Olesya Rulin
Olesya Rulin | |
---|---|
Born | Olesya Yurivna Rulina March 17, 1986 |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 2001–present |
Olesya Yurivna Rulin[1] (Russian: Oлeся Юрьевна Pулина; born March 17, 1986) is a Russian-American actress. She is known for co-starring in all of the three films of the High School Musical franchise as Kelsi Nielsen. She also starred in the films Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous (2008), Flying By (2009), Expecting Mary (2010), and Family Weekend (2013).
Early life
Olesya Rulin was born in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union. She spent her early childhood in Likhoslavl.[2][3]
When Rulin was eight,[4] she emigrated to the United States to rejoin her father who had done so two years earlier. They first lived in Texas, then later in Utah. Rulin went to West Jordan Middle School during her time in Utah.
Rulin is also a trained ballet dancer. When she was 12,[4] she entered a model search contest at the urging of her mother and won representation by four different agencies.[3] She can also play the piano.
Prior to acting full-time, she worked for a year as a certified nursing assistant and also at stores such as Victoria's Secret;[5] she was working at a Nordstrom store when the first High School Musical came out.[2] She was studying economics in Paris when the casting for High School Musical 2 was being done.[2] Rulin graduated from West Jordan High School in 2005.[citation needed]
Olesya is a pescatarian. She can read, write, and speak in fluent Russian. Olesya dedicated a lot of time to charity where she cleaned up several beaches, spent time with dogs that were without a home, and gave away some dresses for charity.
Acting career
In addition to her role in High School Musical, High School Musical 2, and High School Musical 3, her other credits include the Disney Channel Original Movies Halloweentown High, The Poof Point, and Hounded, the television series Everwood and the feature films Forever Strong, Mobsters and Mormons and The Dance.
Rulin's part in High School Musical 2 was significantly larger than the first movie, including a solo in "You Are The Music In Me" and a few lines in "Work This Out".[6] Rulin reprised her role as Kelsi Nielsen in High School Musical 3: Senior Year, also with a larger part, and performed in three songs, one of them being a duet alongside Lucas Grabeel.[7]
Rulin is also co-starred alongside Jessica Simpson in the film Major Movie Star (released in the United States under the title Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous).[8][9] In 2009, Rulin co-starred with Billy Ray Cyrus and Heather Locklear in a drama film Flying By.[10]
In 2010, Rulin starred in Expecting Mary which also starred Elliott Gould, Linda Gray, Lainie Kazan, Cloris Leachman, Della Reese, Cybil Shepard, Gene Simmons, and Fred Willard.
In 2013, she starred in Family Weekend with Kristin Chenoweth and Matthew Modine.
In August 2014, it was announced that Rulin would be playing the role of Callista Secor in the PlayStation Network series Powers.
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2005 | Urban Legends: Bloody Mary | Mindy | Direct-to-video |
2005 | Mobsters and Mormons | Julie Jaymes | |
2006 | Vampire Chicks with Chainsaws | Sariah | Direct-to-video |
2007 | American Pastime | Cathy Reyes | |
2007 | The Dance | Britney | |
2008 | Forever Strong | Emily's Friend | |
2008 | Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous | Petrovich | |
2008 | High School Musical 3: Senior Year | Kelsi Nielsen | |
2009 | Chuckle Boy | Assistant | Short film |
2009 | Flying By | Ellie | Direct-to-video |
2010 | Expecting Mary | Mary | |
2011 | Apart | Emily Gates | |
2011 | A Thousand Cuts | Melanie | |
2013 | Family Weekend | Emily Smith-Dungy |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2001 | Hounded | Girl #1 | Television film |
2001 | The Poof Point | Annie | Television film |
2002 | Touched by an Angel | High School Student | Episode: "Bring on the Rain" |
2004 | Halloweentown High | Natalie the Pink Troll | Television film |
2004 | Everwood | The Drunk Girl | Episode: "No Sure Thing" |
2006 | High School Musical | Kelsi Nielsen | Television film |
2007 | High School Musical 2 | Kelsi Nielsen | Television film |
2009–2011 | Greek | Abby | Recurring role, 10 episodes |
2010 | CSI: Miami | Andrea Williams | Episode: "Mommie Deadest" |
2010 | The Mentalist | Sam Starks | Episode: "The Red Ponies" |
2011 | Drop Dead Diva | Mia Dalton | Episode: "He Said, She Said" |
2012 | Touch | Girl in the Red Dress | Episode: "Safety in Numbers" |
2012 | Dirty Work | Bambi | Episode: "Temporary Midnight" |
2013 | Underemployed | Pixie Dexter | 2 episodes |
2014 | NCIS | Kim Troutman | Episode: "Page Not Found" |
2015–2016 | Powers | Calista Secor | Main role |
2015 | The Night Shift | Maya | Episode: "Darkest Before Dawn" |
2017 | Family Guy | Russian Meg Griffin Double (voice) | Episode: "A House Full of Peters" |
2018 | Devious Nanny | Amber | Television film; also known as The Au Pair |
References
- ^ "Twitter / olesyarulin: @middlenamegame it's yurivna". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2013-04-07.
- ^ a b c Richard Huff (2007-12-28). "Olesya Rulin prepares for 'High School Musical 3'". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
- ^ a b Holly Siegel. "Behind the scenes with HSM's Oleysa Rulin". Elle Girl. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
- ^ a b "Report from Disney's High School Musical 2 DVD Launch at El Capitan Theatre". ultimatedisney.com. 2007-11-19. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
- ^ Lynn Barker (2007-11-30). "High School Musical 2 - DVD Premiere Chats". www.teenmusic.com. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
- ^ The Graphic - Going back to ?High School? Archived 2007-10-12 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ High School Musical 3 page on Olesya's Official Site Archived 2008-04-23 at the Wayback Machine Friday, April 11, 2008
- ^ ‘High School Musical’ Star Reports For Duty In ‘Simpson’s ‘Major Movie Star’ Monday, August 20, 2007 at 9:30 am
- ^ Rulin is From Russia with Love[permanent dead link] Retrieved Wednesday, August 15th, 2007
- ^ Flying high: Cyrus, Rulin join indie pic Wednesday, October 24, 2007
External links
- Olesya Rulin at IMDb
- Olesya Rulin on Twitter
- 1986 births
- Actresses of Russian descent
- 21st-century American actresses
- Actresses from Moscow
- Actresses from Texas
- Actresses from Utah
- American child actresses
- American film actresses
- American soap opera actresses
- American television actresses
- American people of Russian descent
- Living people
- Russian emigrants to the United States