• Olesya Yurivna Rulin was born on 17 March 1986 in Moscow, Russia
• She moved to Texas when she was 8, and later to Utah where she attended West Jordan Middle and High School
• She starred as Kelsi Nielsen in Disney's "High School Musical" (2006), and reprised her role in the sequels
• She is a pescatarian and an active volunteer at dog shelters
• Her net worth is estimated at around $1 million
Known for movies
Powers (2015-2016)
as Calista Secor
HSM3: Prom - The Night of Nights (2009)
as Herself
High School Musical 2 (2007)
as Kelsi Nielsen
High School Musical (2006)
as Kelsi Nielsen
Short Info
| Net Worth | $1 million |
| Date Of Birth | March 17, 1986 |
| Fact | Like Kelsi, her character in High School Musical, she can play the piano. |
Contents
Introduction
If you were a teenager in the early 2000s, you probably didn’t miss “High School Musical” – the songs from this TV movie still ring in people’s ears. How much do you know about one of the important supporting roles in the film, Kelsie Nielsen? Do you know that she is portrayed by Russian-American actress, Olesya Rulin? If you want to find out more about this famous actress, read below.
Early life and Education
Olesya Yurivna Rulin was born on 17 March 1986, in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, now Russia.
She spent most of her life in a small town of Likhoslavl, located between Moscow and St. Petersburg, together with her parents and her brother, Daniil Rulin. When she was six, her father moved to Texas, USA, and two years later she and the rest of her family followed. After several years, they moved to Utah, where she attended West Jordan Middle School. During her school days, she trained in ballet and learnt to play the piano.
When Rulin was 12, her mother persuaded her to enter a model search contest, and she caught the eye of not one, but four modeling agencies! However, she never liked modeling so she never became a professional model.
From a very young age, she worked as a nursing assistant, but also in several fashion stores, such as Victoria’s Secret and Nordstrom.
She matriculated from West Jordan High School in 2005, and enrolled at Westminster College located in Salt Lake City, Utah, in which she studied economics.
Career
Rulin made her acting debut with small roles for TV films in 2001 and 2002, such as “Hounded” and “The Poof Point”. In 2004 she had a guest role in an episode of the TV drama series “Everwood”, and portrayed Natalie the Pink Troll in “Halloweentown High”, plus a minor role in the 2005 comedy film, “Mobsters and Mormons”.
In 2006, Rulin was cast in the Disney TV teen film, “High School Musical”, portraying Kelsi Nielsen, a friend of Gabriella who was played by Vanessa Hudgens, and a school pianist. Despite being a supporting role, Rulin’s performance was praised by many, and she became a notable figure in teen movies of that time period, and reprised her role as Kelsi in sequels “High School Musical 2” and “High School Musical 3” in 2007 and 2008 respectively.
Also in 2006, she portrayed Sariah in “Vampire Chicks with Chainsaws”, and in 2007 she was cast in “American Pastime” and “The Dance”.
In 2008 she appeared in the comedy film “Private Valentine: Blonde and Dangerous” (also known as “Major Movie Star”), alongside big names such as Jessica Simpson and Steve Guttenberg.
In 2009, Rulin was cast in a recurring role in the ABC TV series “Greek”, remaining in the show for two seasons, meantime making guest appearances in “CSI: Miami” and “The Mentalist”, and co-starred in the soft drama film “Flying By”, alongside Billy Ray Cyrus, Mo Collins and Ahnaise Christmas. Two years later in 2011, she co-starred in the drama movie “Apart”, about a couple with a rare psychological disorder.
In the next few years she made appearances in several TV series, such as “Dirty Work”, “Underemployed”, “Family Weekend” and “Eye Candy”. In 2015 she was cast as Calista Secor in the PlayStation Network series called “Powers”, about a parallel world inhabited by superhumans, remaining on the show until it ended after two seasons.
In 2017 she made a guest appearance in the episode “A House Full of Peters” of the animated series “Family Guy”, in which she voiced Russian Meg Griffin Double. In 2018 she portrayed Amber in the TV movie “Devious Nanny”, and the next year made a brief appearance in the TV series “SEAL Team”.
Personal Life
Despite trying to keep her life private, it‘s been revealed that Rulin has been dating model and actor Nico Tortorella since 2013. As of May 2020, they are still considered to be a couple – despite not posting any pictures on their social media profiles for a while. Before him, she was in a brief relationship with Andrew Gray McDonnell.
Despite the success of “High School Musical Movies”, during the filming for all three parts she still worked as a store clerk. Sometime later, she moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue her acting career full-time.
Rulin is a pescatarian, which means that the only source of ‘meat’ in her diet is seafood.
She is fluent in Russian and the English language.
Rulin has participated in several charity activities, some of which have included cleaning up beaches, and donating clothes and food to the homeless. She is also a regular volunteer at dog shelters.
Rulin is rather active on various social media profiles, such as Twitter and Instagram, with more than 225,000 followers.
Net Worth
Rulin has usually portrayed supporting characters, but some of the movies she has been in made a amount of money at the box office. For example, “High School Musical 3” made over $250 million, while its budget was ‘only’ $11 million! This is partly why her net worth is estimated at around $1 million.
