High School movie sweetheart Vanessa Hudgens showed her vampy side in a series of nude cell-phone photos but curiously provoked a rather tepid “there she goes again” response from the public.
It seems like young Hollywood is itching to get naked as a bevy of young starlets near the point where they must transition to adult careers -- or face a long string of shopping mall appearances as they fade into oblivion.
Hudgens is only the latest teen star to turn up naked or partially clothed in photos, some planned others apparently leaked, raising the question: Which young teen starlet will be the first to do full-frontal nudity in a movie or magazine spread?
Judging by the seemingly steady flow of racy photos it could be any number of teenaged stars, from Miley Cyrus, to Emma Watson, Kristen Stewart, Demi Lovato and even possibly ultra-squeaky clean Selena Gomez. 
The issue is no trifling matter. Sooner or later childhood stars must make the transition to adult roles. To do that they must establish their credibility as mature actresses. And the bridge between the two is often vampiness and nudity.
Two good examples of the phenomenon are Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears. Both were Disney child stars who made the leap to successful adult careers by vamping up their acts.
Aguilera named her sophomore album Stripped and debuted X-Tina, a vampy sexually charged image. She followed up with a series of photoshoots that featured her nude or semi-nude. In her first cover for Rolling Stone, she wore only boots and a strategically placed guitar.
Likewise, Spears caused a sensation when she shed her good girl image and appeared nude on the cover of the seminal rock magazine. Spears is still vamping up her act, although Aguilera has transitioned to a more glamorous image and toned down the blatant sexuality. 
Other celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton pioneered another path to stardom -- the sex tape -- conveniently leaked, of course, to raise their profiles, and jump-start their careers.
Not playing the sex card an be deadly to transitioning careers. Disney teen star Hillary Duff was every bit as big as Britney but stuck to her squeaky clean image a little too long.
Her adult career fizzled and she is just now trying to rebuild it through a series of sexy photo shoots.
And, who remembers squeaky clean '80s teen stars like Deborah Gibson, Tiffany and Brandy?
Harry Potter star Emma Watson, who turned 18 last year -- the leaping off point from child to adult careers -- said in a recent interview she would consider doing nude scenes in movies if the part called for it. 
Watson, incidentally, was photographed exposing her see-through underwear at her 18th birthday party and has been increasingly photographed in revealing clothes.
She had a major wardrobe malfunction at the latest Harry Potter movie premier and flashed her thigh and underwear. At least she was wearing them, she cheekily told David Letterman.
Miley Cyrus, of course, is already ahead of the game. Her provocative photos in Vanity Fair magazine touched off a frenzied reaction and a series of racy photos subsequently leaked onto the Internet.
Incidentally more and more mainstream magazines are featuring nude or partially nude photo spreads as circulation falls along with ad sales, in an attempt to grab reader interest.
Since then, Miley has also had a number of revealing wardrobe malfunctions in scanty or loose-fitting clothing. Yet, Miley’s career has flourished. She’s only 16, but is probably the first among her peers who can be considered a bankable star in a mature film.
As for Hudgens, she plans to keep to her schedule despite the release of the photos.
The pics were supposedly taken before her first nude photo scandal nearly two years ago, according to E! Online.
"She learned her lesson," a source told the web site. "She hasn't done anything like that since the first ones came out. These new ones are actually old."
Either way, Hudgens isn't planning on issuing a statement or another apology.
She’s scheduled to appear tonight for the red carpet premiere of her new movie, Bandslam? "She's not going to answer any questions about them there either," the source said. "She said what she had to say about taking nude photos."
Smart move. The photos, after all, speak for themselves. or, as Miley said when she was photographed with her breasts bulging out of her top while jogging, "It's no big whoop".
