Her name is Amal Alamuddin. She’s a barrister who specializes in International Law. She’s currently advising Kofi Annan on the UN’s Syria talks, and represented Julian Assange in fighting extradition from London to Sweden.
Now, you might read this and think, “Why should I care about another celebrity girlfriend?” The answer is because who George Clooney dates has always been strategic, and Alamuddin isn’t just interesting because of her outside accomplishments, but because of how she has broken the Clooney Girlfriend Mold.
As Jezebel has previously covered in 2009, with “Is George Clooney Dating Down?,” the Cloonster usually favors actresses/models/waitresses/dancers who could never hope to eclipse him in interest or fame. This was true back in ’09, when he dated Elisabetta Canalis, and more recently, when he dated Stacy Keibler, a former WWE wrestler, from 2011-2013.
These former girlfriends are not interesting on their own. Besides George Clooney himself, they could benefit from this arrangement by parlaying their notoriety into Reality TV gigs (Canalis has since been on Dancing With the Stars; E! and other outlets have covered Keibler’s post-Clooney marriage and pregnancy).
The image benefits to Clooney have been thus: He’s been a confirmed bachelor since divorcing Balsam, and can play it up with his interchangeable model flings. He also wants to win Oscars, though, which is probably why he’s taken his last three girlfriends before Alamuddin to the Academy Awards, and why they have publicly accompanied him on commitments during award season. Their use is to provide the hope, however faint, that he’ll settle down, but not with someone who will overshadow him.
Now he’s risking that with Alamuddin, with the video above commenting on how she stands out, and with gossip blogs joking that she’s the Darcy to his Bridget Jones, or with commenters joking that the only way he’ll able to top this girlfriend is if he dates Hillary Clinton next. Even her barrister career comes with possible controversy, since she tried to protect Assange from extradition on rape charges.
I think he’s willing to take this risk if it burnishes his own image, though. Remember, her substance lies in her influential involvement in international issues, which Cloons has dabbled in himself, campaign to Save Darfur, and taking on Oscar-winning roles in “geopolitical thrillers.” Plus, he released pictures to People of them on safari to make it official to the public. As if to say – “Look at how cultured and globalized I am; I have the girlfriend and the Tanzanian wildlife to prove it.”
As Lainey Gossip puts it, maybe Clooney wants to give Brangelina a run for their money. It’s probably a bonus that she doesn’t want/need to end up on Dancing With the Stars.
