After expected turns in Hairspray and 17 Again, he tried his hand at humorous movies intended for older audiences, from Neighbors to Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates to Dirty Grandpa.

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As his career continued to evolve, Efron stuck with comedy (i.e. Baywatch) but also returned to musical films (ahem, The Greatest Showman) and turned serious (Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile).

In the meantime, the Beach Bum star made time for love. He had fast flings with Michelle Rodriguez and Lily Collins before dating Sami Miro for nearly two years. Efron was also linked to Olympian Sarah Bro in 2019.

“Dating is something I’ll never be able to do,” he told The U.K.’s The Times in 2016. “As in the dictionary definition of dating, because one way or another I’ve impacted that person’s life and they’ll soon realize it. … A date has to be very long to dispel whatever people think of me.”

His love life aside, Efron proved his passion for his craft. “We have the ability to change the world with cinema. I love acting, I study it every night — Enter the Dragon, Se7en. It’s been a struggle,” he said at the time. “From day one, I wanted to do authentic work. It wasn’t about money. It wasn’t about fame. It wasn’t about Instagram.”

Scroll to revisit his years in the spotlight!

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2004

“I was never the cool kid. I was always sort of a bookworm,” Efron once said.

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2004

The sweet-faced star attended the Thunderbirds premiere — starring future girlfriend and High School Musical costar Vanessa Hudgens — with Shelley Bruckner.

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2004

“I’ve been doing musical theater since I was a kid,” the Hairspray star has admitted.

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2005

“I didn’t even sing on the first album. It wasn’t my voice in the movie, even though I wanted to do it,” Efron has said of High School Musical.

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2005

Efron posed with American Idol judge Paula Abdul. “I tend to agree with Simon [Cowell] most of the time. But my favorite judge, just because I know her, is Paula — she’s a real sweetheart,” he has said.

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2007

Efron and 90210‘s Lori Loughlin costarred in the short-lived series Summerland.

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2007

“I love him with every inch of my body and soul. He has been an amazing support system,” Nikki Blonsky once raved of her Hairspray costar.

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2008

Lindsay Lohan and Efron posed backstage at the 2008 MTV Movie Awards.

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2008

“I’ve never been attracted to Zac, and he’s never been attracted to me, which is even more amazing! Ha!” High School Musical costar Ashley Tisdale has joked.

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2008

Efron and Hudgens cuddled up at the High School Musical 3 premiere in the U.K.

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2008

The High School Musical star and then-girlfriend Hudgens hit the Teen Choice Awards in L.A. “It’s fun to work with him. He’s really sweet, and singing all of the songs is always a blast,” she once raved of her beau.

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2009

Efron signed autographs for fans at the Me and Orson Welles premiere in London. “It’s the first time I’ve ever watched a movie [that I’m in] and in the end I’m like, ‘OK! I didn’t check my watch once!'” he once said.

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2009

After the High School Musical sweethearts walked the Oscars red carpet, they performed during the opening medley with Hugh Jackman.

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2010

Efron bulked up to play U.S. Marine Sergeant Logan Thibault in The Lucky One. “I was just eating, eating, eating,” he explained of his beef-up.

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2010

Us Weekly confirmed in December 2010 that Efron and Hudgens split after more than three years together. A source revealed at the time that the relationship “ran its course,” noting, “They just grew up.”

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2011

Efron went for a wild ride with Michelle Pfeiffer while filming scenes for New Year’s Eve in NYC.

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2014

The former Disney Channel star took his career in an edgier direction, starring in the R-rated comedy That Awkward Moment alongside Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan.

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2014

In keeping with his foray into comedy, Efron took the leading role in Neighbors with Seth Rogen. The film’s success spawned a sequel in 2016.

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2016

The Paperboy star and costar Adam Devine brought the funny in Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates.

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2017

Efron got in tip-top shape to play Matt Brody in the film adaptation of Baywatch alongside Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

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2017

The 17 Again actor went back to his musical roots in 2017, singing with the likes of Zendaya and Hugh Jackman in The Greatest Showman.

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2019

The Charlie St. Cloud star took a walk on the dark side, portraying serial killer Ted Bundy in Netflix’s Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile.

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2019

While filming the Quibi series Killing Zac Efron in Papua New Guinea, the actor was hospitalized in December 2019 after experiencing a life-threatening bacterial infection. “Very thankful to everyone who has reached out. I did get sick in Papua New Guinea but I bounced back quick and finished an amazing 3 weeks in P.N.G.,” he wrote via Instagram at the time. “I’m home for the holidays with my friends and family. Thanks for all the love and concern, see you in 2020!”

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2020

In April 2020, Efron said that he was done undergoing intense fitness transformations as he did for Baywatch. “That was actually a really important time to do Baywatch because I realized that when I was done with that movie, I don’t ever want to be in that good of shape again. Really. It was so hard,” he confessed during an April 2020 appearance on Hot Ones. “You’re working with almost no wiggle room, right? You’ve got things like water under your skin that you’re worrying about, making your six-pack into a four-pack. S–t like that it’s just not … it’s just stupid.”

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2022

More than one year after photos of him looking noticeably different went viral, Efron refuted rumors that he had gotten plastic surgery done, telling Men’s Health that he shattered his jaw several years ago after slipping in his house and hitting his chin on a granite fountain. “The masseters just grew,” he explained, referring to the facial** muscles used for chewing. “They just got really, really big.”

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2022

“Happy bday lil sis 👸,” the actor captioned several adorable Instagram photos of himself and his baby sister in December 2022.