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Mary-Kate Olsen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Mary-Kate Olsen | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Mary-Kate Olsen |
| Born | June 13, 1986 Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. |
| Official site | http://www.mary-kateandashley.com |
Mary-Kate Olsen (born June 13, 1986) is an American actress, best known as half of the acting duo Mary-Kate and Ashley alongside her fraternal twin sister Ashley Olsen.
Contents |
Mary-Kate Olsen was born in Sherman Oaks California to parents David Olsen (b. 1953) and Jarnette Fuller (b. 1954) as a fraternal twin in 1986.
Mary-Kate and her twin have an older brother, Trent, and younger sister, Elizabeth, as well as two half-siblings, Taylor (b. 1996), and Jake (b. 1997). The twins' parents divorced in 1995. Taylor and Jake are the children from their father's second marriage, to Martha Mackenzie-Olsen.
Mary-Kate announced in 2004 (along with Ashley) that she would be attending college at New York University after graduating high school. Most child and teenage actors usually choose to pursue acting full time after graduating from high school, with few, such as Brooke Shields, Jodie Foster, Julia Stiles, and Natalie Portman, choosing to further their education. In 2005, Mary-Kate moved back to California with the intent to pursue more personalized work with their company Dualstar.
In 2004, Mary-Kate checked into rehab in Utah for six weeks because she was suffering from the eating disorder anorexia nervosa. It was rumoured that there was also a drug problem, but the Olsens' publicist said, "Mary-Kate was not admitted for drugs. Period."[1] Mary-Kate put on about five to seven pounds immediately after her stint in rehab and pictures had shown that she may have gained more weight. However, Star magazine has, as of January 2007, released a cover story article on Mary Kate's, once again, very low weight. They claim she is at 80 pounds. She has been seen wearing baggy clothes and carrying vast purses. Her spokesperson has denied the weight loss claiming "Mary-Kate has not lost weight. She is taking good care of herself."[2]
Mary-Kate began her career at the age of six months, when both twin sisters were hired for the role of Michelle Tanner on the popular television series Full House in 1987. To comply with strict child labor laws regarding child actors, both Mary-Kate and Ashley took turns during taping to film. During Mary-Kate's time on the television series there was some public confusion as to her true name, as both girls were credited as "Mary Kate Ashley Olsen" in an attempt to deter audiences from coming to the realization that Michelle was in fact played by twins.
Following Full House, Mary-Kate and sister Ashley released a string of successful straight-to-video movies and became popular figures in the preteen market during the late '90s and early 2000s. Their names became a cottage industry, with their likeness seen in clothes, books, fragrances, magazines, movies and posters. There were even Mary-Kate and Ashley fashion dolls made by Mattel from 2000 - 2005.
They starred in the video series The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley and You're Invited To Mary-Kate and Ashley's..., the ABC show Two of a Kind, and ABC Family's So Little Time. However, So Little Time was panned by critics and disappointed fans. Despite this, they were ranked number three on the VH1 program 100 Greatest Child Stars
Their most recent theatrical venture was in the light-hearted romantic comedy, New York Minute, also starring Eugene Levy. The film was expected to launch the girls into more serious adult roles, but was a box office flop.
Most currently, Mary-Kate and Ashley have urged the public and the media to see them separately following a request to be referred to, not as 'The Olsen Twins' but as Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate Olsen.
Subsequently, Mary-Kate's first acting appearance without Ashley was in the movie Factory Girl, released in December 2006. In addition, Mary-Kate has had a recurring role on Showtime's "Weeds" as Tara Lindman, a devout Christian who believes it is OK to smoke marijuana, because it grows from the earth. She will also appear in the 2008 film "The Wackness" as Union.
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- Main Article: Dualstar
In 2004, both Mary-Kate and Ashley became CEO of their company Dualstar (created in 1993 following the success on Full House and their overwhelming reception from pre-teen demographics) the brand currently selling in over 3,000 stores in America and 5,300 stores world-wide. Their success has been marked on Forbes The Celebrity 100 list since 2002, and in 2007 Forbes ranked Ashley, alongside Mary-Kate as the eleventh-richest woman in entertainment, with an estimated net worth of $100 million.
