The Hard Life Of The Olsen Twins and Family

We are all familiar with renowned celebrities of the present world who started as child actors. Although not many child stars remain as well known in their teenage years, the Olsen twins do not belong to that list. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen – the twins who became a household name even before turning one-year-old – belong to a family of stars.
All four children of the family have shared the limelight as successful celebrities at one point or another. Because their fame rose before the era of social media and gossip, there are many facts about the twins we are not familiar with. Let us get to know some amusing and captivating facts about the Olsen twins and their family of stars.

A Common Misconception

Many people used to think the twins were identical. But they were not. Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen are fraternal twins, with Ashley being older by 2 minutes. As babies, it was difficult to tell them apart. But now that they have grown, there are many noticeable differences in their appearance.

Ashley is an inch shorter than Mary-Kate. They both had an identical freckle on the top lip when they were little. Mary-Kate’s lips are fuller, and her eyes are wider than Ashley’s. Eventually, Mary-Kate dyed her hair a different color. So, the twins can now be told apart without any doubt.

Early Stars

We have seen some child artists deliver exceptional performances at a young age, like Haley Joel’s act in The Sixth Sense at only eleven years old and Scarlett Johansson’s debut performance when she was nine years old. But the Olsen twins made their debut only at nine months of age.

One of the twins had appeared in the opening credits of Full House. Of course, it was not their acting skills that got them the role at nine months of age. But according to the producers, the Olsen twins were the only pair of twins who hadn’t cried during the audition time.

First audition at six months

There are child stars that start working relatively around nine to twelve years of age. But then there are the Olsen twins. Not only did these twins appear in their debut show when they were only nine months, but they also auditioned for it even earlier!

According to stats, the filming for Full House started three months after the audition stage. So, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen auditioned for the role of Michelle Tanner three months before they started filming. This means the twins were only six months when they gave their first audition. Talk about being child artists!

Mary-Kate Ashley Olsen?

Many directors prefer choosing a pair of twins to play one child role in television shows. This trick is done to maintain child labor regulations. In this way, twins can perform alternatively one after another without the shoot having to go on a break.

The Olsen twins played the role of Michelle Tanner in Full House the same way. But the show decided not to let people know about the twins playing one role. So, the twins’ names were put together as ‘Mary-Kate Ashley Olsen’ in the credits of Full House. Their names were credited individually only on the last season of the show.