Former real life classmates of High School Musical’s Ashley Tisdale have expressed their surprise at Ashley’s Hollywood blonde hair.

An old school mate of Ashley’s told Star magazine: “Ashley’s real hair is naturally curly and a striking, auburn shade of red.”

“And I remember one day when she said if she ever made it big in Hollywood, ‘I would never dye my hair blonde like all those other girls do. I would never change for anyone!’ I guess at some point it came down to being told she had to do it.”

“I thought her real hair was gorgeous, but she’s still a beautiful girl. And I guess you can’t argue with the fact that she’s had amazing success in such a short time - no matter what it took, where her hair is concerned.”

The friend added that Ashley was nothing like her High School Musical character: “It’s funny to see her playing a character like Sharpay, because in reality, Ashley was not a drama queen at all. She was fun and outgoing, normal in every way. She was an accomplished English student and also loved photography class - though she wasn’t very good at athletics.”

“She didn’t really have a boyfriend in school - she was more focused on going to casting calls and advancing her acting career.”