Vanessa Hudgens Opens Up About Losing Her Father To Cancer: ‘Death Happens’

Vanessa Hudgens lost her father Greg Hudgens almost three months ago, and the actress has opened up about how she dealt with her father's death, which happened hours before she was set to perform as Rizzo in FOX's "Grease Live!" musical special.

Greg died at the age of 65 on Jan. 30 after battling stage four cancer. Hudgens first announced her father's diagnosis in August 2015 while accepting an award for Breakthrough Performer at the 2015 Industry Dance Awards.

"My dad has just been recently diagnosed with stage four cancer," Hudgens said at the event. "Let me tell you, I hate cancer. I hate cancer with every cell of my being."

A photo posted by Vanessa Hudgens (@vanessahudgens) on Jul 27, 2015 at 10:06am PDT

After Greg passed away, Hudgens took to her Twitter account to announce the sad news.

"I am so sad to say that last night my daddy, Greg passed away from stage 4 cancer," Hudgens, 27, tweeted. "Thank you to everyone who kept him in your prayers."

"Tonight, I do the show in his honor," she added.

Even though it has been months since his passing, Hudgens admitted that she was still struggling to adjust to life without her father.

"There are highs and there are lows. It sucks, but death happens," the 26-year-old said. "It never makes it easier but it happens to all of us. It's just something we have to get through until we all meet again in heaven."

The singer and actress said that her mother Gina was the person who made the sad situation easier for her.

"She's so strong through the hardest of times," Hudgens said of her mother. "But she has this lightheartedness and this light that just beams out of her very being and it's so special. Life is about perspective. The way you choose to see your life is the way your life is going to become."

"My mom looks out through such beautiful eyes," she continued. "I've learned to follow her lead."

The actress ended up giving one of the best performances of her career during "Grease Live!," especially for her rendition of the emotional Rizzo ballad "There Are Worse Things I Could Do," which earned a lot of praise from her peers, including Demi Lovato and Lin-Manuel Miranda.