AKA Ashley Fuller Olsen
Born: 13-Jun-1986
Birthplace: Sherman Oaks, CA
Gender: Female
Religion: Anglican/Episcopalian
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Olsen Twin
Ashley Olsen and her twin sisterMary-Kate Olsenwere professional actors before they could speak. A TV executive held the twins in his arms when they were three or maybe nine months old (accounts vary), and neither girl cried. On the basis of this "audition", the Olsen twins landed the shared role of baby Michelle on Full House, when they weren't even toddlers. They were nine when the show finally ended.
The twins were raised by their mother after their parents' divorce, and most media coverage says they had a "fairly normal" upbringing. But how normal could it have been? Normal parents don't take their infants on auditions, and normal twins don't film their first Christmas special (To Grandmother's House We Go) when they're six, or The Olsen Twins' Mothers' Day Special a few months after that. An album called Brother For Sale sold well, and led to several more albums. "Mary-Kate and Ashley In Action" books cast them as spies. "Tweens" (children aged between 8 and 12) seemed to love this kind of entertainment, so more and more of it was made, under the watchful hand of the twins' "business partner", Robert Thorne, and their production company, called Dualstar Entertainment. "Mary-Kate and Ashley" school folders, backpacks, video games, or any product with their name on it was an assured money-maker.
Full House was cancelled in 1995, but without a TV show to occupy their time, though, the Olsen twins were able to increase their output. They had already released several direct-to-video hits, and started two popular video series, "The Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley", with the twins as kid detectives who would "solve any crime by dinner time", and "You're Invited to Mary-Kate and Ashley's [Birthday Party, Mall of America Party, etc.]". Their feature films, It Takes Two and New York Minute, have been bombs in theaters, but the real money came when they were released on video. Two subsequent sit-coms, Two of a Kind and So Little Time, were quickly cancelled, and at 17 the twins seemed wooden co-hosting Saturday Night Live. But nothing yet has slowed the Mary-Kate and Ashley juggernaut.
They've made more than 40 video titles and six music albums, and about 29 million copies of their books had been sold. Mary-Kate and Ashley Magazine is among the most popular tweener titles. In 1993, CNN estimated the twins' financial worth at about $150,000,000. Each. And neither twin has yet worked in any project without the other.
They're fraternal twins, not identical twins, so there are several distinct clues for telling which is which. Mary-Kate has a freckle on her right cheek. Ashley has two freckles on her left cheek, near her ear. Ashley, whose hair is currently blonde, is two minutes older and an inch or two taller. Mary-Kate is the more hyper twin, who wears too much eyeliner.
The Olsen twins received a shared sidewalk star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame on 29 April 2004. They posed together, and when a reporter asked how it felt, they replied simultaneously, "It's a great honor."
Father: David Olsen (mortgage banker, b. 1953)
Mother: Jarnette Olsen ("Jarnie", ballet dancer; b. 1954, div. Feb-1996)
Mother: Martha Mackenzie Olsen (stepmother, m. 10-Mar-1996)
Brother: Trent Olsen (actor, b. 6-May-1984)
Sister: Mary-Kate Olsen (twin)
Sister: Elizabeth Olsen ("Lizzie", b. 16-Feb-1989)
Sister: Taylor Olsen (stepsister, b. 1996)
Brother: Jake Olsen (stepbrother, b. 1997)
Boyfriend: Matt Kaplan (quarterback at Campbell Hall, ex-, took her virginity, dated 2004)
Slept with: Jared Leto (actor, dated 2005 for one week)
High School: Campbell Hall Episcopal Day School, Hollywood, CA (2004)
University: New York University
Endorsement of McDonald's Happy Meals in France (Sep-2004)
Endorsement of Target 1991
Endorsement of Wal-Mart
Hollywood Walk of Fame 29-Apr-2004
TELEVISION
Full House Michelle Tanner (1987-95)
Two of a Kind Ashley Burke (1998-99)
So Little Time Chloe Carlson (2001-02)
FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
New York Minute (1-May-2004)
When In Rome (26-Nov-2002)
Getting There (2002)
Holiday in the Sun (20-Nov-2001)
Winning London (27-Mar-2001)
Our Lips Are Sealed (2000)
Switching Goals (12-Dec-1999)
Passport to Paris (9-Nov-1999)
Billboard Dad (10-Nov-1998)
It Takes Two (17-Nov-1995)
How the West Was Fun (19-Nov-1994)
The Little Rascals (5-Aug-1994)
Double, Double, Toil and Trouble (30-Oct-1993)
To Grandmother's House We Go (6-Sep-1992)
Official Website:
http://mary-kateandashley.com/
Appears on the cover of:
People, 27-Jan-2003, DETAILS: (pictured with sister) The World's Richest Kids
