Ashley Olsen

Ashley Olsen
Olsen attending the premiere of The Union at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival
Born	Ashley Fuller Olsen (1986-06-13) June 13, 1986 (age 25) Sherman Oaks, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress (1987-2004), fashion designer, producer, author, businesswoman
Years active	1987–present
Height	5'3

Ashley Fuller Olsen (born June 13, 1986) is an American actress, fashion designer, producer, author, and businesswoman.

Birth and family

Olsen and her fraternal twin sister Mary-Kate Olsen were born in Sherman Oaks, California to David Olsen^[1] (born 1953) and Jarnette "Jarnie" Fuller (born 1954). Despite being very similar in appearance, they are not identical.^[2][3] They have an older brother, Trent, a little sister, Elizabeth Olsen, and two younger half siblings Taylor and Jake from their father's second marriage.^[4] Mary-Kate and Ashley's parents divorced in 1995.

Child and teen career

Along with Mary-Kate, Olsen was cast at the age of nine months to share the role of Michelle Tanner on the ABC sitcom Full House. The Olsens portrayed Michelle throughout the series' 1987–1995 run. In the early 1990s, the sisters established a company, Dualstar, which produced a long string of TV movies and direct-to-video releases featuring the girls. The Olsens continued to release direct-to-video films up to the early 2000s (decade), along with starring in the 1995 feature film It Takes Two. After Full House, the sisters starred in two other sitcoms (Two of a Kind and So Little Time) and an animated series (Mary-Kate and Ashley in Action!), each of which lasted only one season. These ventures, combined with a massive array of licensing deals for their names and likenesses, made the twins phenomenally wealthy at a young age. They became co-presidents of Dualstar upon their eighteenth birthday. Following a second feature film, 2004's New York Minute, Ashley gave up acting because she didn't feel a connection to being an actress anymore.^[5] In 2009 when asked about acting again Ashley said, "Never say never."^[6] Ashley contemplated giving up fashion and going back to acting in 2009.^[7] Ashley changed her mind in 2012 as she and Mary-Kate decided to retire from acting to focus on fashion.^[8] In 2007 Mary-Kate and Ashley expressed an interest in producing movies together.^[9]

Fashion career

As adults, Ashley and Mary-Kate have devoted much of their attention to the world of fashion. They head a couture fashion label, "The Row," as well as the "Elizabeth and James", "Olsenboye", and "StyleMint"^[10] retail collections. Ashley's sometimes controversial fashion choices have often found her on both the best^[11][12] and worst dressed fashion lists, particularly for her decision to wear fur.^[13] Mary-Kate and Ashley designed an Olsenboye Change Purse in 2011 and donated the money to "Pennies From Heaven".^[14] Back in 2011 Mary-Kate and Ashley teamed up with TOMS Shoes to design shoes for kids without shoes.^[15] Mary-Kate and Ashley are now the creative directors for Superga (brand).^[16]

Book

In 2008 Mary-Kate and Ashley wrote a book called "Influence". "Influence" has interviews with fashion designers that have inspired the girls' fashion lines.^[17]

Personal life

In 2004, Olsen graduated from Campbell Hall School and began attending New York University with Mary-Kate. Both of them withdrew from NYU the following year, a few months apart, and returned to California.^[18] In 2005, Olsen filed a $40 million libel lawsuit against the National Enquirer over a cover story headlined "Ashley Olsen Caught in Drug Scandal" and featuring an unflattering photo of Olsen. The story described an alleged incident involving Olsen's then-boyfriend, which had occurred before he and Olsen had met.^[19] The Enquirer later apologized in a statement that said it "did not intend to accuse Ms. Olsen of being involved in any drug scandal."^[20]

Further reading

• Olsen, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, with Damon Romine. Mary-Kate and Ashley: Our Story: Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen's Official Biography. HarperEntertainment 2000. ISBN 0-06-107569-8.

References

External links

• Ashley Olsen at the Internet Movie Database
• Ashley Olsen at TV.com
• Ashley's Page
• Olsenboye