Why did Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen disappear from Hollywood?

If you’re of a certain age, you basically grew up with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, the twins who took Hollywood by storm from the late 1980s to the mid-2000s. After starting out on a popular sitcom, the twins became famous for their films, many of which took them all over the world, and it certainly seemed like they were on the verge of forming a massive entertainment empire. Then the two basically disappeared from the entertainment industry and shifted their focus to something completely different: high fashion.

So why are the two no longer acting, and what are they doing today? More specifically, Why Have they left Hollywood behind for a whole new journey… and have any of their family members taken their place on the big and small screen? (The answer to that last question is yes, actually.) Here’s everything we know about the world-famous Olsen twins, why they stopped acting, and what they’ve been up to since they stopped working as actors.

Everyone who is familiar with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s journey in Hollywood knows that they got their start together on the beloved ABC sitcom “Full House” way back in 1987 when they were both just… Six months oldeven though they were three months older when the series actually began filming. Due to child labor laws, twins often play babies and toddlers in movies and TV shows, and this is no exception; The Olsen twins played Michelle Tanner, the youngest member of the show’s blended family and the daughter of Danny Tanner (Bob Saget), a widower with two older daughters (Stephanie, Jodie Sweetin and DJ Candace Cameron).

Besides a crossover episode (in which “Full House” joined “Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper” that aired in 1992), the Olsens continued to play Michelle in turn until “Full House” ended in 1995. From here, when ‘Fuller House’ became a reality on Netflix In 2016, the twins chose not to return, and in a sweet nod to their post-Hollywood careers, the show was picked up. She recast herself so that Michelle’s absence was due to her work as a fashion designer in New York. Although “Full House” co-star John Stamos once admitted that he was “angry” at first (via People magazine) After they turned it down, he eventually realized that the Olsen twins simply didn’t want to return to acting.

After “Full House” ended its run in 1995, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen took control of their future in Hollywood — where they had already founded their company Dualstar, which launched in 1993 — and made their first independent film that same year, “It Takes two.” It’s all a twist on “The Parent Trap” in which Alyssa (Ashley) and Amanda (Mary-Kate) attend summer camp, realize they’re a match, and change their lives to trick their parental figures (Steve Guttenberg and Kirstie Alley) into getting together. . They followed this with a series that lasted only one season, “Two of a Kind”, which aired on ABC in 1998. “Billboard Dad”, a direct-to-video film starring Mary-Kate and Ashley, was also released in the same season. year.

Frankly, Mary-Kate and Ashley’s tight grip on Hollywood has been almost exclusively through direct-to-video movies starring the twins, like 1999’s “Passport to Paris,” 2000’s “Our Lips Are Sealed,” and “Winning London” and “Holiday in the “The Sun” – both released in 2001 – and “Getting There” and “When in Rome” which were released in 2002. In 2004, the two directed their last film together, “New York Minute,” which is actually an act It was released in theaters (marking the duo only Theatrical release alongside “It Takes Two”).

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen both turned 18 in 2004 and became co-presidents of Dualstar on their birthday, but by that point, their time as Hollywood stars was pretty much over. Ashley never acted professionally again after “New York Minute,” and although Mary-Kate did appear in a few films and TV shows, the results — “Factory Girl” in 2006, “The Wackness” in 2008, and “Beastly.” 2011 – has declined significantly. He comes back. In the end, “Beastly” was Mary-Kate’s final role as well. (To be fair to Mary-Kate, her roles in Weeds and Samantha Who on the small screen were a lot of fun.)

While the Olsen twins released A Tons Of the products through Dualstar intended for a teen audience, like perfume and decor, their on-screen time was essentially over… especially by the time they launched their fashion line The Row in 2012. So why did they leave acting? “I was reading scripts, and at the end I said to the people who were acting me, ‘I need to do things 100 percent,’” Ashley said. “I don’t feel like I can give you 100 percent of my time.” Allure Magazine Reporter Judy Bacharach in 2013 during a movie screening alongside her twin before continuing: “There’s a lot of compromise in the entertainment industry.” For her part, Mary-Kate agreed, telling the magazine about her time as an actress: “I’m not good at not being able to control the final product.”

In 2015, Ashley Olsen revealed that her inspiration for The Row — named after Savile Row, a street in London’s upscale Mayfair district known for its bespoke suit tailors — came from her quest for the perfect shirt and, ultimately, the perfect T-shirt. . The first collection of the line consisted of only seven items (including a tee). Known for its ‘quiet luxury’, The Row also comes with Huge Price tag (As of this writing, clothing prices are on… The official website of the class Their price ranges from $2,000 to $7,000, while a “perfect” cotton T-shirt costs around $500). So, did the sisters have a hard time jumping from teen product to teen product? high fashion? Yes, that was an obstacle, but they cleared it together, Ashley told Women’s Wear Daily in 2015.

“I think there is a very clear answer to that question. It has never stopped us from working hard. It has never gotten in the way of our ultimate goal, which is to make clothes for women.”

The Row has won three Council of Fashion Designers of America awards — Womenswear Designer of the Year in both 2012 and 2015, and Accessories Designer of the Year in 2019 — and in 2024, L’Oréal heiress and the family behind Chanel, according to Bloombergbought a stake in The Row. As a result, the company is now worth $1 billion as I write this; Clearly, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are doing just that It’s fine Like high-end fashion designers. The duo’s other lines — Elizabeth and James (named after their siblings), the Stylemint tee line, and the JC Penny Olsenboye collaboration — have all faded, but The Row lives on.

If you were a huge fan of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen during their time in Hollywood, don’t worry! There is still an Olsen persona in the entertainment industry, and it is Crush it! Elizabeth Olsen, the youngest member of the famous family — her older brother James, who is known as Trent, is between her and the twins in age — appeared in a few of her sisters’ projects as a young child but ultimately chose to study acting at New York University, quietly graduating in 2013. (She reconsidered acting primarily after intense media scrutiny of her sister Mary-Kate’s weight.)

In 2011, Olsen starred in the film “Martha Marcy May Marlene” Sean Durkin’s story of a young woman escaping a cult put her seriously on the entertainment industry map – and she wisely followed it up with strong independent projects like “Liberal Arts,” “Kill Your Darlings” and “Very Good.” Girls.” However, there’s no doubt that the younger Olsen’s biggest mark in popular culture is her role as Wanda Maximoff, a.k.a. The Scarlet Witch in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, who may or may not reprise her role in the future …But with projects like “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and “WandaVision,” she’s proven she can easily slot into Marvel’s mega-box at the drop of a hat. In 2024, Olsen too She showed her great dramatic skills again in the movie “Three Daughters.” A quiet, intense family story starring Carrie Coon and Natasha Lyonne.

Mary-Kate and Ashley may not be acting anymore, but Elizabeth is continuing her legacy.