Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Fuller Olsen (born June 13, 1986) are twin American actresses who have appeared in television and films since the age of nine months. Despite their near-identical looks, they are actually fraternal rather than identical twins.
Ashley Olsen: Road to Fame
Born in Sherman Oaks, California, the Olsens started their acting careers on the television series Full House in 1987. The show was widely popular during the late 80s and early 90s, and both sisters played one character, Michelle Tanner, taking turns during the recordings to do so, in order to comply with child labor laws regarding child actors. 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 later credited as separate people.
Shortly after the end of Full House, they returned to the entertainment industry, riding the momentum of their role on Full House by heavily merchandising their image. Taking the world of pre-teens and children by storm, their names have become a very profitable industry, with their likeness seen in movies, posters, magazines, clothes, and even video games like Mary Kate and Ashley's Magical Mystery Mall.
As of 2005, Mary-Kate and Ashley are popular figures in today's pre-teen market, following along the lines of such Hollywood child stars as Shirley Temple, Ron Howard and Macaulay Culkin among others.
They starred in The Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley and the ABC show Two of a Kind (now rerun on ABC Family), as well as ABC Family's So Little Time.
In 2004 Mary-Kate and Ashley surprised many when they 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. Ashley is currently studying at New York University at the Gallatin School of Individualized Study while Mary-Kate has taken a "leave of absence."
Ashley Olsen: Trivia
The Strange Truth About Twins questions the supposed fact that they are fraternal twins, citing that just because they are different-handed, doesn't mean they have different genetics.
In February of 2005, Ashley was featured on the cover of National Enquirer, a gossip magazine that claimed that she was using drugs. Ashley announced on February 14 that she was suing the company for about $40 million for making that claim.
The two are currently (as of March 2005) going through some turmoil, living separately and hardly seeing each other. Both are doing internships for credit, Mary-Kate with photographer Annie Leibovitz, and Ashley with fashion designer, Zac Posen.
The twins received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on April 29, 2004. They are the youngest celebrities to receive this honor. They are reported to be worth $150 million each.
In the episode of Family Guy "Fifteen Minutes of Shame", they replaced Brian and Stewie in the show-within-a-show The Real Live Griffins.
They ranked at number three on the VH1 program 100 Greatest Child Stars.
They are mentioned and insulted along with other celebrities in the song Ass Like That by rapper Eminem. The song was released as a single in 2005. A portion of the music video features the two as puppets who engage in lesbian activity together. The song also makes references about the 2004 movie New York Minute in which they both starred.
Ashley Olsen: Who is who
This is a table comparing the significant differences between the two:
Feature
Height
Handedness
Eye Color
Age Difference (2 minutes)
Facial Structure
Major |
Ashley
5 ft. 3 in (1.60 m)
Right-handed
Green, with a tinge of blue
Older
Oval face
Psychology |
Mary-Kate
5 ft. 2 in (1.57 m)
Left-handed
Green
Younger
Round face
Cuisine |
Though both have become style icons, Mary-Kate dresses more boho- (also called homeless-)chic, while Ashley is more conventionally stylish. Both are known for wearing flip-flops usually, as well as a large number of accessories, such as large sunglasses.
|
