We are all familiar with renowned celebrities of the present world who started as child actors. Although not many child stars remain as well known in their teenage years, the Olsen twins do not belong to that list. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen – the twins who became a household name even before turning one-year-old – belong to a family of stars.
All four children of the family have shared the limelight as successful celebrities at one point or another. Because their fame rose before the era of social media and gossip, there are many facts about the twins we are not familiar with. Let us get to know some amusing and captivating facts about the Olsen twins and their family of stars.
A Common Misconception
Many people used to think the twins were identical. But they were not. Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen are fraternal twins, with Ashley being older by 2 minutes. As babies, it was difficult to tell them apart. But now that they have grown, there are many noticeable differences in their appearance.
Ashley is an inch shorter than Mary-Kate. They both had an identical freckle on the top lip when they were little. Mary-Kate’s lips are fuller, and her eyes are wider than Ashley’s. Eventually, Mary-Kate dyed her hair a different color. So, the twins can now be told apart without any doubt.
Early Stars
We have seen some child artists deliver exceptional performances at a young age, like Haley Joel’s act in The Sixth Sense at only eleven years old and Scarlett Johansson’s debut performance when she was nine years old. But the Olsen twins made their debut only at nine months of age.
One of the twins had appeared in the opening credits of Full House. Of course, it was not their acting skills that got them the role at nine months of age. But according to the producers, the Olsen twins were the only pair of twins who hadn’t cried during the audition time.
First audition at six months
There are child stars that start working relatively around nine to twelve years of age. But then there are the Olsen twins. Not only did these twins appear in their debut show when they were only nine months, but they also auditioned for it even earlier!
According to stats, the filming for Full House started three months after the audition stage. So, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen auditioned for the role of Michelle Tanner three months before they started filming. This means the twins were only six months when they gave their first audition. Talk about being child artists!
Mary-Kate Ashley Olsen?
Many directors prefer choosing a pair of twins to play one child role in television shows. This trick is done to maintain child labor regulations. In this way, twins can perform alternatively one after another without the shoot having to go on a break.
The Olsen twins played the role of Michelle Tanner in Full House the same way. But the show decided not to let people know about the twins playing one role. So, the twins’ names were put together as ‘Mary-Kate Ashley Olsen’ in the credits of Full House. Their names were credited individually only on the last season of the show.
Aesthetic Changes
Just like a pair of twins acting in the same role, television shows have good tricks to pull out for maintaining audience engagement. For instance, in Justice League (2017), Henry Cavill’s mustache was removed with the help of CGI.
But back in the Olsen twin days, something like CGI did not exist. And nor did the producers have huge budgets. When playing Michelle Tanner, Ashley and Mary-Kate lost their baby teeth at different times. To maintain the character’s individuality, the girls had to wear dentures for a few shootings. Such slight tricks kept the shoots ongoing!
No Nepotism Here!
Many celebrities make their way into the industry through family connections – take Jayden Smith and Tori Spelling as examples. But some celebrities stay determined to make their name in the industry without the help of any prior family connections. The Olson siblings are among such icons.
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olson have two other siblings. Elizabeth Olson is the young daughter of the Olson family. James Trent Olson is the elder brother of his three sisters. Elizabeth and James could easily take the help of their sisters’ names to earn fame. But none of them did. They were determined to achieve success on their own, which they both eventually did.
The Youngest Olsen
Younger sister of the twins, Elizabeth Olsen, was determined to make it on her own in the industry. Rather than asking her sisters to pull some strings, the actress hired an agent and a manager for herself. She proved herself to the audience solely by her own passion and determination.
Elizabeth has talked about the idea of asking her sisters for help in her career. She said she was completely okay with the idea. If she could not get a manager or agent for herself, she would give it a try. But, the actress did not need that help from her sisters.
The Young Olsen’s Early Acting Career
Elizabeth Olsen, nicknamed Lizzie, did not want to receive the celebrity limelight as a child. Although she made her debut through a small cameo role in How the West Was Fun, Lizzie started to receive offers once she completed studying theater and arts abroad.
Over time, Lizzie Olsen delivered some great performances in her career. She started to gain popularity as she excelled in thriller movie roles. By delivering a praiseworthy performance in Very Good Girls (2013), Lizzie won the role of Wanda Maximoff in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Since then, she has appeared in three more Marvel movies.
The Entrepreneurial Streak of Trent Olsen
Trent Olsen, the elder brother of the family, used to sell signed pictures of his twin sisters in grade school. Although this helped him earn a few dollars, he did not need their names to earn fame for real. He appeared in ‘The Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley’ only to realize later that acting was not his forte.
Currently working as an entrepreneur, Trent earned fame like his younger sister Elizabeth. He is still a relevant name in the entertainment industry. But because of his focus on entrepreneurship, he is not as popular as his twin sisters.
Fame is a Tricky Thing
We might think being famous means having a lavish lifestyle, VIP benefits, gorgeous dresses, and whatnot. But fame is not that easy to deal with, and the Olsen family is the proof. The twins were the most recognized face of the world at one point. With people asking for pictures or autographs everywhere, even grocery shopping felt like a hassle.
