Olsen, Ashley 1986–
OLSEN, Ashley 1986–
PERSONAL
Full name, Ashley Fuller Olsen; born June 13, 1986, in Sherman Oaks, CA; daughter of David (a mortgage banker and real estate developer) and Jarnette (a personal manager; maiden name, Fuller) Olsen; twin sister of Mary–Kate Olsen (an actress, producer, singer, and businessperson; also known as Mary Kate Olsen); sister of Elizabeth Olsen (an actress) and Trent Olsen (an actor). Education: Attended New York University. Avocational Interests: Dancing, tennis, golf, shopping.
Addresses:
Office—Dualstar Productions, 1801 Century Park East, Suite 2400, Los Angeles, CA 90069. Agent—Lisa Hallerman, United Talent Agency, 9560 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 500, Beverly Hills, CA 90212. Manager—Robert Thorne, Thorne and Company, 1801 Century Park East, 12th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90069.
Career:
Actress, producer, singer, and businessperson. All with Mary–Kate Olsen: Dualstar Productions, Los Angeles, cofounder and principal, 1993—; publisher of more than 150 books and the magazine Mary–Kate and Ashley, 2001—; designer of a clothing line, 2002—; executive soundtrack producer for many Mary–Kate and Ashley videos; appeared in advertisements. Several products featuring the Ashley and Mary–Kate Olsen's name and/or likeness have been marketed in recent years, including children's books, dolls, bedding, clothing, and cosmetics.
Member:
Screen Actors Guild.
Awards, Honors:
All with sister Mary–Kate Olsen: Young Artist awards, Young Artist Foundation, best young artist under five years of age, 1989, outstanding performance by an actress under nine years of age, 1990, and exceptional performance by a young actress under ten, 1992, all for Full House; Young Artist Award, best youth actress in a television miniseries, movie of the week, or special, 1994, for Double, Double, Toil and Trouble; Young Artist Award nomination, best actress under ten in a feature film, 1996, for It Takes Two; Franchise Performers Award, DVD Exclusive awards, 2003; Teen Choice Award nomination, choice movie blush, 2004, for New York Minute; received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, 2004.
CREDITS
Television Appearances; Series:
(With Mary–Kate Olsen) Michelle Elizabeth Tanner, Full House, ABC, 1987–96.
Ashley Burke, Two of a Kind, ABC, 1998–99.
Chloe Carlson, So Little Time, Fox Family Channel, 2001–2002.
Voices of Ashley and special agent Amber, Mary–Kate and Ashley in Action! (animated), ABC, 2001–2002.
Television Appearances; Miniseries:
Hollywood Children, 1993.
Television Appearances; Movies:
Julie Thompson, To Grandmother's House We Go, ABC, 1992.
Lynn Farmer and young Aunt Agatha, Double, Double, Toil and Trouble, ABC, 1993.
Jessica Martin, How the West Was Fun, ABC, 1994.
Emma Stanton, "Switching Goals," The Wonderful World of Disney, ABC, 1999.
Lizzie Dalton, "The Challenge," The Wonderful World of Disney, ABC, 2003.
Television Appearances; Specials:
(With Mary–Kate Olsen) Michelle, ABC TGIF, ABC, 1990.
The Walt Disney World Happy Easter Parade, ABC, 1991.
What about Me? I'm Only Three!, CBS, 1992.
Cohost, For Our Children: The Concert, The Disney Channel, 1993.
Cohost, The Olsen Twins Mother's Day Special, ABC, 1993.
Disney's "Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra," The Disney Channel, 1993.
How I Spent My Summer Vacation, ABC, 1993.
Christmas at Home with the Stars, ABC, 1994.
The Making of "The Adventures of Mary–Kate and Ashley," ABC, 1994.
Trenchcoat twin, The Adventures of Mary–Kate and Ashley: Mystery on the High Seas, ABC, 1995.
Sea World/Busch Gardens Party for the Planet, CBS, 1995, 1996.
The 71st Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, NBC, 1997.
Behind the Walls of "Full House," 2000.
