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‘The worst thing we can do as women is not stand up for each other. And this is something that we can practice everyday, no matter where we are or what we do – because if we are united, there is no limit to what we can do…’
First, let us make one thing perfectly clear. Amal Clooney is much more than simply, ‘George Clooney’s wife’. We’re talking about the woman who has single-handedly helped girls in Lebanon receive the education they deserve, has defended high-profile cases in her stride and inspired women across the globe while doing so. Basically, there’s a reason she’s one of Meghan Markle’s closest friends.
So, who is Amal Clooney?
Born in Beirut, Amal was brought up admist the challenges of the Lebanese Civil War. In a desperate attempt to flea the devastation, the Alamuddin family left Lebanon in the late 1980s and set up home in Buckinghamshire. Amal was just two years of age at the time and fled with her sister, Tala, and two half-brothers, Samer and Ziad.
And Amal adapted well to the unforeseen change, as she began to forge a successful career for herself from an early age. Fluent in English, French and Arabic, Clooney undoubtedly thrived at university. She graduated from St Hugh’s College, Oxford, with a BA degree in Jurisprudence before going on to study at the New York University School of Law in 2001.
A qualified lawyer in both the United States and the United Kingdom, Amal has been able to dedicate her career to campaigning for women’s right to education and tirelessly fighting terrorist group, ISIS.
George and Amal Clooney.
Amal began her impressive career as a defence attorney at New York firm, Sullivan & Crowwell, back in 2010. Three years later, she went on to work as a human rights lawyer at Doughty Street Chambers in London. Amal now specialises in public international law, criminal law and human rights.
Over the course of her legal career, Amal has continued to inspire and motivate girls and women across the globe. And despite her high-profile cases and relationship with Clooney being well documented by the media, Amal keeps her private life very much under wraps, refraining from Instagram or any other social media platform.
So in celebration of her undeniable influence, let us remind you of her most empowering moments…
When she helped 3,000 Syrian refugees get an education
George and Amal Clooney‘s foundation helped send 3,000 Syrian refugees to school in Lebanon this year, in a bid to prevent thousands of youngsters from becoming part of a so-called ‘lost generation’ without access to education in the aftermath of the Syrian civil war.
When she donated $1 Million to fight White Supremacy
George and Amal Clooney donated $1 million towards the fight against right-wing extremists in the US following the shocking events at a white suprecacist rally in Charlottesville in 2017, which resulted in the death of a counter-protester.
The Clooney Foundation for Justice – which the couple set up in 2016 to ‘advance justice in courtrooms, communities and classrooms around the world’ – gifted the money to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a group which fights hatred and bigotry.
When she became a professor at Columbia Law School’s Human Rights Institute
In spring 2015, Amal ventured into university education, as she became a senior fellow with Columbia Law School’s Human Rights Institute.
On the project, Clooney declared: “It is an honour to be invited as a visiting professor at Columbia Law School alongside such a distinguished faculty and talented student pool.”
When Amal launched a scholarship for girls
In late 2015, Amal launched the Amal Clooney Scholarship for Lebanese Girls. The award aims to acknowledge ‘exemplary academic performance and demonstrable interest in the promotion of human rights and international issues’.
And the scholarship gives winners the opportunity to participate in a two-year international program at United World College in Dilijan, Armenia.
When Amal founded the Clooney Foundation for Justice
Back in late 2016, Amal and George Clooney teamed up to found the Clooney Foundation for Justice. According to the project’s website, the aim of the project is to fight ‘for the rights of individuals unfairly targeted by oppressive governments through the courts’.
The foundation seeks to support victims of war and refugees looking to rebuild their lives and receive the education everyone deserves.
When she single-handedly took ISIS to court
Amal provided legal representation for Nadia Murad, a 23-year-old Yazidi woman who was kidnapped by ISIS and trafficked as a sex slave.
Amal representing Nadia Murad.
In a powerful speech, Amal called out the ‘passive’ nature of the world’s nations in reaction to ISIS and admitted that she was deeply saddened by the lack of UN’s progress.
Amal called out the United Nations for their ‘passive’ reaction to ISIS.
“Killing Isis on the battlefield is not enough,” Amal declared. “We must kill the idea behind ISIS by exposing the brutality and bringing individual criminals to justice.”
When she dismissed negative press
Amal has come under fire from the media, often being accused of only receiving high-profile cases due to her Hollywood actor husband. But in a recent interview with Fiona Bruce, the 39-year-old fought back.
When asked if she thinks George Clooney’s fame helps give her work a platform, Amal simply replied: “I think if there are more people who now understand what’s happening about the Yazidis and ISIS, and if there can be some action that results from that, that can help those clients, then I think it’s a really good thing to give that case the extra publicity that it may get.”
When Amal spoke out on behalf of women across the globe
During a moving speech at the Texas Conference for Women in November 2016, Amal took a stand for women’s rights.
Amal speaks at the Texas Conference for Women
She told the audience: “The worst thing we can do as women is not stand up for each other. And this is something that we can practise everyday, no matter where we are or what we do – because if we are united, there is no limit to what we can do.”
She then went on to namecheck her mum, Baria Alamuddin, as the biggest source of inspiration in her life.
Amal told the audience: “I think, growing up, my mother was definitely a role model. She was always a working woman and someone who is independent and cared about her career and cared about being independent, but also had balance.”
When she gave the best response to a fashion question
Back in 2015, Amal stood up in Europe’s human rights court to represent Armenia in their case against Doğu Perinçek alongside Geoffrey Robertson, QC of Doughty Street Chambers. Turkish politician Doğu Perinçek, leader of the left-wing Turkish Workers Party, was found guilty by a Swiss court in 2008 of denying that the 1915 genocide, in which up to 1.5 million Armenians were slaughtered, ever took place.
But when in court, the last question Amal was expected to be asked was what she had chosen to wear.
But she had the perfect response for the journalist.
Amal Clooney pictured with Geoffrey Robertson in 2015.
The 39-year-old simply pointed to her legal robes and joked: “I’m wearing Ede & Ravenscroft”.
Here’s everything else you might want to know about the star…
What Was Amal Clooney Like When She Was Young?
Amal Clooney was born Amal Alamuddin in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, in 1978. Due to the civil war, the family left their homeland in the 1980s and resettled in Gerrards Cross in Buckinghamshire. She attended Dr Challoner’s Grammar School before getting a degree in Jurisprudence from Oxford University. She moved to New York after university to study for her LLM degree, which meant she qualified as a lawyer both in the UK and stateside, so can work in either country.
When Did Amal Clooney Marry George Clooney?
Amal became engaged to George Clooney in April 2014, before marrying on 27 September 2014 in Venice. The wedding was attended by several famous faces, including Brad Pitt and Cindy Crawford.
Amal and George Clooney.
What is Amal Clooney’s networth?
Celebritynetworth.com reports that it is $10 million, while George Clooney’s is $500 million.
Does Amal Clooney Have Children?
Amal and George Clooney welcomed their first children, twin boy Alexander and twin girl Ella, in June 2017.
This article originally appeared on Grazia.