Elizabeth, the younger Olsen, almost gave up on pursuing acting as a career from seeing her sisters having to deal with such invasion of privacy. She found the media world abusive and decided to keep herself on a low profile.
Elizabeth Takes Time Out
At the age of ten, Elizabeth Olsen decided she did not want the child celebrity lifestyle like her sisters. The entertainment industry requires professionalism. As an adult, one may cope with the shoots, promotions, media, photoshoots, etc. But maintaining stardom as a child can be challenging.
Elizabeth became aware of such a lifestyle seeing her sisters, who used to be tutored on shooting sets. She wanted a life in which she could play with other children and attend dance classes, without feeling bound to talk about it to a massive population. She did not want a childhood like her sisters.
Theater Training in Russia
Although Elizabeth Olsen did not start her career as a child star, she excelled in the field upon completion of her university. Elizabeth attended New York University’s Tisch School of Arts. She also got an opportunity to study in Russia for a semester. According to Elizabeth, the Moscow Art Theater School was an essential part of her overall training.
According to the actress, she owes a great portion of her success to the theater training she received in Russia. She added, the training there concerned using one’s imaginative perspective. The actress stated that she loved her experience of theater studying in Russia.
Millionaires by Age 10
The twins made their debut only when they were nine months old. The popular family show named Full House brought them great fame and earnings. Seeing an excellent potential for their future careers, their manager helped establish a company for the girls named Dualstar. The company made a great name in the industry over time.
The girls appeared on the shows Two of a kind and Mary-Kate and Ashley in action, followed by many others. They became household names in the 90s, with their merchandise gaining massive popularity everywhere. Their overall earnings made them millionaires before they were even 10!
Hold on the tween-demographic
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s popularity during the mid-90s is evident from their IMDB pages. Being child stars, they had a good time delivering brilliant performances and gaining public recognition simultaneously. The big proof of this recognition was their recognition among teenagers.
The teenagers of that era would purchase several merchandise items with the twins’ faces on them as a gesture of admiration. These merchandise items include board games, dolls, toys, and make-up products. These items added a good total to the twins’ earnings. Thus, the merchandise business was profitable for Olsens.
Responsible and Caring Parents
As the girls were young and naive when they earned fame, their parents had to be responsible and protective about the future of their daughters. And that is exactly the kind of parents Dave and Jarnette Olsen were. The couple made sure their daughters were in a good space in the industry and had a bright future ahead.
Keeping the twins’ future in mind, Dave and Jarnette Olsen established the twins’ own production company named Dualstar Entertainment Group. The twins produced several films under their own production company. Thus, the parents gave their daughters a platform to create their own opportunities.
Safeguarding the Twin’s Future
The funny part about gaining popularity as a child is the unpredictability of the future. Fame can either bring you lifelong success or make you taste failure after a quick peak of success. Take Selena Gomez and Macaulay Culkin as examples.
The Olsen twins rose to fame from the early years of their childhood. Their parents and manager acknowledged the growing fame and launched Dualstar for the girls. This was a tactical step towards the twins’ future. With this, the girls became producers only at six years of age. The production company featured them as leads, giving rise to their popularity even further.
A New Line for 12-Year-Old Olsen’s
The twins were young when they achieved all the stardom. When they were 12, they decided to launch a clothing line of their own. This initiative resulted in one of their impressive decisions in terms of career and business. Taking a step towards the fashion world, they could make proper use of their recognition without being in the limelight.
They worked with Badgley Mischka in 2006 and launched the collection by the end of the same year. In 2007, they launched another line by the names of their siblings, James and Elizabeth Olsen. Both companies were doing great in the business world.
Candid about Hard Work
Having earned fame at a young age, the Olsen twins now share the stories of the roller coaster experience they had as child artists. Ashley talked about how being in the public eye since childhood made them feel a sense of pressure. She said there were good times, bad times, and mostly crazy times.
Ashley compared their strict schedule with that of the army people. There were days with flight and shoot schedules at timings like 2 am and 5 am. Ashley said that looking back, it surprised her how neither she nor her sister cracked under the constant pressure in those days.
Unfortunate aspects of being a child star
Child artists may earn a fortune and fame at a young age, but there certainly are a few losses for all that gain. In the case of the Olsen twins, they say the unfortunate aspects of their well-earned stardom at a young age were quite a few.
The twins do not avoid talking about such disadvantageous parts of their stardom in the interviews. Ashley stated how their daily schedule at that time mainly passed in a cycle of school work, photoshoots, shows, radio interviews, and whatnot. Looking back, the girls realize that time of their childhood was a challenging stage for both of them.
Wishing for a Different Childhood?
The Olsen twins have mentioned the ‘behind the scene’ effects of being child stars in many of their interviews. It is easy for people to assume child actors like them must have had everything one could ask for. But the girls have talked about these speculations being wrong.
