Amal Alamuddin

Amal's engagement and subsequent marriage to George Clooney rocked the entertainment media with the news that Clooney, a notorious bachelor, would be settling down.

The couple's official wedding ceremony took place on September 27, 2014 at Venice, Italy's city hall, though they held a lavish ceremony attended by many celebrities a few days earlier in Venice.

When not traveling, the Clooneys live in London on a large estate occupying an island along the River Thames. The Clooneys' considerable combined wealth has allowed them the ability to take part in philanthropy work. The issues they share in common include protecting human rights during times of international conflict.

Born on February 3, 1978, in Beirut, Lebanon, right in the middle of the deadly Lebanese Civil War, Alamuddin moved to London with her family at age 2.

Her father, Ramzi Alamuddin, is of Lebanese-Druze descent, and worked as a University professor and as the owner of a travel company. Her mother, Bariaa Alamuddin, is a Sunni Muslim and an internationally recognized journalist.

Amal was raised in the Sunni Muslim faith. She has three siblings: her sister, Tala, as well as two half-brothers via her father's previous marriage, Samer and Ziad. Her pre-college education came at Dr. Challoner's High School.

Amal attended Oxford University on an Exhibition Scholarship. She graduated from St. Hugh's College at Oxford with a Bachelor of Arts in Jurisprudence in 2000.

She attended New York University School of Law beginning in 2001 and graduated with a Masters in Laws degree.

During her time at NYU, Alamuddin worked clerkships in both the International Court of Justice and United States Court of Appeals.She carried out one of her clerkships in the offices of Sonia Sotomayor, who is today a U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

Amal worked for 3 years for Sullivan & Cromwell in New York City on cases representing Enron and Arthur Andersen, among others.

She moved to London in 2010 to begin work as a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers. Different than a lawyer in U.S. courts, a barrister can speak in court on behalf of clients but does not seek out or work with them directly. That role is held by a solicitor, another type of legal representative.

Amal has co-authored the book "The Law and Practice of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon", published in 2013 by the Oxford University Press.

She has written chapters for several high-profile works on international law, plus countless advisement papers for judges, politicians and corporations from many nations.