Girl Power

Nina Dobrev and Vanessa Hudgens have a few things in common: They’re both about to turn 30. They’re both Coachella goddesses who can ignite a trend with the tap of a ’gram. And they’ve both dismantled Disney-fied images. Good-bye, PG-rated teen idoldom; hello, complicated splendor of womanhood. First stop? Their new big-screen comedy, Dog Days.

- Molly Young

Back In The Day, Nina and Vanessa were best known for their career-launching projects (The Vampire Diaries and High School Musical, respectively) and paparazzi documented romances (with Ian Somerhalder and Zac Efron). It seemed they had it all: the hits, the hunks, the down to-there hair.

But now the hits have given way to new projects, the hunks are exes, and the actresses have cropped their locks and moved on to their next chapters. Vanessa took a turn toward more risqué material with 2012’s Spring Breakers, playing a party queen on a crime spree, and Nina is about to show off her comedy chops as a reformed bad girl in the new CBS sitcom Fam. Meanwhile, Hollywood has been going through its own revamp. With the industry’s focus shifting to female-led vehicles, the timing is perfect for two stars with famously tight sisterhood circles to step into the spotlight. And nobody is better at BFF-ing than they are.

The girl-power enthusiasm is immediately evident in their preferred conversation topics. Instead of going deep on their love lives, they’re eager to discuss the bonds they share with women. “My favorite day with my girlfriends is having everyone over to my house, lying by the pool, drinking rosé, listening to music, and dancing,” says Vanessa. (On her playlist lately: tons of Radiohead.) When traveling, she keeps in touch with her ladies through Instagram. “We’ll post comments and send little love notes to each other via DM.”