‘Masked Singer’ Season 11 Winner Unmasked, and She’s a Beloved Actress

The Masked Singer has unmasked another famous face as the winner of Season 11! Vanessa Hudgens was revealed to be the celebrity hiding under the Goldfish mask during Wednesday’s season finale of the FOX singing competition, having beat out her other competitors with a stunning finale performance of Elton John’s “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.”

Coming in second place was Ginny & Georgia star Scott Porter, who competed as Gumball and performed “Renegade” by Styx during the finale. Following Hudgens’ victory, the pregnant High School Musical actress told Entertainment Tonight she loved the freedom performing as Goldfish provided her.

“It was definitely quite the ride,” said Hudgens, who is expecting her first baby with husband Cole Tucker. “A ride I did not think would affect me so deeply.” The 35-year-old former Disney star continued, “I’ve been in the spotlight for many, many moons now, and there’s just a preconceived idea, I think, when you see yourself on stage, that you’re familiar with, and being able to take that away and be completely stripped of that and show up as myself and feel completely free to do so, because I was completely covered up, really just gave me this sense of freedom that I hadn’t had in a minute. And it was really empowering.”

Hudgens told the outlet that the opportunity to compete on The Masked Singer came “at the perfect time” for her career. “We were on a strike and I was trying to figure out my next move, and this is the space that I actually could work in,” she explained. “And my fans have been asking for me to sing more. I was like, ‘Well, this is the way to give it to them and see who the real fans are!’ And they definitely showed up.”

Hudgens definitely impressed the panel of celebrity judges on The Masked Singer, which includes Robin Thicke, Jenny McCarthy, Ken Jeong and Rita Ora. The Spring Breakers star, who debuted her baby bump on the 2024 Oscars red carpet in March, said she is looking forward to what awaits her moving forward. “I’m just so stoked and feel so grateful,” Hudgens gushed. “I feel like the more you can acknowledge the magic that is around you, the more it continues to present itself, and that’s kind of been the train that I’ve been on for a good few years now and it never fails.”