It’s a double “High School Musical” pregnancy! After Vannessa Hudgens, who played Gabriella Montez in the original show, announced she was pregnant at the Oscars, now it’s Ashley Tisdale’s (aka Sharpey Evans) turn.
The Jewish actress and singer announced that she is expecting as many celebrities do: by sharing a nicely produced pregnancy shoot of her and her growing bump. The pictures include some shots with her husband, composer Christopher French, and with her daughter Jupiter Iris, who just turned 3. All three are wearing a matching outfit of jeans and a white shirt. Very classic (and Shabbat ready!).
She also announced the pregnancy in her blog, sharing that after a tough pregnancy and fourth trimester with Jupiter, she was hesitant to get pregnant again, but ultimately decided to leave it “up to the universe… and it wasn’t long until the universe answered.” She added that she is generally having a much better experience this second time around since she was pregnant with Jupiter in 2020 during the height of the pandemic.
Tisdale, who is also the owner of the lifestyle brand Frenshe, made her acting debut at her local JCC in a production of “The Sound of Music.” She grew up celebrating Jewish holidays with her mother’s family when she could (her mother, Lisa, says she was too busy as a working actress to have a bat mitzvah).
She recently shared a sweet ode to her Jewish mom on Instagram. “Happy birthday mommy! Thanks for being the best mom and for always supporting me in everything I do, you have taught me to be resilient and to also have Grace. Also your the best grandma to Juju, we love you so so much.”
Lisa’s Jewish family lived in New Jersey’s Asbury Park for decades. Last year, Ashley and her sister, actress and real estate entrepreneur Jennifer Tisdale, shot an ad for Ancestry together, in which they explored, among other things, the history of the Jewish side of their family.
They discovered that a great-great-uncle of theirs, Morris Lieber, owned a theater in Asbury Park, making their family’s roots in show business generations old. They got to see one of their great-grandfather Nathan Morris’ many inventions — Judy Jewellette, a bedazzler sold in the 1950s. And Ashley reminisced about how her Jewish grandfather, Arnold Morris, known as Arnold “the knife” for showcasing his cutting skills in infomercials for the products he sold, like the Ginzu knife, helped her get over her shyness by taking her to help him sell his wares at the local mall.
They also discovered that their great-great-grandmother, Brina Gitil, who later went by Bertha, came to America from Eastern Europe with only her 6-month-old daughter on the SS Germanic. She was traveling to meet with her great-great-grandfather, Moshe Kiderskey, who later went by Kidders Morris.
Ashley, whose daughter was still a toddler then, said she couldn’t imagine taking that journey with her opinionated young child.
We’re so thrilled their family tree keeps on growing!
