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Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Fuller Olsen
(both born June 13, 1986) are American actresses, best
known for playing the role of Michelle Tanner on the
sitcom Full House. Though some people at first glance
suppose they are identical twins, it is widely reported
that they are fraternal.
Both Olsen twins have appeared in
television and films since infancy. Since then, they
have continued their celebrity through numerous
television programs, films, interviews, as well as
commercial endorsements. As a rule, they appear
together, and have filmed movies worldwide.
Biography, Early life: Born in Sherman Oaks,
California to David Olsen (b. 1953) and Jarnette
(Jarnie) Fuller (b. 1954), Mary-Kate and Ashley Fuller
Olsen started their acting careers on the television
series Full House in 1987. They were hired at the age of
six months, and filming began when they were nine months
old. The show was widely popular during the late 1980s
and early 1990s, and both sisters played the same
character, Michelle Tanner, taking turns during the
tapings to do so, in order to comply with strict child
labor laws regarding child actors.
For the first year, Ashley would cry
every time she was brought on set to do a scene, so
Mary-Kate had more screen time in the first season.
Because the producers did not want viewers to know that
Michelle was played by twins, the sisters were
originally credited as "Mary Kate Ashley
Olsen", but in the last season and most of season
one, they were credited as separate people. During the
eight year run, Mary-Kate and Ashley made several
straight-to-video movies, in addition to Full House,
such as To Grandmother's House We Go (1992).
Career: Shortly after the end of Full House, they
began heavily merchandising their image. They
established a company called Dualstar in 1993 and their
brand has been sold in more than 3,000 stores in America
and over 5,300 stores worldwide. They have been on the
Forbes' "The Celebrity 100 list" since 2002.
Mary-Kate and Ashley were popular figures in the preteen
market during the late '90s and early 2000s. Their names
became a cottage industry, with their likeness seen in
clothes, books, fragrances, magazines, movies and
posters. There were even Mary-Kate and Ashley fashion
dolls made by Mattel from 2000 - 2005. They were ranked
at number three on the VH1 program 100 Greatest Child
Stars.
They starred in the video series The Adventures of
Mary-Kate & Ashley and You're Invited To Mary-Kate
and Ashley's..., the ABC show Two of a Kind, and ABC
Family's So Little Time. However, So Little Time was
panned by critics and disappointed fans.
Their most recent theatrical venture was in the
light-hearted romantic comedy, New York Minute, also
starring Eugene Levy. The film was expected to launch
the girls into more serious adult roles, but was a box
office flop.
Fashion: As the sisters grow older and mature in
their style, there has been greater interest in their
fashion choices. The New York Times declared Mary-Kate a
fashion icon for pioneering her signature (and now
popular among celebrities and fans alike)
"homeless" look. The style, sometimes referred
to as "ashcan" or "Boho-chic", and
similar to that of Bohemian chic popularised in Britain
by Kate Moss and Sienna Miller, consists of oversized
sunglasses, boots, loose sweaters, and flowing skirts.
Mary-Kate and Ashley have a clothing line in Wal-Mart
stores across America for girls ages 4-14 as well as a
beauty line called "Mary-Kate and Ashley: Real
fashion for real girls". They were tapped as the
faces of upscale fashion line Badgley Mischka. They have
also been working on a new couture label 'The Row' named
after the famous Savile Row of London.
Their fashion choices, however, haven't been without
controversy. Ashley Olsen was included on PETA's 2006
Worst Dressed list for wearing fur.
In 2004 they made news by signing a pledge to allow all
the workers that sew their line of clothing in
Bangladesh full maternity leave. The National Labor
Committee, which organized the pledge, later praised the
twins for their commitment to worker rights. The
director of the organization, Charles Kernaghan, is
quoted as saying, "The Olsen twins have done the
right thing. Now it is up to Wal-Mart to either support
Mary-Kate and Ashley’s commitment to women’s rights,
or tragically to shut them down."
Personal lives: Mary-Kate and Ashley have an
older brother, Trent, and younger sister, Elizabeth, as
well as two half-siblings, Taylor (b. 1996), and Jake
(b. 1997). The twins' parents divorced in 1995, and
Taylor and Jake are the children from their father's
second marriage to Martha Mackenzie-Olsen.
In 2004 Mary-Kate and Ashley announced that they would
be attending college after graduating high school. Most
child and teenage actors usually choose to pursue acting
full time after graduating from high school, with few
(such as Brooke Shields, Jodie Foster, Julia Stiles, and
Natalie Portman) choosing to further their education.
They both studied at New York University at the Gallatin
School of Individualized Study[citation needed] until
Mary-Kate, who had majored in photography, left the
school. In 2005 she moved back to California. She
decided to stay on the West Coast and pursue more
individualized work with their company, Dualstar.
Ashley, still in New York, remains in close contact with
her sister.
In 2004, Mary-Kate checked into rehab for six weeks
because she was suffering from the eating disorder
anorexia nervosa. It was rumoured that there was also a
drug problem, but the Olsens' publicist said,
"Mary-Kate was not admitted for drugs.
Period." Mary-Kate put on about five to seven
pounds immediately after her stint in rehab and pictures
had shown that she may have gained more weight.
However, Star magazine has, as of January 2007, released
a cover story article on Mary Kate's, once again, very
low weight. They claim she is at 80 pounds. She has been
seen wearing baggy clothes and carrying vast purses. Her
spokesperson has denied the weight loss claiming
"Mary-Kate has not lost weight. She is taking good
care of herself."
Mary-Kate in 2005 ended her romance with Greek shipping
heir Stavros Niarchos III; Niarchos then began dating
hotel heiress and socialite Paris Hilton. Mary-Kate said
that the breakup was one of the main factors in her
leave of absence from New York University. "I miss
him and I love him," Mary-Kate said, "It's a
hurtful and a painful subject." When asked if there
was a specific reason for her leaving NYU, she replied,
"I think we can all guess."
The breakup and Niarchos's pairing with Paris Hilton led
to a rift between Hilton and Mary-Kate. "[Paris and
I] always only had nice things to say about each
other," Olsen said. "Now I guess you can tell
we're not talking."
In addition, Ashley filed a $40 million lawsuit against
tabloid magazine National Enquirer for printing a
headline reading "Ashley Olsen Caught In Drug
Scandal," with a story accompanied by an
unflattering photo of Ashley with her eyes half-closed.
The lawsuit stated that the photo was clearly used to
create a misimpression that Olsen was under the
influence of drugs.
Ashley completely denies the accusations
and said that she has not and does not use or sell
illegal drugs. The suit consisted of $20 million in
libel damages and $20 million in false light invasion of
privacy damages. Per her suit, Ashley Olsen and her
lawyers believe that "freedom of the press is a
valuable right, but it is not a license for gossipy
tabloids to tar and feather innocent celebrities and
destroy their reputations and businesses for the rag's
profits." |
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