5. Wondering who the Olsen twins’ first kisses were on screen? Just enter Passport to Parisshowing Mary-Kate kissing Ethan Peck, Gregory Peckgrandson, and Ashley kiss Brocker Way.
6. When Dualstar Entertainment Group launched in 1993, it made the 6-year-old twins producers and owners of the production company that would release all 47 of their direct-to-DVD movies and music video series. (including The Speeches of…and You are invited to...franchises).
The films, while successful, were not exactly challenging, with Mary-Kate later speaking W Magazine“We don’t have to dig deep. We play cutesy little twins who solve mysteries. There’s no depth to any of the characters. It’s someone else’s idea of ourselves. It’s more people-pleasing than anything else.” in fact, I think, worked for it.”
On becoming CEOs at such a young age, Ashley told WWD in 2013, “We couldn’t see above the table. I always saw myself, even as a kid, as an entrepreneur.”
Even at a young age, they are focused on the bigger picture and building a longterm brand. “I don’t think we ever felt like we were artists,” Mary-Kate explained, “because we spent more of our time not in front of the cameras, building a brand.”
During this time, they released albums, a magazine, a Walmart clothing line, a cosmetic line, board games, video games, an animated TV series and a line of bedroom furniture. They eventually became the youngest self-made millionaires, and when they turned 18, they joined the list of the richest teenagers in the world when they acquired full ownership of Dualstar . Their estimated combined net worth? Aalmost $300 million.
While Dualstar eventually shut down, Hulu is bringing some of their biggest releases to their streaming service in May 2019, including Passport to Paris and Holiday in the Sun.
7. New York Minutethe twins’ second theatrical release after 1995’s It takes Twowould be Mary-Kate and Ashley’s last film together, which grossed a disappointing $14 million when it was released in 2004. In fact, the movie would serve as Ashley’s last acting credit, alongside Mary- Kate continues to appear in TV series Weeds before making his final on-screen turn in 2011’s Beast.
“I don’t like being the center of attention anymore,” Ashley said Elle UK to leave the acting world. “It doesn’t mean I’m not interested in Hollywood. I like the way it operates, I like the people involved and the sense of possibility. .”