Child Stars: Their Story, Arts and Entertainment, 2000.
Total Access 24/7, Fox Family Channel, 2000.
Fake ID Club 2001, MTV, 2001.
Fashion Forward: Spring 2001, Fox Family Channel, 2001.
The Great American History Quiz: For Kids, History Channel, 2001.
MTV Bash: Carson Daly, MTV, 2003.
E! 101 Most Starlicious Makeovers, E! Entertainment Television, 2004.
Television Appearances; Awards Presentations:
The Fourth Annual American Comedy Awards, ABC, 1990.
The 43rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards Presentation, Fox, 1991.
The 17th Annual People's Choice Awards, CBS, 1991.
Presenter, MTV Video Music Awards 2002 (also known as VMAs 2002), MTV, 2002.
Presenter, The 29th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, CBS, 2002.
The Eighth Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, TNT, 2002.
Presenter, MTV Video Music Awards 2003, MTV, 2003.
Presenter, MTV Video Music Awards 2004, MTV, 2004.
Presenter, Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards '04 (also known as Nickelodeon 17th Annual Kids' Choice Awards), Nickelodeon, 2004.
Television Appearances; Episodic:
Guest, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, NBC, 1992.
(With Mary–Kate Olsen) Michelle Tanner, "Hangin' with Michelle," Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, ABC, 1992.
Herself, "Ellen's Improvement," Ellen, ABC, 1995.
Guest, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, syndicated, 1997.
Herself, "Slime Party," Sister, Sister, The WB, 1997.
Herself, All My Children (also known as AMC), ABC, 1998.
Sue Murphy, "Gossip," 7th Heaven, The WB, 2000.
Celebrity Profile: Mary–Kate & Ashley Olsen, E! Entertainment Television, 2001.
Guest, Breakfast, BBC, 2002.
Guest, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, NBC, 2002.
Guest, The Sharon Osbourne Show (also known as Sharon), syndicated, 2003.
Herself, "Kingin' Night," Fridays (also known as Cartoon Network's "Fridays" and The New Fridays), Cartoon Network, 2004.
Herself, "Sibling Rivalry," Real Access, Noggin, 2004.
Voice, "Diatribe of a Mad Housewife," The Simpsons (animated), Fox, 2004 Herself, Holmes, 2004.
Guest, The Late Show with David Letterman, CBS, 2004.
Guest, Ministry of Mayhem, Independent Television, 2004.
Guest, The Oprah Winfrey Show (also known as Oprah), syndicated, 2004.
Guest, Rove Live, 10 Network (Australia), 2004.
Guest, Total Request Live (also known as TRL), MTV, 2004.
Guest host, Saturday Night Live (also known as NBC's "Saturday Night," Saturday Night, and SNL), NBC, 2004.
Appeared in episodes of America's Funniest Home Videos (also known as AFV), ABC; Today (also known as NBC News Today and The Today Show), NBC; and Xuxa.
Television Executive Producer; With Mary–Kate Olsen; Series:
Mary–Kate and Ashley in Action! (animated), ABC, 2001–2002.
So Little Time, Fox Family Channel, 2001–2002.
Tough Cookie (animated), beginning c. 2002.
Television Executive Producer; With Mary–Kate Olsen; Movies:
"Switching Goals," The Wonderful World of Disney, ABC, 1999.
"The Challenge," The Wonderful World of Disney, ABC, 2003.
Television Executive Producer; With Mary–Kate Olsen; Specials:
Fashion Forward: Spring 2001, Fox Family Channel, 2001.
Film Appearances:
Twin, The Little Rascals, Universal, 1994.
(With Mary–Kate Olsen) Alyssa Callaway/Amanda Lemmon, It Takes Two (also known as Me and My Shadow), Warner Bros., 1995.
Emily Tyler, Billboard Dad, Warner Bros. Home Video, 1998.
Ashley Parker, Abby Turtleby, and Andrea Frauenfelder, Our Lips Are Sealed, Warner Home Video, 2000.
