Amal Clooney

Amal Alamuddin Clooney was born in Beirut, Lebanon, into a family epitomizing cultural diversity and intellectual pursuits. Her first name, derived from the Arabic word "ʾamal," meaning "hope," foreshadowed the optimistic trajectory of her life. Amidst the chaos of the Lebanese Civil War, her family sought refuge in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, where she spent her formative years alongside her sister Tala Alamuddin and two half-brothers from her father's previous marriage.

Her father, Ramzi Alamuddin, a Lebanese Druze from Baakline in the Chouf District, completed his MBA at the American University of Beirut before returning to Lebanon in 1991, post-civil war. Her mother, Baria (née Miknass), born to a family of Sunni Muslims in Tripoli, Northern Lebanon, with Palestinian-Jordanian roots, was a prominent political journalist and foreign editor for the Saudi newspaper al-Hayat. Additionally, she founded International Communication Experts, a public relations company specializing in celebrity guest bookings, publicity photography, and event promotion.

Amal's academic journey commenced at Dr Challoner's High School in Little Chalfont, Buckinghamshire. She later pursued her undergraduate studies at St Hugh's College, Oxford, where she excelled in jurisprudence, earning an exhibition grant and the prestigious Shrigley Award upon graduation in 2000. Her dedication to legal scholarship and human rights advocacy propelled her to pursue a Master of Laws (LL.M) degree at New York University School of Law, where she was honored with the Jack J. Katz Memorial Award for excellence in entertainment law. During her time at NYU, she had the privilege of working in the office of Sonia Sotomayor, then a judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and a faculty member at NYU Law.

Amal ClooneyWiki CommonsFrom the tumultuous streets of Beirut to the scholarly ambiance of Oxford and New York University, Amal's journey embodies resilience, intellect, and an unwavering commitment to justice. Her multicultural upbringing and rigorous academic training have fueled her advocacy for human rights and social justice on the global stage. Whether representing victims of human rights abuses or championing press freedom, Amal Alamuddin Clooney's life and work underscore the transformative power of hope, education, and unwavering dedication to justice.

Clooney is the co-founder and co-president of the Clooney Foundation for Justice, which she co-founded with her husband, George Clooney, in 2016. Their goal is to wage justice to create a world where human rights are protected and no one is above the law. The organization gathers evidence of mass human rights abuses, provides free legal support to victims, and ensures that perpetrators are held accountable. CFJ now operates in more than 40 countries: investigating war crimes in Ukraine, monitoring sham trials targeting women and journalists, and fighting back against a global trend of authoritarianism that seeks to punish those who speak truth to power. Its latest initiative, Waging Justice for Women, uses strategic litigation to reform discriminatory laws and increase accountability for gender-based abuse.

She partnered with the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative in beginning the Amal Clooney Scholarship, which was created to send one female student from Lebanon to the United World College Dilijan each year, to enroll in a two-year International Baccalaureate (IB) programme.

In 2017, the Clooneys awarded a $1 million grant to the Southern Poverty Law Center in Charlottesville, Virginia, to combat hate groups in America.

In 2018, following the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, the Clooneys pledged $500,000 to the March for Our Lives and said they would be in attendance. They also donated $100,000 to the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, through the Clooney Foundation for Justice, to help migrant children who were separated from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Amal and George Clooney donated $100,000 to three Lebanese charities, the Lebanese Red Cross, Impact Lebanon, and Baytna Baytak, who helped provide aid to those affected by the 2020 explosion in Beirut.

In 2020, the Clooneys donated $1 million to coronavirus relief efforts. This included money for the NHS to help assist frontline workers and to The Lebanese Food Bank which helps single mothers, the elderly and vulnerable people who cannot work right now due to the Covid-19 outbreak. The couple also donated to The Mill at Sonning Theatre, located close to their Berkshire home, which helped ensure its survival through the pandemic.^[

In 2022, Amal Clooney, along with Michelle Obama and Melinda French Gates, launched the 'Get Her There' campaign that seeks to catalyze educating and empowering teenage females.