Known from 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



Introduction

If you were a teenager in the early 2000s, you probably didn’t miss “High School Musical” – the songs from this TV movie are still ringing in people’s ears. How much do you know about one of the major supporting characters in the film, Kelsie Nielsen? Do you know that she is played by Russian-American actress Olesya Rulin? If you want to know more about this famous actress, read below.

Early life and education

Olesya Yurivna Rulin was born on March 17, 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, with her parents and her brother, Daniil Rulin. When she was six, her father moved to Texas, USA, and she and the rest of her family followed two years later. After several years, they moved to Utah, where she attended West Jordan Middle School. During her school days, she trained in ballet and learned to play the piano.

When Rulin was 12, her mother persuaded her to enter a model search contest, and she caught the attention of not one, but four modeling agencies! However, she was never into modeling so she never became a professional model.

From a very young age, she worked as a nursing assistant, as well as in various fashion stores, such as Victoria’s Secret and Nordstrom.

She graduated from West Jordan High School in 2005 and enrolled at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she studied economics.

Career

Rulin made her acting debut with small roles for TV movies 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 played 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 movie ‘High School Musical’ Kelly Nielsen, a friend of Gabriella’s 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 the period, reprising her role as Kelsi in sequels “High School Musical 2” and “High School Musical 3” in 2007 2008 respectively.

Also in 2006, she played 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 movie “Private Valentine: Blonde and Dangerous” (aka “Major Movie Star”) alongside big names like Jessica Simpson and Steve Guttenberg.

In 2009, Rulin landed a recurring role in the ABC TV series “Greek”, where he remained on the show for two seasons, while making guest appearances in “CSI: Miami” and “The Mentalist”, and co-starred in the soft drama film “Flying By” along with Billy Ray Cyrus, Mo Collins and Ahnaise Christmas. Two years later, in 2011, she co-starred in the drama film ‘Apart’, about a couple with a rare mental disorder.

In the following years, she acted in several TV series such as ‘Dirty Work’, ‘Under Employment’, ‘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 cameo appearance in the episode “A House Full of Peters” of the animated series “Family Guy”, voicing the Russian Meg Griffin Double. In 2018, she played Amber in the TV movie “Devious Nanny”, and the following year she briefly appeared in the TV series “SEAL Team”.

Private life

Despite trying to keep her life private, it has been revealed that Rulin has been dating model and actor Nico Tortorella since 2013. while. Before him, she had a brief relationship with Andrew Gray McDonnell.

Despite the success of “High School Musical Movies”, she still worked as a store clerk during filming for all three parts. Some time later, she moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue her acting career full-time.

Rulin is a pescatarian, meaning the only source of “meat” in her diet is seafood.

She is fluent in Russian and English.

Rulin has participated in several charitable activities, including cleaning up beaches and donating clothes and food to the homeless. She also regularly volunteers at dog shelters.

Rulin is quite active on various social media profiles such as Twitter and Instagram with more than 225,000 followers.

Net value

Rulin has mostly portrayed supporting characters, but some of the movies she has acted in have earned a box office amount of money. For example, “High School Musical 3” made over $250 million, while the budget was “only” $11 million! This is partly why her net worth is estimated around $1 million.

Physical Characteristics

Rulin is a petite woman, standing at a height of 1.55 m (5 ft 1 in) and weighing about 50 kg, with vital statistics of 34-24-35, bra size 32B and dress size 6 (US). She has blue eyes and blonde to light brown hair.

General information

First and last name	Olesya Rulin
Net value	$1 million
Date of birth	March 17, 1986
Height	1.52 meters
Profession	Ballet dancer, actor, model
Education	Westminster College

Family

Performance

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

Links to social profiles

Quotes

#	Quote
1	My friends call me conservation girl.
2	I’m actually a little nervous because this is my first tour and it’s in my hometown, so I hope people like it. But really, this is a dream job for me because I love animals and have always had a passion for protecting the environment.
3	[about Urban Legends: Bloody Mary] This is my first horror movie, yes. Only a small role. I’m a little disappointed I didn’t die.

Facts

#	Fact
1	Like Kelsi, her character in High School Musical, she can play the piano.
2	She is a trained ballet dancer and model.
3	She is originally from Russia and can read, write and speak Russian fluently.

Pictures

Movies

Actress

Title	Year	Status	Character
Powers	2015-2016	TV serials	Calista Secor
The night shift	2015	TV serials	Maya
Eye candy	2015	TV serials	Ann Marie Halliday
NCIS	2014	TV serials	Kim Troutman
Family weekend	2013		Emily Smith Dungy
Understaffed	2013	TV serials	Pixie Dexter
Dirty work	2012	TV serials	Bambi
To touch	2012	TV serials	Red dress
Thousands of cuts	2012		Melanie
Drop Dead diva	2011	TV serials	Mia Dalton
Greek	2009-2011	TV serials	abbey
Part	2011/i		Emily Gates
The mentalist	2010	TV serials	Sam Stark
CSI: Miami	2010	TV serials	Andrew Williams
expect Mary	2010		Mary
fly by	2009		Ellie
Chuckle boy	2009	Short	Assistant
Private Valentine: Blond and dangerous	2008		Private Petrovich
High School Musical 3: Senior Year	2008		Kelly Nielsen
Always strong	2008		Emily’s friend
High school musical 2	2007	TV movie	Kelly Nielsen
The dance	2007/I		Britney
American pastime	2007		Cathy Reyes
Vampire chicks with chainsaws	2006	Video	Saria
High school musical	2006	TV movie	Kelly Nielsen
Gangsters 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 serials	The drunk girl
Touched by an angel	2002	TV serials	High school student
The poof point	2001	TV movie	Annie
rushed	2001	TV movie	Girl #1

Soundtrack

Title	Year	Status	Character
High School Musical 3: Senior Year	2008	artist: “A Night to Remember”, “Just Wanna Be With You”, “Last Chance”
High school musical 2	2007	TV Movie Artist: “Work This Out”, “You Are the Music In Me”
High school musical	2006	TV movie artist: “We’re all in the same boat”

Yourself

Title	Year	Status	Character
Entertainment tonight	2009	TV serials	herself
The movie loft	2009	TV serials	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 serials	herself
Disney365	2007-2008	Documentary about the TV series	herself
HSM2: Anatomy of a Dance Number	2007	Video documentary short	herself
HSM2: Rehearsal camera	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