Born on March 17, 1986 in Likhoslavl, Russia, Olesya Rulin grew up in a poor, 12-house village where her family made hats. In the early 90s, her father moved to the Utah to work, leaving his family behind. Two years later, the whole family moved to Texas before relocating to Salt Lake City, Utah.
At an early age, Rulin became aware of the world's poverty issues. Today, she aims to be a role model for the youth, encouraging them to become aware of the different situations and helping them make a difference. She is an advocate for animals, as she serves as a foster parent for rescued dogs and neglected pets. She is also an active humanitarian, having founded Project Orphanage, an organization dedicated to helping unwanted children in developing countries. She also hosted Disneymania's Concert for Conservation.
Moving to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career, Rulin landed the role of Kelsi Nielsen in Disney's High School Musical films. In the movies, she showcased not only her acting skills but also her singing and dancing prowess, as well. She is a trained ballet dancer and model, and can read, write and speak fluent Russian.
Her other Disney productions include Halloweentown High, The Poof Paint and Hounded. She also appeared on the series Everwood , and on feature films Forever Strong, Mobsters and Mormons and The Dance. In 2008, she reprised her role of Kelsi on the feature film High School Musical 3: Senior Year, and signed on for parts in Major Movie Star and Flying By.
As for Rulin's education, she once traveled to Paris to study economics and has decided to earn her double majors in Economics and Business Marketing with a minor in Psychology.
OK! Magazine talked to the young actress about her career, and she said, "It's a little bit crazy. I wake up every morning and I'm here! Look I'm at the Natural History Museum in New York and a year ago I was working at Nordstrom! So it's a little bit different. It's definitely hard and I need to prioritize my life a little bit. I need to be more careful about my family and friends, just making sure things I don't want in the public not to be in the public."
(Photos courtesy of Disney and OnlyOlesya.com)