(Uncredited) Future angel, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (also known as Charlie's Angels: Halo and Charlie's Angels 2), Columbia, 2003.
Jane Ryan, New York Minute, Warner Bros., 2004.
Film Work; With Mary–Kate Olsen:
Executive producer, Our Lips Are Sealed, Warner Home Video, 2000.
Producer, New York Minute, Warner Bros., 2004.
RECORDINGS
Video Appearances:
Our First Video, 1993.
The Adventures of Mary–Kate & Ashley: The Case of the Logical I Ranch, 1994.
The Adventures of Mary–Kate & Ashley: The Case of Thorn Mansion, 1994.
The Adventures of Mary–Kate & Ashley: The Case of the Christmas Caper, 1995.
The Adventures of Mary–Kate & Ashley: The Case of the Fun House Mystery, 1995.
The Adventures of Mary–Kate & Ashley: The Case of the Mystery Cruise, 1995.
The Adventures of Mary–Kate & Ashley: The Case of the Sea World Adventure, 1995.
You're Invited to Mary–Kate & Ashley's Sleepover Party, 1995.
The Adventures of Mary–Kate & Ashley: The Case of the Hotel Who–Done–It, 1996.
The Adventures of Mary–Kate & Ashley: The Case of the Shark Encounter, 1996.
The Adventures of Mary–Kate & Ashley: The Case of the U.S. Space Camp Mission, 1996.
You're Invited to Mary–Kate & Ashley's Hawaiian Beach Party, KidVision, 1996.
The Adventures of Mary–Kate & Ashley: The Case of the United States Navy Adventure, KidVision, 1997.
The Adventures of Mary–Kate & Ashley: The Case of the Volcano Mystery, 1997.
Our Music Video, Dualstar Home Video/Warner Home Video, 1997.
You're Invited to Mary–Kate & Ashley's Birthday Party, 1997.
You're Invited to Mary–Kate & Ashley's Christmas Party, 1997.
You're Invited to Mary–Kate & Ashley's Mall of America Party, 1997.
You're Invited to Mary–Kate & Ashley's New York City Ballet Party, 1997.
You're Invited to Mary–Kate & Ashley's Camping Party (also known as You're Invited to Mary–Kate & Ashley's Camp Out Party), 1998.
You're Invited to Mary–Kate & Ashley's Costume Party, 1998.
Allyson "Ally" Porter, Passport to Paris, Warner Home Video, 1999.
You're Invited to Mary–Kate & Ashley's Fashion Party, Warner Vision Entertainment, 1999.
The Amazing Adventures of Mary–Kate & Ashley, Warner Bros., 2000.
You're Invited to Mary–Kate & Ashley's Greatest Parties, 2000.
You're Invited to Mary–Kate & Ashley's School Dance, Dualstar Productions, 2000.
Alex Stewart, Holiday in the Sun, Warner Home Video, 2001.
Riley Lawrence, Winning London, Warner Home Video, 2001.
The Favorite Adventures of Mary–Kate and Ashley, Warner Vision Entertainment, 2001.
Leila, When in Rome, Dualstar Home Video/Warner Home Video, 2002.
Taylor Hunter, Getting There (also known as Getting There: Sweet 16 and Licensed to Drive), Dualstar Home Video/Warner Home Video, 2002.
Video Executive Producer; With Mary–Kate Olsen:
Passport to Paris, Warner Home Video, 1999.
You're Invited to Mary–Kate & Ashley's Fashion Party, Warner Vision Entertainment, 1999.
You're Invited to Mary–Kate & Ashley's School Dance, Dualstar Productions, 2000.
Holiday in the Sun, Warner Home Video, 2001.
Winning London, Warner Home Video, 2001.
Getting There (also known as Getting There: Sweet 16 and Licensed to Drive), Dualstar Home Video/Warner Home Video, 2002.
When in Rome, Dualstar Home Video/Warner Home Video, 2002.
Albums; With Mary–Kate Olsen:
Brother for Sale, 1992.
I Am the Cute One, 1993.
