While spending some time working on my family history today, I ran across yet another interesting family connection to another well-known American celebrity: Zac Efron. It turns out that my paternal 1st cousin (10x removed), Sarah Hosford, is the 9th Great-Grandmother of talented actor/singer/dancer Zac Efron. 

 

Zac was born in San Luis Obispo, California on October 18, 1987. His mother, Starla, is my paternal 11th cousin. Zac began his Hollywood career in the early 2000's with roles in several television programs. His breakthrough came when he landed the lead role in "Highschool Musical" in 2006, playing male lead Troy Bolton. The movie was a hit and Zac gained recognition with the teenage crowd to which the film was aimed.

 

Zac has appeared in a number of films, including Highschool Musical 2 and Highschool Musical 3: Senior Year as well as Hairspray, 17 Again, and a revival of Baywatch among many other TV and film productions. Zac's film and TV accomplishments can be found on imdb.com (internet movie database).

 

Although Zac got his big breakthrough in Highschool Musical, a fun dance & song movie aimed primarily at the teen set, he has since shown his breadth of acting ability by appearing in comedies and in dramas. Zac first caught my attention when I watched the movie "The Lucky One" which was a drama/romance movie about a marine returning from duty in Iraq. Zac's acting in this movie was, in this writer's humble opinion, very good and also convincing. It was only after watching this movie that I recognized Zac from Hairspray and was impressed that he had a wide range of acting talent.

 

Zac also started up his own production company called "Ninjas Runnin' Wild Productions" which is based in Los Angeles, California. 

 

From what I have been able to glean from some of the research I have done on this distant cousin, Zac also has an interest in classic cars, owning both a Delorean and a vintage 1965 Mustang convertible that apparently once belonged to his grandfather. It's nice to see that a love for classic cars and family history seems to permeate our shared DNA :)

 

Although I have never met Zac, nor his mother Starla, or brother Dylan, (who are also my cousins), and most likely never will, he is another fascinating addition to my ever-growing intriguing family history.

 

For a more in-depth biography of this interesting, distant relative, go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1374980/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm