Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen

You probably remember them from Full House. Or maybe it was the straight-to-VHS mystery movies? Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have been the top earning stars under the age of 21 throughout the 2000s. They earned $40 million last year even though they haven't acted in anything. The girls do quite well living off their royalties, and were more famous for dating people, talking to debutantes (Paris Hilton) and having anorexia scandals (Mary Kate) in the tabloids (in 2004/2005/2006).

While they still acted, they were the most famous of the 1990s-2000s crop of performing twins, to the point that some seem to think that they were the "original" famous twins. Even now, years since either one has acted (Mary-Kate retired after 2011's Beastly, Ashley after a 2013 short film), they are the first pair of names that occur to most people when "famous twins" are brought up.

They have since asked to be called Mary Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen since they have grown up.

Their success has been marked on Forbes Magazine's "Celebrity 100" list since 2002, and in 2007 Forbes ranked the twins as the eleventh-richest women in entertainment, with an estimated net worth of $100 million.

Since leaving acting, both sisters have become fashion designers, founding together the luxury lines "The Row", "Elizabeth and James", and the more affordable lines "Olsenboye" and "StyleMint". They have studiously avoided any further acting roles, even refusing to make a cameo in the Full House sequel series Fuller House.

In Fall 2008 the girls wrote a book called Influence as "a tribute to designers, artists and other industry creative individuals who inspired them."

A little known fact is that they are technically Non-Identical Twins, and are fraternal. One's face is slightly rounder than the other.

They are parodied in the Web Original Very Mary Kate.

They have a sister named Elizabeth, also an actress, who made her cinematic debut in 2012's Martha Marcy May Marlene, and has since become rather more prominent than her sisters with her appearance as the Scarlet Witch in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.


 * Full House (not on screen at the same time)
 * They were credited as "Mary Kate Ashley Olsen", leading many to believe that the little girl was played by one actress.
 * Two of a Kind, a short lived TV sitcom as pre-teens.
 * So Little Time, a short-lived tween Sitcom starring the two.
 * Mary Kate and Ashley In Action!, a short-lived Saturday Morning Cartoon starring the twins as Ink Suit Actors.
 * Saturday Night Live (guest hosting)
 * A plethora of mystery series for children (in literature and videos)
 * A plethora of party movies for children
 * A plethora of Direct to Video tween comedies


 * The Danza: Mary Kate and Ashley Burke in Two of a Kind.
 * The Jailbait Wait: Subjects during the early 2000s of an infamous website which did nothing but count down the minutes until they were 18.
 * Missing Mom: Both Full House and Two of a Kind have the Olsens playing the daughter(s) of a widowed father.
 * Old Shame: Appear to both consider their early acting career something to forget and avoid.
 * Parent Trap Plot: A rip-off of The Parent Trap called It Takes Two.
 * Runaway Bride: Their father in It Takes Two. He was marrying the Rich Bitch, so it's okay!
 * Stage Dad: Their father Dave gained a reputation as a "stage dad", although there's no indication that he went to some of the extremes of more infamous stage parents.  Then again, the twins made many films for the family-owned production company when they were younger, on a schedule that both have been quoted as calling "grueling".
 * Take That: "I Blame The Media" after getting caught making a mess in Larrypolooza in So Little Time.
 * Tomboy and Girly Girl: In Two of a Kind, Ashley was presented as a very fashion-forward girl while Mary-Kate was a typical tomboy.
 * Witness Protection: Our Lips Are Sealed (the Australian one).