Background and career
Mary-Kate Olsen (born June 13, 1986) is an American businesswoman, fashion designer, equestrian, and former actress. Her acting career began at the age of nine months, sharing the role of Michelle Tanner with her twin sister Ashley Olsen in the television sitcom Full House (1987–1995). They also starred in numerous films together. In 1993, the production company Dualstar Entertainment Group was founded, which produced a long string of television films and direct-to-video releases featuring the twins; they starred in It Takes Two (1995), Passport to Paris (1999), Our Lips Are Sealed (2000), Winning London (2001), Holiday in the Sun (2001) and in the television series, So Little Time (2001–2002), for which Olsen was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in Children's Programming. They starred in Getting There (2002), When in Rome (2002), The Challenge (2003) and made cameos in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003). The last film Olsen starred in with her twin sister was New York Minute (2004). She continued with her acting career independently, appearing with a few guest-star roles in films and television shows, with her last film being Beastly (2011). In March 2012, Mary-Kate and Ashley officially indicated their intention to retire as actresses in order to focus on their careers in the fashion industry. The twins co-founded luxury fashion brand The Row, lifestyle brand Elizabeth and James, and more affordable fashion lines Olsenboye and StyleMint. They co-authored a book, Influence, featuring interviews with fashion designers that have inspired their fashion lines. The twins are also members of the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
Mary-Kate Olsen was born on June 13, 1986, in Sherman Oaks, California. She is the daughter of Jarnette "Jarnie" (née Jones; born 1954), a personal manager, and David "Dave" Olsen, a real estate developer and mortgage banker. She is two minutes younger than her twin sister Ashley. She has an older brother and a younger sister (actress Elizabeth Olsen), and two half-siblings from her father's second marriage. Olsen's parents divorced in 1996. Olsen attended the Campbell Hall School in Los Angeles. After graduating from Campbell Hall in 2004, Olsen and her twin sister went on to attend the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University.
Olsen began her acting career at the age of six months old when she and Ashley were hired to share the role of Michelle Tanner on the popular television sitcom Full House (1987–1995). She starred alongside her twin sister in the films, To Grandmother's House We Go (1992), Double, Double, Toil and Trouble (1993), How the West Was Fun (1994), It Takes Two (1995), Billboard Dad (1998) and in the television series, Two of a Kind (1998–1999). In 1997, the Olsen twins guest starred in an episode of Sister, Sister, which starred twin actresses Tia Mowry and Tamera Mowry.
In 1993, following Mary-Kate and Ashley's success on Full House, a limited liability company, Dualstar Entertainment Group was created to produce Mary-Kate and Ashley-branded products. It produced a successful long string of TV movies and direct-to-video releases featuring the girls. They starred in Passport to Paris (1999), Switching Goals (1999), Our Lips Are Sealed (2000), Winning London (2001), Holiday in the Sun (2001) and in the television series, So Little Time (2001–2002). They became household names and popular figures in the preteen market during the late 1990s and early 2000s, with Mary-Kate's likeness seen in clothes, books, fragrances, magazines, movies, and posters, among others. There were fashion dolls of her made by Mattel from 2000 to 2005. They also starred in the films Getting There (2002), When in Rome (2002), The Challenge (2003) and made cameos in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003). In 2004, the twins appeared in their final and light-hearted romantic comedy film, New York Minute.
That same year upon their 18th birthday, both Mary-Kate and Ashley took control of Dualstar, becoming joint-CEOs and presidents of the company, which at the time had its merchandise being carried in over 3,000 stores in America and 5,300 stores worldwide. These ventures, combined with an array of licensing deals for their names and likenesses, made Olsen wealthy at a young age. In 2004, Olsen's and her twin sister’s wealth was estimated at $137 million each.
Olsen's first solo acting appearance was in the movie Factory Girl (2006). Her one short scene was ultimately cut from theatrical release, but was included on the film's Unrated version on DVD and Blu-ray. In 2007, she had a recurring role on the television show, Weeds, and the twins said that if they became involved in movies together again, it would be as producers. In 2008, Olsen made a guest appearance on the ABC comedy Samantha Who? as a self-destructive girl that Samantha tries to help. That same year, she also appeared in the film The Wackness. In 2011, Olsen appeared in the motion picture adaption of the Alex Flinn novel Beastly, which was her final acting project. In March 2012, both Mary-Kate and Ashley indicated their interest to retire as actresses in order to focus on their careers in fashion. They discussed wanting to open a store as one of their future fashion-based endeavors. In 2015, it was announced that John Stamos signed on with Netflix to produce and co-star in Fuller House, a spin-off of Full House that would reunite the original cast members for a 13-episode series. However, in May of that year, Mary-Kate and Ashley announced that they would not reprise their role as Michelle Tanner. A month prior to the announcement, Nickelodeon acquired the rights to the twins' video library.
