Ashley Michelle Tisdale (born July 2, 1985) is an American actress, singer-songwriter and television producer. Tisdale's first major role as an actress was as Maddie Fitzpatrick in Disney's The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. She went on to appear in the High School Musical film series as the female antagonist Sharpay Evans. She made music history by becoming the first female artist to debut with two songs simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100 with "What I've Been Looking For" and "Bop to the Top".

After her first High School Musical appearance, she pursued a solo music career and on February 6, 2007, she released her debut album Headstrong. The album debuted at number five on the U.S. charts, selling over 64,000 copies in the first week, and was later certified Gold. Tisdale has a supporting role as Candace Flynn in Disney Channel's Phineas and Ferb. Tisdale's second studio album, Guilty Pleasure was first released on June 16, 2009 and in North America on July 28, 2009. Tisdale appeared in the 2009 feature film, Aliens in the Attic as Bethany Person.

Tisdale was born in West Deal, Monmouth County, New Jersey on July 2, 1985, to Lisa (née Morris) and Mike Tisdale, who run a construction company. She grew up in Ocean Township. While her elder sister, Jennifer Tisdale, is also an actress and model, her maternal grandfather, Arnold Morris, developed the Ginsu Knives; through her grandfather, she is also related to businessman Ron Popeil. Tisdale is Jewish.