Why Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen disappeared 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 getting their start in the hugely popular sitcom, the twins were known for their films, many of which took them around the world, and certainly seemed to be on the verge of building a huge entertainment empire. After that, the two basically disappeared from the entertainment industry and shifted their focus to something completely different: high fashion.

So why are both out of business and what are they doing today? More specifically, why did they leave hollywood for a brand new journey… and did any of their family members take a place on the big and small screen? (Actually, the answer to that last one is yes.) Here's everything we know about the world-famous Olsen twins, why they quit acting, and what they've been up to since.

Anyone even remotely familiar with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's Hollywood journey knows that they got their start together on ABC's beloved sitcom Full House back in 1987 when they were both just six months oldalthough they were three months older when the series actually began filming. Because of child labor laws, it's common for twins to play babies and toddlers in movies and TV shows, and this is no exception; both Olsen twins played Michelle Tanner, the youngest member of the show's blended family and daughter of Danny Tanner (Bob Saget), a widow with two older daughters (Jodie Sweetin's Stephanie and Candice Cameron's DJ).

Along with the crossover episode (where “Full House” joined forces with “Hangin' with Mr. Cooper” that aired in 1992), Olsen continued to play Michelle back-to-back until “Full House” ended in 1995. Although they continued to act from there, when “Fuller House” became a reality on Netflix in 2016, the twins chose not to return and bowed out amiably. to their post-Hollywood careers, the show rearranged itself so that Michelle's absence was tied to her work as a fashion designer in New York. Although the twins' “Full House” co-star John Stamos once admitted he was “angry” at first (via People magazine) that they refused, he eventually realized that the Olsen twins simply did not want to return to acting.

After 'Full House' ended in 1995, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen took control of their Hollywood futures, having already started their own company, Dualstar, which launched in 1993, and shot their first standalone that same year. movie titled. “It takes two.” The whole thing is sort of a “Parent Trap” twist, as Ashley's Alice and Mary-Kate's Amanda attend summer camp, realize they look identical, and switch lives to trick their parents (Steve Guttenberg and Kirsty Alley) together. . They followed it up with a one-season series, Two of a Kind, which aired on ABC in 1998. Billboard Dad, a direct-to-video movie starring Mary-Kate and Ashley, also released the same. year.

Frankly, Mary-Kate and Ashley's iron grip on Hollywood was almost exclusively limited to direct-to-video movies starring the twins, such as 1999's “Passport to Paris,” 2000's “Our Lips Are Sealed,” “Conquering London” and “Holiday Sun' – both released in 2001 – and 'Getting There' and 'When in Rome', which In 2001. In 2002. In 2004, the two made their last film together, “New York Minute”, which actually did release in cinemas (marking duet only theatrical release except “It Takes Two”).

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen turned 18 in 2004 and became co-presidents of Dualstar on her birthday, but by then their time as Hollywood stars was largely over. Ashley never acted professionally after The New York Minute, and while Mary-Kate appeared in a few movies and TV shows, the results—2006's Factory Girl, 2008's The Wackness, and 2011's Beastly” – significantly worsened. returns. After all, “Beastly” also marked Mary Kate's last role. (To be fair to Mary Kate, her turns in Weeds and Samantha Who? on the small screen were actually pretty fun.)

While the Olsen twins released a a ton From Dualstar's products aimed at a teenage audience, such as fragrances and decor, their time on screen was essentially over… especially by the time they launched their fashion line, The Row, in 2012. So why did they quit acting? “I read the scripts, and in the end I just said to the people who represent me, 'I have to do things 100 percent. I don't feel like I can give you 100 percent of my time,” Ashley said. Allure Magazine reporter Judy Bacharach in a 2013 film with her twin before continuing, “There's a lot of compromise in the entertainment industry.” Mary-Kate, on the other hand, agreed, telling the magazine about her time as an actor: “I'm not great at not being able to control the end product.”

In 2015, Ashley Olsen revealed that the inspiration for The Row, named after Savile Row, a street in London's posh Mayfair district known for its bespoke suit tailors, came from her search for the perfect T-shirt, and ultimately the line's first collection consisted of just seven items (including this tee). Known for its 'quiet luxury', The Row also comes with a hefty price tag (at the time of this writing, dress prices on Row official site ranges from $2,000 to $7,000, while this “ideal” cotton tee costs around $500). So, did the sisters have trouble transitioning from teenage products to high fashion? Ashley told Women's Wear Daily in 2015 that yes, it was an obstacle, but they overcame it together:

“I think there's a very obvious answer to that question. It's never stopped us from working hard. It's never stopped us from achieving our ultimate goal, which is to make clothes for women.”

The Row has won three awards from the Council of Fashion Designers of America – Womenswear Designer of the Year in both 2012 and 2015 and Accessories Designer of the Year in 2019 and 2024 L'Oreal Heiress and Chanel Family. to Bloombergbought a share of The Row. As a result, the company is now valued at $1 billion as I write; obviously Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen do just fine as high-end fashion designers. The duo's other lines — Elizabeth and James (named after their siblings), teen line Stylemint and JC Penny (Olsenboye) — have faded, but The Row endures.

If you were a big fan of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen during your time in Hollywood, don't worry! There is still an Olsen in the entertainment industry, and she is crushing it! Elizabeth Olsen, the youngest member of the famous family — her older brother James, who goes by Trent, is between her and the twins in age — appeared in a few sister projects as a young child, but eventually chose to study acting at New York University, quietly graduating in 2013. (She first reconsidered acting after her sister Mary-Kate's weight was scrutinized by the media.)

in 2011 Olsen starred in “Martha Marcy May Marlene”, Sean Durkin's story of a young woman escaping the cult that seriously put her on the entertainment industry map, she smartly followed it up with solid independent projects like Liberal Arts, Kill Your Darlings, and Very Good. Girls.” However, there's no doubt that the youngest Olsen's biggest mark in pop culture is her role as Wanda Maximoff, aka “Scarlet Witch” in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which she may or may not reprise in the future … but with projects like Avengers: Age of Ultron and WandaVision, she's proven that she can easily play in the huge Marvel sandbox at the drop of a hat. In 2024, Olsen too showed off his remarkable dramatic chops again in “His Three Daughters,” a quiet but intense family story that also stars Carrie Coon and Natasha Lyonne.

Mary-Kate and Ashley may be out of business, but Elizabeth continues her legacy.