Full House
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$100 Million
"Ashley and I are very different, especially when you get to know us. Ashley's more of a Type A personality, I would say." Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are two of the most well-known sisters in all of Hollywood. Growing up television allowed for the Olsen Twins to come up in an environment conducive to growing their own artistic efforts. As a result, the Olsen's were able to build more than $1 billion in product revenue as part of the Full House production.
In the intervening years since Full House went off of the air, the Olsen Twins have pursued endeavors far beyond the television screen. Now the Olsens are as well-known for their efforts in the fashion industry as they are for anything else. In 2012, the Olsen Twins brought home the biggest prize at the CFDA Fashion Awards. A couple of years later, the Olsen Twins would win Womenswear Designer of the Year for their work on their personal fashion line.
Born in Sherman Oaks
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were both born on June 13, 1986, in Los Angeles, CA. They grew up in Sherman Oaks with their parents, David and Jarnette Olsen. As kids, the Olsen Twins were welcomed into a household that was already a full house, thanks to their elder brother, younger sister, and two half-siblings. While the Olsen Twins were catapulted to stardom at an early age, their home life wasn't always easy. Their parents would get divorced when the children were just eight years old.
For Mary-Kate and Ashley, success came fast and furious. By the age of six months, they had already been cast in pivotal roles for the ABC sitcom, Full House. By the time that the Olsen Twins were nine months old, they were already on set and filming. In order to get around labor laws, the Olsen Twins took turns playing the same character. This allowed the producers at Full House to continue their production long after child labor laws would have forced them to take a break. Thanks to being able to split the role, the twins never had to work extra hours which, naturally, freed up time for other pursuits. Both twins would share the role up until the series concluded in 1995.
In their private life, the Olsen Twins have been constantly under the spotlight. They had planned to attend New York University in 2004, however, health issues and relationship problems would force Mary-Kate to drop out.
Growing Up in Showbusiness
For the Olsen Twins, hitting it big in the television industry wasn't hard. In fact, they probably don't even remember their first few years on set. The Olsen Twins would be cast as Michelle Tanner in Full House in 1987. At just nine months old, they would rotate the role throughout the series entire run, culminating in the show being pulled from the air in 1995. Both fraternal sisters would appear in all 193 episodes of the program. During this timeline, the Olsen Twins would reprise their role as Michelle Tanner in a cross-over episode with Hangin' with Mr. Cooper (1992).
By the time that the Olsen Twins were 12-years-old, they had begun to branch out in a number of different directions. Right when Full House came to an end, the Olsens would make their move toward the silver screen. Both sisters would appear in the film, It Takes Two (1995) alongside Kirstie Alley and Steve Guttenberg. While the Olsens were more than capable of splitting their careers, they stayed together throughout their time in Hollywood. It was around this time that the Olsens also began to produce a line of music videos based around detective versions of themselves. This series was titled, You're Invited to Mary-Kate and Ashley's... with the last line being filled by a different scenario. The twins would star in this series from 1995 until 2000, appearing in at least ten mini-films based around the concept.
Outside of It Takes Two, the Olsen Twins starred in a number of feature films together during the mid-90s. The twins were seen in How the West Was Fun (1994), Double, Double Toil and Trouble (1993) and To Grandmother's House We Go (1992). It should be said that the aforementioned films all were released straight to television, thus preventing their feature film debut from officially happening until It Takes Two in 1995.
Still in their tweens, the Olsen Twins were almost prolific in their branding efforts. With the success of the You're Invited... series, the Olsen Twins would also release a string of videos under the title of, The Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley starting in 1994. Along with the videos, the Olsen Twins also released a series of companion books. As their star continued to grow, it became easier and easier to find the Olsen Twins on more and more branded merchandise. Before the end of the decade, the Olsen Twins would be considered marketing magic. They had their own clothing line at Wal-Mart, a series of computer games, toys, dolls, books, and more. Industry estimates believe that the Olsen Twins were generating more than $1 billion in retail sales per year. The Twins even made the Billboard Video Music chart several times throughout their career with tracks like I Am The Cute One and Brother for Sale.
Outside of their run as true child stars, the Olsen Twins continued to act up until their teen years. As young adults, the Olsen Twins appeared in films like Winning London (2001), Holiday in the Sun (2001), Getting There (2002), and finally New York Minute (2004). New York Minute was the final film that the Olsen Twins appeared in as a unit.
Following their decision to leave the acting world behind, the Olsen Twins opted to focus instead on their work in the fashion world. The Olsen Twins began to market themselves through an ad campaign with Badgley Mischka. They would also go on to launch their own line, The Row, in 2006. After finding success with The Row, the twins went on to release several more clothing lines, each based around unique themes. Elizabeth and James is a modern clothing line named after their brothers while StyleMint and Olsenboye are two budget-friendly clothing lines. Now fully immersed in the fashion industry, the twins work at Superga as creative directors for the famous Italian shoe line.
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