Mary-Kate Olsen Bio

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Mary-Kate Olsen Pictures

  Mary-Kate Olsen (born June 13, 1986 in Sherman Oaks, California) is an American actress, fashion designer, author, and businesswoman. Having risen to fame as a child star alongside her fraternal twin sister Ashley, Olsen pursued acting independently as an adult until 2012.

Mary-Kate Olsen: Birth and family

Olsen and her sister Ashley were born in Sherman Oaks, California to David Olsen (b. 1953) and Jarnette (Jarnie) Jones (b. 1954). Despite being very similar in appearance, they are not identical, but fraternal twins. They have an older brother, Trent, and a younger sister, Elizabeth Olsen, as well as a half-brother, Jake, and a half-sister, Taylor. The twins' parents divorced in 1995; Taylor and Jake are from their father's second marriage.

Mary-Kate and Ashley's younger sister Elizabeth became an actress as an adult, making an acclaimed film debut in 2011's Martha Marcy May Marlene.

Mary-Kate Olsen: Child and teen career

Along with her twin sister Ashley, 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, 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. Mary-Kate was nominated for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series at the 2002 Daytime Emmy Awards for her performance in So Little Time. 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 Olsen ceased to pursue acting further.

Mary-Kate Olsen: Adult career

Olsen's first solo acting appearance was in the movie Factory Girl, released in December 2006. The short scene was ultimately cut from theatrical release, but made part of the DVD. In addition, she has had a recurring role on Showtime's Weeds as Tara Lindman. She appears in the 2008 film The Wackness as Union. At the Sundance Film Festival, co-star and Academy Award-winner Sir Ben Kingsley praised her by saying "Mary-Kate's portrayal of this girl is perfect - she's hysterical. She's a pro. It makes sense. She's been in this business a lot longer than I have." However, this is hyperbole; as Kingsley's first film credit was in 1966, and he even won his Academy Award a few years before Mary-Kate and Ashley were born.

Olsen made a one-episode appearance on the ABC comedy Samantha Who?. On November 10, 2008 during the second season of the show, Olsen played Natalie in episode 5, a self-destructive, bad girl whom Samantha tries to help while doing community service.

Her most recent job was a role in the movie Beastly, which was based on the book of the same name by Alex Flinn. Her last role was as Stacey in the movie Story of a Girl, which is currently in pre-production and stars Kevin Bacon, Julian Thome and Terrence Howard. In 2012 Mary-Kate and Ashley decided to quit acting for good to focus on their fashion career. One of Mary-Kate and Ashley's new dreams is to open up a fashion shop.

Mary-Kate Olsen: Fashion

Mary-Kate Olsen in 2006.

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" and "Olsenboye" retail collections. They also authored a 2008 book of interviews with fashion designers, titled Influence.

In addition, Mary-Kate has embarked on a solo fashion project with celebrity stylists Jane Belfry and Fred Holston. The line was reportedly in development as of 2009.

Mary-Kate's sometimes controversial fashion choices have often found her on both the best and worst dressed fashion lists, particularly for her decision to wear fur.

Mary-Kate Olsen: Personal life

In 2004, Olsen graduated from Campbell Hall School and began attending New York University with Ashley. Both of them withdrew from NYU the following year, a few months apart, and returned to California. Also in 2005, Mary-Kate Olsen ended her romance with Greek shipping heir Stavros Niarchos III. "I miss him and I adore him," Olsen 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."

Olsen dated Maxwell Snow, the younger brother of the late New York-based artist Dash Snow, from September 2006 until the summer of 2007. In 2008 Olsen started dating artist Nate Lowman. The two split up in February 2010. Mary-Kate suffers from Attention deficit disorder and Depression.

Mary-Kate Olsen - Health issues

In mid-2004, Olsen announced she had entered treatment for an eating disorder, anorexia nervosa. A Got Milk? ad featuring the twins was pulled following the announcement. It was rumored that there was also a drug problem, but the Olsens' publicist said, "Mary-Kate was not admitted for drugs. Period."

On November 20, 2007 she was hospitalized for a reported kidney infection.

Mary-Kate Olsen - Death of Heath Ledger

Mary-Kate was a close friend of late actor Heath Ledger around the time of his death, January 22, 2008. After discovering Ledger unconscious in his bed, his masseuse called Olsen twice before contacting police. Olsen sent a private security guard to the scene.

Responding to a claim by an anonymous law enforcement official that she would not speak to federal investigators without a promise of legal immunity, Olsen's attorney Michael C. Miller said:

She was never interviewed by investigating officers.