Physical characteristics
Rulin is a short woman, who stands at a height of 5ft 1ins (1.55m) tall, and weighs around 110lbs (50kgs), with vital statistics of 34-24-35, bra size 32B, and dress size 6 (US). She has blue eyes and blond to light brown hair.
General Info
| Full Name | Olesya Rulin |
| Net Worth | $1 million |
| Date Of Birth | March 17, 1986 |
| Height | 1.52 m |
| Profession | Ballet Dancer, Actor, Model |
| Education | Westminster College |
Family
| Siblings | Daniil Rulin |
Accomplishments
| Movies | High School Musical, High School Musical 3: Senior Year, High School Musical 2, Family Weekend, Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous, Halloweentown High, Forever Strong, Expecting Mary, Mobsters and Mormons, Flying By, Urban Legends: Bloody Mary, A Thousand Cuts, The Poof Point, Apart, American Pas... |
| TV Shows | Powers |
Social profile links
Quotes
| # | Quote |
|---|---|
| 1 | My friends call me conservation girl. |
| 2 | I'm a little nervous, actually, because this is my first tour and it's in my home town so I hope people like it. But really, this is a dream job for me because I love animals and I've always been passionate about protecting the environment. |
| 3 | [about Urban Legends: Bloody Mary] This is my first horror flick, yes. Just a small role. I'm kind of disappointed that I didn't get to die. |
Facts
| # | Fact |
|---|---|
| 1 | Like Kelsi, her character in High School Musical, she can play the piano. |
| 2 | She's a trained ballet dancer and model. |
| 3 | Originally from Russia, she can read, write, & speak fluent Russian. |
Pictures
Movies
Actress
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Powers | 2015-2016 | TV Series | Calista Secor |
| The Night Shift | 2015 | TV Series | Maya |
| Eye Candy | 2015 | TV Series | Ann-Marie Halliday |
| NCIS | 2014 | TV Series | Kim Troutman |
| Family Weekend | 2013 | Emily Smith-Dungy | |
| Underemployed | 2013 | TV Series | Pixie Dexter |
| Dirty Work | 2012 | TV Series | Bambi |
| Touch | 2012 | TV Series | Red Dress |
| A Thousand Cuts | 2012 | Melanie | |
| Drop Dead Diva | 2011 | TV Series | Mia Dalton |
| Greek | 2009-2011 | TV Series | Abby |
| Apart | 2011/I | Emily Gates | |
| The Mentalist | 2010 | TV Series | Sam Starks |
| CSI: Miami | 2010 | TV Series | Andrea Williams |
| Expecting Mary | 2010 | Mary | |
| Flying By | 2009 | Ellie | |
| Chuckle Boy | 2009 | Short | Assistant |
| Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous | 2008 | Private Petrovich | |
| High School Musical 3: Senior Year | 2008 | Kelsi Nielsen | |
| Forever Strong | 2008 | Emily's Friend | |
| High School Musical 2 | 2007 | TV Movie | Kelsi Nielsen |
| The Dance | 2007/I | Britney | |
| American Pastime | 2007 | Cathy Reyes | |
| Vampire Chicks with Chainsaws | 2006 | Video | Sariah |
| High School Musical | 2006 | TV Movie | Kelsi Nielsen |
| Mobsters and Mormons | 2005 | Julie Jaymes | |
| Urban Legends: Bloody Mary | 2005 | Video | Mindy - Samantha's Friend #2 |
| Halloweentown High | 2004 | TV Movie | Natalie the Pink Troll |
| Everwood | 2004 | TV Series | The Drunk Girl |
| Touched by an Angel | 2002 | TV Series | High School Student |
| The Poof Point | 2001 | TV Movie | Annie |
| Hounded | 2001 | TV Movie | Girl #1 |
Soundtrack
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| High School Musical 3: Senior Year | 2008 | performer: "A Night to Remember", "Just Wanna Be With You", "Last Chance" | |
| High School Musical 2 | 2007 | TV Movie performer: "Work This Out", "You Are the Music In Me" | |
| High School Musical | 2006 | TV Movie performer: "We're All In This Together" |
Self
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entertainment Tonight | 2009 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Movie Loft | 2009 | TV Series | Herself |
| HSM3: It's All in the Dress | 2009 | Video documentary short | Herself |
| HSM3: Prom - The Night of Nights | 2009 | Video documentary short | Herself |
| HSM2: In the Kitchen | 2008 | Video documentary short | Herself |
| High School Musical: Get in the Picture | 2008 | TV Series | Herself |
| Disney 365 | 2007-2008 | TV Series documentary | Herself |
| HSM2: Anatomy of a Dance Number | 2007 | Video documentary short | Herself |
| HSM2: Rehearsal Cam | 2007 | Video documentary short | Herself |
| High School Musical 2 Dance-Along | 2007 | TV Movie | Herself |
| Hannah Montana DVD Game | 2007 | Video Game | Herself |
Source: IMDb, Wikipedia
