Table of Biography
Olesya Rulin is a talented Russian-American actress and ballet dancer. Olesya Rulin is recognized for co-starring in all three films of the “High School Musical” franchise where she is seen playing the of Kelsi Nielsen.
Early Life
Olesya Rulin was born on March 17, 1986, in Moscow, Russia. Currently, she is 37 years old and has a birth sign of Pisces. She holds a dual nationality of Russian and American. In addition, she practices the Christian religion and belongs to the Russian ethnicity. Her full name is Olesya Yurivna Rulina.
Her parent’s names are Yuriy Rulinskaya and Natalia Rulinskaya. She was raised with her brother Danilil Rulin. She spent her childhood life in Likhoslavi. Later, her family moved to the United States when she was just eight years old.
Her family lived in Texas and later in Utah at the beginning. When she was 12, she trained ballet dancer and entered a model-search contest at the urging of her mother and won representation by four different agencies. Additionally, she also can play the piano.
Caption: Olesya Rulin with her mother (Source: Reddit)
Education
She went to West Jordan Middle School and graduated in 2005. Later, she enrolled at Westminster College.
Professional Career
Before starting her acting journey, Olesya Rulin worked for a year as a certified nursing assistant and also at stores such as Victoria’s Secret. She made her acting debut appearing in guest roles on made-for-television Disney Channel Original Movies like “Hounded” and “The Poof Point” in the year 2001.
Additionally, she continued appearing on television doing minor roles in several TV series such as the CBS supernatural drama series “Touched by an Angel” in 2002 and The WB drama series “Everwood” in 2004.
She made her big screen debut in the supernatural horror film “Urban Legends: Bloody Mary” playing the minor role of Mindy. That same year, she was cast in another movie named “Mobsters and Mormons” where she played the role of Julie Jaymes.
Breakthrough role
She gained her breakthrough role as Kelsi Nielsen in 2006, after being cast in another Disney Channel Original Movie “High School Musical.” Despite the popularity of ‘High School Musical,’ she obtained a job at Nordstrom in 2006, where fans of the film would frequently identify her. She later relocated to Paris to study economics but encountered serious financial difficulty and had to “steal” an internet connection.
Caption: The poster of the 2006 film, High School Musical (Source: Amazon.com)
Meanwhile, she was recast for the same role in the sequel “High School Musical 2” in 2007. Rulin’s role in ‘High School Musical 2’ was substantially larger than that in the original film, with a solo in “You Are the Music in Me” and a few lines in “Work This Out.” She again reprised her role as Kelsi Nielsen in its third sequel “High School Musical 3: Senior Year,” also with a larger part. Further, she sang three songs, including a duet with Lucas Grabeel.
Recent acting projects
She appeared alongside Jessica Simpson in the film Major Movie Star (released in the United States as Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous). Moreover, she co-starred alongside Billy Ray Cyrus and Heather Locklear in the 2009 drama movie “Flying By.”
She featured in the 2010 film “Expecting Mary,” alongside Elliott Gould, Linda Gray, Lainie Kazan, Cloris Leachman, Della Reese, Cybill Shepherd, Gene Simmons, and Fred Willard. Along with Kristin Chenoweth and Matthew Modine, she starred in the 2013 comedy film “Family Weekend.”
Moreover, she played the role of Callista Secor in the PlayStation Network series “Powers” and the series ran for two seasons from 2015-16. She played the recurring role of Zasha Gagrin in the TV series “NCIS: Los Angeles” appearing total of 5 episodes from 2020-2022.
Apart from her acting profession, she is also involved with many charitable initiatives. She cleaned up multiple beaches for charity, spent her leisure time caring for stray dogs, and gave many of her clothing items to charity.
Net Worth 2024
According to various online websites, her net worth is around $1 million. Her salary and income are unknown at the moment. She has been able to earn a decent sum of money through her acting roles in movies and TV series.
Relationship Status
On the 11th of November 2021, Olesya Rulin married her husband, Joseph Pauline, an entrepreneur. Meanwhile, the couple announced that they had welcomed their first child, a daughter in August 2022.
Caption: Olesya Rulin with her daughter (Source: Instagram)
Till now, this beautiful actress has not been a part of controversy and scandal. Similarly, she has maintained a low profile and has a balance between her professional and personal life.
Body Measurements
Caption: Olesya Rulin posing for a photo (Source: CelebMafia)
Rulin stands 4 feet 11 inches tall (1.52 m) and weighs around 55 kg (121 lbs). In addition, she has a pair of blue eyes with blonde hair colour and her body measurement is 34-26-34 inches.
Social Media
On her Instagram page ‘@olesyarulin’ there are over 224k followers. Likewise, there are over 26.5k followers on her Twitter page ‘@olesyarulin’ and she is also active on Facebook.