All Grown Up: Mary-Kate And Ashley Olsen As Adults

Oct 12, 2020 by apost team

There probably hasn't been a more famous pair of twins than Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen, who first rose to fame at the tender age of nine months, after appearing in the hit sitcom Full House.

After spending much of their childhood and teenage years starring in movies and shows, they left the limelight for a while before reappearing as bonafide fashion designers. Here, we go into their story and what they're up to today.

Hailing from Sherman Oaks, California, Ashley and Mary-Kate were born in 1986, and as their surname might suggest, have Norwegian and Danish roots. Ashley is the older twin of the pair, being born just two minutes before Mary-Kate. What some people might not know is that the girls aren't actually identical twins but fraternal, meaning that they only share some of the same genes and actually could have turned out looking much more different.

After auditioning for Full House when they were just six months old, the girls were cast in the role of Michelle Tanner. The show aired from 1987 to 1995 and was a huge success—audiences fell in love with them and the world got to see them literally grow up in front of their eyes. Although now it's well known, at the time the producers wanted to keep it secret that Michelle was played by twins, so they were credited simply as "Mary Kate Ashley Olsen." The reason that the producers wanted twins to play the one character was to comply with child labor laws. But while the girls brought happiness to viewers, years later, Mary-Kate would tell Marie Claire magazine that it wasn't all positive from their end. She described them as "little monkey performers" in reference to their youth spent in front of the cameras. She added:

"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…"

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In 1995, when Full House stopped airing, their parents divorced, which also made an impact on the young girls. Instead of slowing down with the end of the show, their work schedule ramped up, as they founded and became CEOs of their own company Dualstar, which they are still in charge of today. This period saw them shoot nearly 30 movies, record albums, make music videos, and release a book series. By the age of 10, they became the youngest self-made millionaires in American history, according to The Telegraph.

Less than a decade after Full House ended, the girls would shoot their last movie together in 2004, titled New York Minute. It was a critical flop and soon after the girls said goodbye to Hollywood. But one door closing led to another opening—known for their incredible sense of style from a young age, the girls moved their focus to fashion, and created two fashion labels called The Row and Elizabeth and James. Speaking with British Vogue in 2019, Mary-Kate said, as reported by Elle:

"We've been there, we've done that, we started out that way. But this is the way we chose to move forward in our lives: to not be in the spotlight, to really have something that speaks for itself."

In the last few years the twins have been in the limelight for their romantic lives. After allegedly dating Heath Ledger around the time of his tragic death in 2008, Mary-Kate would years later marry French businessman Oliver Sarkozy, the half-brother of France's former president Nicolas Sarkozy. But just this year she filed for divorce. Meanwhile, Ashley hasn't been in the headlines as much for her romantic life, but some reports suggest she's dating an artist named Louis Eisner.

These days the twins rarely attend public events, but considering they spent their entire childhood in front of the camera, it's no surprise they'd want some privacy now. However, their bond has remained unchanged through all these years. As reported in Times of India, Ashley said:

"Our bond is really beyond words. I know when she's hurting, I know when she's going through something, I know when she's happy—whether I'm with her or not, I know."

What a full life they've already lived at such a young age! What are your thoughts on their transition from full-blown stardom to a more private way of life? Let us know your thoughts in the comments and pass this on to any friends who might be wondering what they're up to!