Olesya Rulin (born Olesya Yurivna Rulin on March 17, 1986 in Moscow, Russia) is an actress known for her role as Kelsi Nielsen in the High School Musical franchise.
Olesya Rulin was born in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Russia). She spent her early childhood in Likhoslavi. When Rulin was eight, she emigrated to the United States to rejoin her father so two years earlier. They first lived in Texas, then later in Utah. Rulin graduated from West Jordan High School in 2005. Rulin is also a trained ballet dancer. When she was 12, she entered a model-search contest at the urging of her mother and won representation by four different agencies. 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, she was working at a Nordstrom store when the first High School Musical came out. She was working economics in Paris when the casting for High School Musical 2 took place.
Acting Career[]
In addition to her role in High School Musical, High School Musical 2 and High School Musical 3: Senior Year, Rulin's credits include the Disney Channel original films 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 a significantly larger than that in the first film, including a solo in "You Are the Music in Me" and a few lines in "Work This Out". Rulin reprised her role as Kelsi Nielsen in High School Musical 3: Senior Year, also with a larger part and performed three songs, including a duet with Lucas Grabeel. In 2008, Rulin co-starred with Jessica Simpson in the film Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous. Her additional film and television credits include Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous, Expecting Mary, Family Weekend and the PlayStation Network series Powers, which ran for two seasons from 2015-2016.