Give Us a Mystery, 1994.
Cool Yule, 1999.
"Mom's Song," Chicken Soup for Little Souls: Mother's Love, Rhino, 2000.
Greatest Hits I, 2003.
Greatest Hits II, 2003.
WRITINGS
Nonfiction:
(With Mary–Kate Olsen) Mary–Kate & Ashley: Our Story (autobiography), Harper Entertainment, 2000.
OTHER SOURCES
Books:
Newsmakers, Issue 1, Gale, 2002.
Periodicals:
Entertainment Weekly, November 24, 2000, p. 52; May 21, 2004, p. 8.
Fortune, July 8, 2002, p. 96.
GQ, March, 2002, pp. 358–59.
InStyle, November 1, 1999, p. 236.
People Weekly, June 26, 2000, p. 75; May 3, 2004, p. 108; September 20, 2004, p. 21.
Premiere, May, 2004, pp. 84–87, 118.
Rolling Stone, September 4, 2003, pp. 84–90.
Time, February 16, 2004, p. 34.
Time for Kids, October 23, 1998, p. 8.
TV Guide, October 13, 2001, pp. 46–48; July 18, 2004, p. 25.
Vanity Fair, July, 2003, pp. 98, 109, 157.
Electronic:
Mary–Kate and Ashley Official Site, http://www.marykateandashley.com, January 5, 2005.
Olsen, Mary-Kate and Ashley
Olsen, Mary-Kate and Ashley
Mary-Kate Olsen
June 13, 1986 • Sherman Oaks, California
Entertainer
June 13, 1986 • Sherman Oaks, California
Entertainer
Twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have been in front of the cameras since before they could walk or talk. With a career that began on television in 1987, the Olsens went on to star in their own series of video movies, which sold millions of copies each and gave them a devoted fan base among American girls aged four to fourteen. They created a brand identity for themselves, and oversaw an empire that ranged from their own magazine to "marykateandashley" toothpaste long before they took their college-board exams. Each has an estimated net worth of $150 million, but both remained modest about the subject of their wealth. "That's not interesting to us," Mary-Kate told CosmoGirl! writer Lauren Brown. "Because we would never be like, 'Oh yeah, we're worth such-and-such.' If we don't care, no one else should."
Their first and only audition
The Olsen twins' birthday is a well-known one: June 13, 1986. Ashley was born first, followed a few minutes later by Mary-Kate. They grew up in Sherman Oaks, California, in the San Fernando Valley, and had an older brother, Trent. Their father, Dave, worked as a mortgage banker, and their mother, Jarnette, had once danced with the Los Angeles Ballet corps. One day, their mother met a friend's friend, who was a casting agent, and mentioned that she had twin daughters. The agent asked to see a photograph, and then arranged an audition for the girls for a new ABC sitcom called Full House. Because child-labor laws restrict the amount of hours a minor may work, television series or films often hire a set of identical twins so that the production schedule can continue along uninterrupted. The Olsens were not identical twins but rather fraternal, but they looked enough alike to win the job.
Full House first aired in September of 1987, and the reviews were not kind. The show starred Bob Saget as a recent widower with a large brood; his brother-in-law and a friend move in to help out. The twins were cast as Michelle Tanner, the youngest member of the household, and the Olsens' first on-screen appearance came when John Stamos, who played the friend, Jesse, carried one of them into the room. No one remembers which twin it was that day.
"If we feel strongly enough to say no to something, then that's what happens. It's our line, it's our names and our brand—it's coming from us, Mary-Kate and Ashley. I've learned that 'No' is a full sentence."
Mary-Kate Olsen, CosmoGirl! , May 2003.
During the first two years on the air, Full House did not even make it into the Top 30 list of most-watched television shows. By the 1989–90 season, however, it did, and climbed to the No. 14 spot the next year. It peaked at No. 7 by the end of the 1991–92 season. Little Michelle's cuteness factor seemed to boost the show's popularity, but the Olsens' parents were still show-business novices. The twins were still earning Screen Actors' Guild "scale," or minimum wages, which amounted to about $4,000 per episode. Reportedly, parents of other children who were on the show suggested they negotiate for a higher fee. Dave and Jarnette found an entertainment lawyer, Robert Thorne, who had cut deals for pop superstar Prince, and he got them a higher rate.
