Ashley Tisdale shared one of her funniest parenting moments with her 3-year-old daughter, Jupiter, on an episode of the Breaking Beauty podcast recently. The actress, most recognizable for her role as Sharpay Evans in the High School Musical franchise, shared that her daughter hilariously confused Zac Efron for her dad after seeing the classic Disney movie.
“She thought Zac Efron was her dad,” Ashley said, laughing as she recounted the story. “I was like, ‘No, that’s not Daddy!’ But she kept saying, ‘Daddy,’ and I had to explain, ‘No, just because he has dark hair doesn’t mean he’s Daddy.’”
Jupiter was introduced to High School Musical around a year ago after Ashley’s husband, Christopher French, and decided to put it on for her. Ashley clowned like she wasn’t prepared for the spur-of-the-moment screening. “I was like, ‘What are you doing?’” she shared, recalling the moment her husband played the film for their daughter.
Ashley starred with Zac Efron, who played Troy Bolton, in the High School Musical series, which premiered in 2006. The franchise turned into a cultural phenomenon, and even the filmmaker who guided the movies, Kenny Ortega, paid tribute to its legacy in a recent Instagram post. “Nineteen years ago today, the world changed for me and for all of us,” Ortega wrote, alongside a nostalgic photo of the film’s poster. “A little movie with a big heart brought us together to inspire the world.”
While Jupiter has also watched some of Ashley’s other work, including her role in Phineas and Ferb, Ashley noted that her daughter doesn’t yet fully understand what her mom does for a living. “She’s starting to ask questions, though,” Ashley said. “We were at a Taylor Swift concert in Miami, and she was like, ‘Mommy, why are people taking pictures with you?’ And I truly didn’t know how to answer, so I just said, ‘I don’t know.’”
Her husband found the response amusing. “He was like, ‘That’s what you said?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, how do you even explain that to a three-year-old?’” Ashley admitted. “I think she just assumes that taking pictures with people is something you do in life.”
For now, Ashley is embracing the fun and innocent moments that come with parenting a young child. “I don’t think I’m ready to have the conversation about being an actress yet. It’s just weird,” she said with a laugh.
Despite Jupiter’s amusing mix-up, it’s clear that Ashley is enjoying the joys and surprises of motherhood—especially when it involves revisiting her past as part of Disney history.
Peace Nero is a writer and blogger who loves to explore different topics of self-development. She shares her personal experiences in order to help people discover their true purpose in life.