Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Fuller Olsen were born June 13, 1986 and are American actresses and entrepreneurs. They are fraternal twins 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.


Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen were born in Sherman Oaks, California to David Olsen and Jarnette Jones,Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen the Olsen twins started their acting careers on the television series Full House in 1987. Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen were hired at the age of five months, filming began with seven months. The show was widely popular during the late 80s and early 90s, and both sisters, Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen 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. 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, Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen returned to the entertainment industry, riding the momentum of their role on Full House by heavily merchandising their image. Taking the world of tweens by storm, their names have become a very profitable industry, with their likeness seen in clothes, fragrances, magazines, movies, posters, and even video games like Mary Kate and Ashley's Magical Mystery Mall.

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Today, Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen are popular figures in today's tween market, following along the lines of such Hollywood child stars as Shirley Temple, Ron Howard and Macaulay Culkin among others.


Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen 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. They also have their own book series.


In 2004 Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen 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. Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen 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.


As the sisters, Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen grow older and mature in their style, they have come to be regarded as fashion icons, due to their chic choices and influence over trends. 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 consists of oversized sunglasses, boots, loose sweaters, and flowing skirts .


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



In 2004, Mary-Kate checked into rehab for six weeks because she was suffering with eating disorder anorexia nervosa. It was rumored that there was also a drug problem, but the Olsens' publicist said

"Mary-Kate was not admitted for drugs period."

Mary-Kate Olsen had put on about five to seven pounds immediately after her stint in rehab and recent pictures show that she may have gained a few more healthy pounds.


Mary-Kate Olsen faced another public debacle in 2005 when she ended her romance with Greek shipping heir Stavros Niarchos III, who then began dating hotel heiress and socialite Paris Hilton. Mary-Kate Olsen 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 Paris Hilton and Mary-Kate Olsen.

"Paris Hilton and I always only had nice things to say about each other," Olsen said. "Now I guess you can tell we're not talking.".

Mary-Kate Olsen is not the only twin receiving personal public attention. Ashley Olsen 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 Olsen with her eyes half-closed. The lawsuit stated that the photo was clearly used to create a misimpression that Ashley Olsen was drugged. Ashley Olsen 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.".