Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen

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Mary-Kate Olsen
Born: June 13, 1986 (age 20)
Sherman Oaks, California
Occupation: actress/singer
Net worth: $300 million USD
Website: mary-kateandashley.com

Mary-Kate Olsen (born June 13, 1986) is American actress. She is a fraternal twin(see Ashley Fuller Olsen.) as opposed to identical twins, although many erroneously view them as such) who have appeared in television and films since infancy. Since then, they have attained international fame through numerous television programs, films, interviews, as well as commercial endorsements. As a rule, they appear together, and have filmed movies worldwide, including in London, Sydney, Paris, New York City, Rome and the Bahamas.

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[edit] Early life

Born in Sherman Oaks, California to David Olsen (b. 1953) and Jarnette (Jarnie) Fuller (b. 1954), the Olsen twins, Mary Kate and Ashley Fuller Olsen, started their acting careers on the television series Full House in 1987. Hired at the age of five months, filming began when they were seven months old. The show was widely popular during the late 1980s and early 1990s, and both sisters played one 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 everytime 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 later credited as separate people. During the eight year run, Mary-Kate and Ashley made several straight-to-video movies such as To Grandmother's House We Go (1992).

[edit] Career

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. They established a company called Dualstar in 1993 and their brand is sold in more than 3,000 stores in America and over 5,300 stores worldwide [1]. Taking the world of preteens by storm, their names have become a very profitable industry, with their likeness seen in clothes, fragrances, magazines, movies and posters. There were also many Mary-Kate and Ashley fashion dolls made by Mattel from 2000-2004.

Mary-Kate and Ashley were popular figures in the preteen market during the late '90s and early 2000s, following along the lines of such Hollywood teen stars as Judy Garland, Shirley Temple and Mickey Rooney among others. 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, "You're invited too", and the ABC show Two of a Kind (now rerun on ABC Family), as well as ABC Family's So Little Time. So Little Time was panned by critics and disappointed fans; the show is basically a single camera comedy show with a laugh track. They also have their own book series.

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 until Mary-Kate took a break in 2005 and moved back to California. She decided to stay in the west coast and pursue more individualized work with their company, DualStar. Ashley, still in NY, remains in contact with her sister.

The twins received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on April 26, 2004. They are the youngest celebrities to receive this honor. "We are so proud," said Ashley.

They have also been on the Forbes.com The Celebrity 100 list since 2002.

They ranked at #84 in 2002 [2] # 83 in 2003 [3], # 48 in 2004 [4], # 35 in 2005 [5], and #37 in 2006 [6].

[edit] Other work

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[7]. The style, sometimes referred to as "ashcan" or "Boho-chic" [8], 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 [9].

Mary-Kate and Ashley have a clothing line in Wal-Mart stores across America for little girls ages 4-14 as well as a beauty line called mary-kate and ashley: Real fashion for real girls.

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." [10]

Both Mary-Kate and Ashley have been tapped as the faces of upscale fashion line Badgley Mischka[11].

They have also been working on a new couture label 'The Row' named after the famous Saville Row of London.

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.

The controversy over Mary-Kate's eating disorder and recovery has shone a dark light over their career evolution, though much of the entertainment community has been supportive to her return to the film business. She is currently scheduled to appear in the highly anticipated film, Factory Girl.

[edit] Personal lives

Mary-Kate and Ashley have an older brother, Trent and younger sister, Elizabeth as well as two step-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 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."[12] Mary-Kate put on about five to seven pounds immediately after her stint in rehab and recent pictures show that she may have gained more weight.

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." [13].

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." [14].

Mary-Kate is not the only twin receiving personal public attention. 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 drugged. 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 rags' profits."[15].

[edit] Selected filmography

[edit] TV Series

  • Full House (1987-1995)
  • Two Of A Kind (1998-1999)
  • Mary-Kate and Ashley in Action (2001)
  • So Little Time (2001-2002)

[edit] Movies

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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