Mary-Kate has talked about living a fully scheduled childhood and compared themselves with performing monkeys. According to the twins, their childhood pictures only portray a busy childhood. They cannot feel much emotional attachment to the moments captured. They would not change a thing but would not wish the same childhood for anyone else.
Troubles on the Down-Low
Olsen twins made their appearance as hosts on Saturday Night Live, taking every joke at their expense lightly. But there was one joke that might have slightly affected one of the twins. It was a joke by a paparazzo. It addressed how Mary-Kate was asked to “eat a sandwich” for being too skinny.
Later that year, Mary-Kate’s representative had told the media that the star had signed up for a facility to treat her eating disorder. Mary-Kate hasn’t talked about the experience in the open. But she mentioned the necessity of asking for help when needed in some of her later interviews.
Missed Real Prom for SNL
While hosting the popular sketch show Saturday Night Live, the twins joked about the difficult decision they had to take that night. The girls had to pick between their prom and SNL to attend. Ashley talked about not getting to wear fancy outfits and riding a limo to the event.
SNL decided to give the girls their perfect prom- with Maya Rudolph appearing as a drunken classmate, while Jimmy Fallon and Will Forte made their way as the girls’ dates. The missed prom became the theme for the show, and what could be a better prom night than that?
Ashley’s Own Woes
While Mary-Kate dealt with her eating disorder, Ashley Olsen also had her share of health issues. The star suffers from Lyme disease, a bacterial illness caused by tick bites. The disease affects the joints of the patient and may even lead to heart or nervous system-related issues.
The disease had affected Ashley and her ability to work a few years ago. According to a source, her condition has worsened over time. Diagnosed at a later stage, early preventive measures were not an option for her. She has been facing a hard time dealing with the condition.
We Dream the Same Dream
There is a term called Twin Telepathy. It is mainly associated with how twins share a powerful mind connection and can read each other’s thoughts without saying a thing. When talking about such connections, the Olsen twins mentioned how they get confused about certain past life events. The two sisters fail to remember who the event had happened with.
According to Mary Kate, once one of them was stung by a bee. But since both of them felt the pain, no one understood who got stung. The girls have also talked about their mix-ups of wardrobe and outfit collections.
A ‘Maybe’ Pile in the Closet
We already know that sisters in a family share clothes with each other. It is an act of friendship and bonding among two sisters. They share dresses, accessories, make-up products, and toys with each other. But the Olsen girls take sister-bonding to a whole new level.
According to the girls, there are three sections of clothes in their closets. One section belonging to Mary-Kate, another section belonging to Ashley. And the third section, as they said, is the ‘maybe’ section, as none of the girls remember which one of them bought those outfits in the first place!
Olsen’s Walk of Fame Star
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a prestigious landmark with more than 2600 star names on coveted tiles. Launched by the then president of Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, E.M Stuart, the landmark has stars by the artists’ names that have had an impact on their respective fields of expertise.
The Olsen twins received their Walk of Fame Star back in 2004. They were only 18 years old when they achieved the star, making them some young artists to be honored in the walk. They were also the only pair of twins to have achieved the recognition.
Elizabeth’s achievements
Because the twins were a part of the entertainment industry from their early ages, their fame reached peaks. But the young Olsen of the family, Elizabeth Olsen, achieved quite a great stardom by her dedication and multiple excellent performances.
Elizabeth has received mass recognition for many projects she has worked on in the past decade. Her performance in Silent House was much appreciated by the critics, although the movie was not well received by the audience. Her stellar performance in Martha Marcy May Marlene earned her awards like Best Breakout Star, Most Promising Performance, Best Actress, and many more.
Family Split
Children have to deal with the short end of the stick when parents decide to part ways. Celebrities like Britney Spears, Macaulay Culkin, and Lindsay Logan have had different experiences when each of their parents split up. The Olsen siblings also had to go through a family splitting phase.
Unexpected to the public, Dave and Jarnette Olsen decided to split in 1995. As parents, they were loving and protective. Rumors say that Mary-Kate took the side of her father, and Ashley supported her mother at the time of the split. Ashley did not attend the ceremony of her father’s second marriage.
All Good, and Weird, Things Must Come to an End
In the year 2015, Mary-Kate got married to French banker Oliver Sarkozy. But the marriage did not last long due to the couple’s differences in life choices. For instance, Mary-Kate wanted to have kids butOliver Sarkozy did not have the same desire.
The relationship seemed unconventional from the beginning, given the age and height differences of the duo. Their separation got finalized in January of 2021. Mary Kate said that the relationship had broken down irretrievably. As we said, all good and weird things must come to an end. Moving on from this relationship, Mary Kate can hopefully start her life afresh.
The Success Stories Continue
One of the influential and powerful celebrity families of Hollywood is the Olsens. Beginning their journey from the mid-90s, the Olsen siblings continue to shine in their own career paths even today.
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are currently all focused on their fashion design line-ups. The girls have earned great success in the fashion field. Elizabeth Olsen continues excelling in her journey as an actress, playing one of the iconic characters in Marvel movies- Scarlet Witch. Trent Olsen is mainly an entrepreneur, but he is still working in feature films in the industry.