Following a high volume of public interest in Mary-Kate and twin sister Ashley's fashion choices, both girls work in collaboration on a string of fashion lines available to the public.
Started as young girls, Mary-Kate and her sister have a clothing line in Wal-Mart stores across America for girls ages 4-14 as well as a beauty line called "Mary-Kate and Ashley: Real fashion for real girls". In 2004 they made news by signing a pledge to allow all the workers that sew their line of clothing in Bangladesh full maternity leave. The National Labor Committee, which organized the pledge, later praised the twins for their commitment to worker rights. The director of the organization, Charles Kernaghan, is quoted as saying, "The Olsen twins have done the right thing. Now it is up to Wal-Mart to either support Mary-Kate and Ashley’s commitment to women’s rights, or tragically to shut them down."[3] However their collaboration with Wal-Mart varnished their fashionable reputations amongst the fashion industry and both Ashley and her sister were tapped as the faces of upscale fashion line Badgley Mischka in 2006, in an attempt to gain credibility in the fashion industry after their association with Wal-Mart.[4]
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- Main Article: The Row
In a more matured fashion project, Mary-Kate and her sister have released The Row, a high-end fashion line inspired by London's Savile Row, the line a direct reflection of their own popular personal style. The line features shirts and tank tops selling for hundreds of dollars each. The clothing is sold at high-end retailers such as Barneys, Maxfield, Harvey Nichols, Brown's, and others around the world.
Within the confines of The Row, Mary-Kate and her sister created a couture branch entitled Elizabeth & James, named after their siblings. Though the reception of their fashion line has been of general positivity, Mary-Kate and her sister were both criticized when they advertised for unpaid interns, despite their wealth.[5][6]
Regarding her romantic life; In 2005, Mary-Kate ended her romance with Greek shipping heir Stavros Niarchos III. Niarchos then began dating hotel heiress and socialite Paris Hilton. Mary-Kate said that the breakup was one of the main factors in her leave of absence from New York University. "I miss him and I love him," Mary-Kate said, "It's a hurtful and a painful subject." When asked if there was a specific reason for her leaving NYU, she replied, "I think we can all guess."[7] The breakup and Niarchos's pairing with Paris Hilton led to a rift between Hilton and Mary-Kate. "[Paris and I] always only had nice things to say about each other," Olsen said. "Now I guess you can tell we're not talking."[7]
On November 20, 2007. Mary-Kate was hospitalized for a kidney infection.[citation needed]
- For productions in which Mary-Kate appeared with her sister Ashley, see Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.
- Weeds (2007—Present) — Tara (expected to appear in 10 episodes) [8]
- Full House (1987-1995)
- Factory Girl (2006) — Molly Spence
- The Wackness (2008) — Union
- Our story: Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen's official biography, 2000, ISBN 0061075698
- ^ The Biography Channel: Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen Biography
- ^ Olsen's Rep Slams Anorexia Relapse Reports. IMDB.com
- ^ Grossberg, Josh. Mary-Kate, Ashley: No Sweat December 9, 2004.
- ^ Hall, Sarah. Olsen Twins Strike a Pose. February 15, 2006.
- ^ Ashley and Mary-Kate's sisterly bond Times of India. 11 Aug 2007.
- ^ Cortina, Gia. Mary-Kate And Ashley Olsen Seek Slaves Post Chronicle. July 14, 2007.
- ^ a b Sherpe, Gina. Eonline.com: Mary-Kate Talks Paris, Stavros. December 9, 2005.
- ^ Mary-Kate is returning to television with a co-starring role on Showtime's dark comedy "Weeds"
- Mary-Kate Olsen at the Internet Movie Database
- Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen the Official Website
- Mary-Kate Olsen at PEOPLE.com
- Mary-Kate Olsen at TV.com
- Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen at AskMen.com
Categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since December 2007 | 1986 births | American child actors | American child singers | American female singers | American film actors | American television actors | American writers | Businesspeople | California actors | Hollywood Walk of Fame | Living people | New York University alumni | People from the San Fernando Valley | Twin people