# Olesya Rulin

Olesya Yurivna Rulina (Russian: Oлeся Юрьевна Pулина; born March 17, 1986) is a Russian-American actress. She is best known for co-starring in all 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 (now Russia). She spent her early childhood in Likhoslavl.
When Rulin was eight, 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 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 studying 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 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.
Rulin co-starred with Jessica Simpson in the film Major Movie Star (released in the United States under the title Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous). In 2009, Rulin co-starred with Billy Ray Cyrus and Heather Locklear in the drama film Flying By.
In 2010, Rulin starred in Expecting Mary, which also starred Elliott Gould, Linda Gray, Lainie Kazan, Cloris Leachman, Della Reese, Cybill Shepherd, 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, which ran for two seasons from 2015-16.

## Personal life

On November 11, 2021, Rulin married entrepreneur Joseph Noel Pauline.
In August 2022, the couple announced that they had welcomed their first child, a daughter.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2005 | Urban Legends: Bloody Mary | Mindy | Direct-to-video |
| 2005 | Mobsters and Mormons | Julie Jaymes | |
| 2006 | High School Musical | Kelsi Nielsen | |
| 2006 | Vampire Chicks with Chainsaws | Sariah | Direct-to-video |
| 2007 | American Pastime | Cathy Reyes | |
| 2007 | High School Musical 2 | Kelsi Nielsen | |
| 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" |
| 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 Deschanel | Television film; also known as Nanny Betrayal |
| 2019 | SEAL Team | Jenna Robertson | Episode: "Things Not Seen" |
| 2020–2022 | NCIS: Los Angeles | Zasha Gagrin | 5 episodes |
| 2022 | The Rookie | Danielle Bloomfield | Episode: "Backstabbers" |
| 2023 | Black Bags | Tess | Television film |