Has there ever been a more iconic pair of twins than Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen?
I simply can’t come up with a set of twins that can match the Olsen sisters in popularity and superstardom at the height of their fame, nor the impact they had on popular culture.
Their breakthrough came in the television sitcom “Full House”, where the 9 month old girls became famous all over the world. People couldn’t help but fall in love with the cute and charming toddlers.
Of course, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then, and the twins are now in the middle of their lives – each pursuing their own careers. However, both are very restrictive on social media, which makes it hard to know what their lives look like today. Safe to say that after 33 years in the public eye, these famous girls have transformed and now look almost unrecognizable…
Mary-Kate and Ashley were born in 1986 in Sherman Oaks, California. Ashley arrived first, followed by her sister two minutes later.
As their last name hints at, their family has its roots in Scandinavia. The Olsen family is of Danish and Norwegian origin.
From the day the twins were born, their parents realized that their girls had something very special – they always laughed and smiled.
Many people still think that the Olsen twins are identical twins, but that’s not true. The Olsen sisters are actually fraternal twins, which means that they could just as easily look nothing alike. They only share half of their genes, just like any other siblings.
When they were just six months old, their mother took them to an audition for “Full House”, the popular American television sitcom which ran between 1987 and 1995. The production team had already decided on another set of twins to play “Michelle Tanner” in the series – but when the producer saw the Olsen twins, he decided to go for them instead.
The audience immediately fell for the twins’ character, Michelle. Her most memorable line of them all, “You got it, dude!” became a classic.
As most people may know today, Mary-Kate and Ashley shared the work of portraying Michelle. Because they were so small at the time, the production had to alternate between the girls, otherwise it would be unendurable for one so young.
But the production team still did everything to hide the fact that it was two girls who were playing Michelle. For example, her character was initially credited as ”Mary-Kate Ashley Olsen”.
The twins became so popular that the writers behind ”Full House” began writing special storylines just for Michelle. Mary-Kate and Ashley ended up staying on the show until it concluded in 1995.
Privately, Mary-Kate & Ashley was said to be very shy in school and they were even placed into separate classrooms because they depended on one too much, according to certain teachers.
In retrospect, Mary-Kate Olsen has talked openly about her upbringing as a child actress, and how she regrets that she was in “Full House”.
She said that she and her sister were like ”little monkey performers” in front of the cameras:
”I look at old photos of me, and I don’t feel connected to them at all … I would never wish my upbringing on anyone,” Mary-Kate explained in an interview with the magazine Marie Claire.
Parents divorced
”Full House” was not the only thing that ended in 1995. The same year, Mary-Kate and Ashley’s parents divorced. The twins were left heartbroken and it was a difficult a time for the whole family.
But the show had to go on and the sisters started to focus on new projects and movies. They worked harder than any children should have to do at that age.
As 6-year-olds, they founded and became CEOs of their own production company, Dualstar. Even today, 30 years later, the twins are still CEOs of that same company.
In the following years, they shot almost 30 movies, most of them being straight-to-VHS films. Mary-Kate and Ashley also recorded music albums, music videos and released a book series. Before they turned 10, Mary-Kate and Ashley were the youngest millionaires in the United States to make their own money.