Made 48 hit video movies
Thorne wound up becoming the Olsen's agent, and later their business manager. He suggested they branch out with a pop record, Brother for Sale, which was released in 1992. A television movie, To Grandmother's House We Go, was also released in 1992. It was an adventure yarn set during the Christmas holidays. As the twins' popularity and star-potential increased, Thorne created the Dualstar Entertainment Group in 1993 to manage their careers. To Grandmother's House was followed by a slew of other films, nearly four dozen in all, that went directly to video as planned. Nearly all of them caught on with the legions of young girls who were the Olsens' most devoted fan base, the four-to-ten-year-old set. Then their fan base began to grow up along with them, and in some cases the later movies like Passport to Paris and Our Lips Are Sealed were among the top-selling titles that year on the kids' video charts.
The Olsens' first feature film, It Takes Two, grossed $19 million at the box office in 1995, but took in almost four times that in video sales. Full House ended its eight-season run that same year, and the twins remained off the small screen until ABC gave them their own short-lived sitcom, Two of a Kind, in 1998. Meanwhile, their multimedia empire continued to expand. Offers came pouring in, when executives of other companies began to realize that nearly anything that had their name and image would sell, and usually sell very well. A series of Olsen twins adventure novels, published by Scholastic, sold in the millions, and they also branched out into a clothing line, introduced at Wal-Mart in 2001. When Mattel began selling a line of Mary-Kate and Ashley dolls, only the company's flagship product, Barbie, outsold them.
The Olsens had become immensely rich even before they entered their teens. At the age of ten, they were the youngest millionaires in America whose wealth had not been inherited. They began to receive executive-producer credit on their films, and usually worked about five months of the year. The rest was spent at a private school in the Los Angeles area. In press interviews, they stressed that they led average lives and liked to take part in the same activities—sleepovers, horseback riding, dance classes—as their friends and fans. Their life was not without stress, however: in the mid-1990s, their parents divorced. The girls, their brother, Trent, and younger sister, Lizzie, divided their time between both parents' homes, but reportedly only one of them attended the ceremony when their father remarried.
In the spotlight
In 2003, Mary-Kate and Ashley began their senior year of high school. It was also their most profitable year to date, with their clothing lines at Wal-Mart and related ventures bringing in $1 billion in sales at cash registers across America. Their official Web site received about two billon hits annually, and a slew of other Web sites were devoted to their stardom. Surprisingly, the twins also found a new group of fans as they grew into young adults: teenaged boys and young men. Even business journalists began to profile the duo and their company, Dualstar, and the fact that long before they had earned their high-school diplomas, each had an estimated net worth of $150 million. Thorne, who ran their company, confirmed reports that both Mary-Kate and Ashley were actively involved in every aspect of their business. They signed off on each item in the clothing line, for example. As Thorne told People 's Michelle Tauber, "It's always two calls" he needed to make for any deal. "And I very rarely get, 'Let my sister handle that.' They're equally voracious to know what the company is up to."
The Olsens have been described as one of just a handful of child stars who managed to maintain their appeal as they grew up. Their access to the media had been strictly controlled, but that began to change after they earned their drivers' licenses and received matching Range Rover sport-utility vehicles for their sixteenth birthdays. The twins also seemed inseparable, and many wondered if they would head to different colleges in the fall of 2004. They both chose New York University, and readied for the school year by purchasing a four-bedroom apartment in the West Village for $3 million. Both noted that they would concentrate on their academic careers for the next few years, putting their other activities on hold.
In the lead-up to that, however, the Olsens had a memorable rush of PR buzz in the spring of 2004, both good and bad. Their long-awaited next feature film, New York Minute, tanked at the box office, and was drubbed by critics. They graduated from high school on June 7, and turned eighteen six days later, but there were reports that only Ashley had been seen with friends at the Beverly Hills Hotel pool that day. She then reportedly headed to Mexico with pals for a celebratory vacation jaunt.
Rumors of drug abuse
Days later, the news broke that Mary-Kate's father had forced her into a treatment center just before she turned eighteen, when he could still legally do so. It was described as a "health-related" disorder, which seemed to confirm rumors over the past few months that the darkerhaired Olsen twin was suffering from an eating disorder. Both twins are thin, but a backless dress Mary-Kate wore to one well-photographed event that spring revealed a near-skeletal frame. Other reports surfaced that Mary-Kate had a drug problem, especially when it was learned she had entered the Cirque Lodge in Sundance, Utah, a drug- and alcohol-abuse treatment facility. But company executives, the Olsen family, and even Ashley herself denied the cocaine-addiction rumors. She was released from the facility in late July, reportedly six pounds heavier.
Mary-Kate and Ashley were looking forward to their new college adventures in New York City. Mary-Kate was considering fine arts as possible major, while Ashley was leaning toward studying psychology. There had been fears that their Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores would be leaked to the press, but they had remained sealed. They did reveal to People, however, the topics of their admissions essays. Mary-Kate had explored "a big fear that I have. It was a lyric by Ben Harper that said, 'When you have everything, you have everything to lose.'" Ashley used a work by the late Abstract Expressionist painter Jackson Pollock to discuss her outlook on life for her essay, especially her life in the spotlight for the past eighteen years. The dense color swirls of Pollock's Number 1, she explained to Tauber in the same article, allowed the viewer "to get exactly what you want out of it, and it's kind of like our life has been, being in the public eye. People can judge it whatever way they want."
For More Information
Periodicals
Bowers, Katherine. "Take Two: The Olsens Grow Up; Mary-Kate and Ashley Have Come a Long Way Since 'Full House.'" WWD (September 19, 2002): p. S6.
Brown, Lauren. "Mary-Kate and Ashley." CosmoGirl! (May 2003): p. 136.
Brown, Scott. "Tween Queens: Wonder Twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen Use Their Cuteness Powers to Achieve World Domination." Entertainment Weekly (November 24, 2000): p. 52.
Corliss, Richard. "Olsens in Bid to Buy Disney: Actually, No. But at 17, the TV Twins Are Powerful, Rich and the Stars of Their Very Own, Very Bad Movie." Time (May 17, 2004): p. 78.
David, Grainger. "The Human Truman Show: The Olsen Twins Were Born on TV 16 Years Ago. Now They're Worth More than You." Fortune (July 8, 2002): p. 96.
Kennedy, Dana. "Twin Peaks: Since Leaving 'Full House,' the Olsens Have Spun Their Cute Shtick into a Showbiz Empire. Is It Too Much Too Soon?" Entertainment Weekly (May 17, 1996): p. 38.
Louie, Rebecca. "Twin Tycoons Are Worth $300 Million—And They're Just 17." New York Daily News (November 24, 2003).
Ramsay, Carolyn. "The Olsens Inc." Los Angeles Times (January 30, 2000).
Rich, Joshua. "Twins Peaked? Tween Queens Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen Cope with a Box Office Dud." Entertainment Weekly (May 21, 2004): p. 8.
"Sister To Sister: While Her Sister Mary-Kate Battles an Eating Disorder, Ashley Olsen Pledges Her Support and Talks About the Twins' Plans for the Future." People (July 12, 2004): p. 19.
Tauber, Michelle. "Two Cool: Boyfriends. Parties. Money. College. America's most Famous Freshmen-to-Be, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Talk Candidly About Becoming Adults—And Making the Move from Tween Queens to Movie Stars." People (May 3, 2004): p. 108.
"Twins Peak: Ashley & Mary-Kate Are the City's Hot New Sister Act." New York Post (April 15, 2004): p. 65.
Udovitch, Mim. "The Olsen Juggernaut." New York Times Magazine (May 27, 2001): p. 22.