Line #2 Creator/MaryKateAndAshleyOlsen


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/MaryKate20and20Ashley201.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Mary-Kate (l) and Ashley (r)]]
3
4	''Before Creator/MillieBobbyBrown, before Creator/EmmaWatson, there was the Olsen twins...''
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6	Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen (born June 13, 1986, in Sherman Oaks, California) are twin American actresses.
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8	They became famous for playing Michelle Tanner in ''Series/FullHouse''. They parlayed that fame into a highly lucrative series of straight-to-[[Platform/{{VCR}} VHS]] movies, leading them to become the top-earning stars under the age of 21 from the early 90s to the mid-2000s. They stopped acting as a duo in 2004, after the financial disappointment of ''Film/NewYorkMinute'', but continued to profit handsomely from royalties, earning $40 million in 2006 even though they hadn't acted in anything. In 2007 Forbes ranked the twins as the eleventh-richest women in entertainment, with an estimated net worth of $100 million. Their success has led to [[Music/TheVeronicas a]] [[Series/SisterSister number]] [[Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody of]] attempts to heavily promote other young twin actor pairs.
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10	Their later teen years were common fodder for tabloid news. As adults, their focus shifted from acting to fashion, and they've used their considerable personal wealth to produce numerous clothing lines. In Fall 2008, the girls wrote a book called ''Influence'' as "a tribute to designers, artists, and other industry creative individuals who inspired them." Mary Kate continues to act occasionally in movies and TV shows, while Ashley has forgone acting entirely to focus on their fashion business.
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12	A little-known fact about Mary-Kate and Ashley is that they're technically fraternal (non-identical) twins--although they look enough alike where they could easily pass for being identical twins. Mary-Kate and Ashley also have four other siblings outside of each other, two of whom are half-siblings through their dad's second marriage (the twins' parents got divorced in 1995):
13	* Two brothers (one older and one younger) named Trent and Jake, the latter of whom is one of their two half-siblings.
14	* Two younger sisters, Creator/{{Elizabeth\|Olsen}} (best known for playing [[Characters/MCUWandaMaximoff Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch]] in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse) and Taylor, the latter of whom is the other of their two half-siblings.
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16	The Olsen twins also inspired the parody Web series ''WebVideo/VeryMaryKate''.
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18	[[Series/LastWeekTonight Might actually just be one person moving back and forth very fast.]]
19	----
20	!!Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have appeared in these works:
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22	* ''Series/FullHouse'' (not [[MakingUseOfTheTwin (usually)]] on-screen at the same time)
23	** They were credited as "Mary Kate Ashley Olsen", leading many to believe that Michelle was played by one actor. Only in the last season, they are credited as [[AndStarring "and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen as Michelle"]].
24	* ''Film/ItTakesTwo'' (1995)
25	* ''Series/TwoOfAKind'', a short-lived sitcom, as pre-teens.
26	* ''Series/SoLittleTime'', a short-lived tween SitCom starring the two.
27	* ''WesternAnimation/MaryKateAndAshleyInAction'', a short-lived SaturdayMorningCartoon starring the twins as {{Ink Suit Actor}}s.
28	* ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' (guest-hosted, at expense of their senior prom, in 2004)
29	* ''Series/TheAdventuresOfMaryKateAndAshley'', a plethora of mystery works for children (literature and videos)
30	* ''You're Invited to Mary-Kate and Ashley's'', a plethora of party movies for children
31	* A plethora of DirectToVideo tween comedies [[invoked]]
32	* ''Film/NewYorkMinute'' (2004)
33	* ''Literature/{{Beastly}}'' (2011) as Kendra
34	-----
35	!!Some tropes used by their works:
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37	* ActorAllusion:
38	** In an episode of ''Series/TwoOfAKind'' Mary Kate says of poker "I thought a full house beats everything".
39	** In ''Film/NewYorkMinute'', Roxie finds a bootleg DVD of ''Holiday In The Sun'', one of their DTV movies.
40	** They've played sisters called Chloe and Riley in the DTV movie ''Winning London'' and the sitcom ''Series/SoLittleTime''; the song "So Little Time" was first used as a soundtrack in ''Winning London'', before becoming the theme song of the sitcom. However, in ''Winning London'', Mary-Kate plays Chloe while Ashley plays Riley--in ''So Little Time'', it's the other way around. And aside from the names, Chloe and Riley Lawrence from ''Winning London'' are very different characters from Chloe and Riley Carlson of ''Series/SoLittleTime''.
41	* ActorInspiredElement: Michelle's ambidextrous because Ashley's right-handed while Mary-Kate's left-handed.
42	* AlphaBitch: Jennifer in ''Series/TwoOfAKind'', though later becomes a LovableAlphaBitch. A few characters of their movies also fit this, like Victoria from ''Film/OurLipsAreSealed'' (the movie where they go to Australia), who's a very stereotypical one.
43	* TheDanza: As Mary-Kate and Ashley Burke in ''Series/TwoOfAKind''.
44	* DinnerOrderFlub: An interesting variation happens in ''Passport to Paris'' (the movie where they go to France). One of the twins is taking French at their school back in America, and while out at a restaurant in Paris, she accidentally orders ''fish'' ("'''p'''oissons") when she was trying to order ''drinks'' ("'''b'''oissons"). Though she said "deux boissons" (two drinks), and the waitress only brought one fish, so she could have been trolling.
45	* DolledUpInstallment: The Platform/GameBoyColor game based on the franchise was originally developed as a ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' title, only for ''South Park'' creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker to put a halt to the release due to concerns about the game's mature subject matter being inappropriate on a device played mostly by children. Crawfish Interactive and Acclaim retooled what they have done so far into ''[[WesternAnimation/MayaTheBee Maya the Bee & Her Friends]]'' which was based on the German cartoon franchise, which in turn was reskinned and modified as ''The New Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley''.
46	* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: In many of their movies and TV shows, the twins were typecast as this--Ashley typically portrayed the mature/responsible twin while Mary-Kate was usually the wild twin (''Series/TwoOfAKind'', ''Film/{{It Takes Two\|1995}}'', ''The Challenge'', ''Film/NewYorkMinute''). One of the only times they switched it up was in ''Winning London'' (the movie where they go to England), where Mary-Kate played Chloe (a serious and competitive overachiever) while Ashley played Riley (Chloe's laidback, fun-loving twin sister).
47	* FormerChildStar: While the careers have shifted from acting to fashion, Mary-Kate still does some acting (though mostly in stuff like indie films) while Ashley has stopped acting entirely.
48	* GranolaGirl: Mary-Kate's character, Shane, in ''The Challenge'' (the movie where the twins go to Mexico).
49	* IAmNotLeonardNimoy: The twins often play up the TomboyAndGirlyGirl dynamic. Mary Kate is the rebellious, edgy {{Tomboy}} and Ashley the uptight GirlyGirl. Even Mary Kate's adult roles cater to this.
50	* IdenticalTwinIDTag: Despite being fraternal, they look very much alike, especially during their time as Michelle Tanner. There are ways to tell which sister is which:
51	** Ashley is right-handed, while Mary-Kate is left-handed.
52	** Ashley has a beauty mark on her right cheek, while Mary-Kate has one on her upper lip, just under her nose.
53	** Mary-Kate's ears are more sharper and pointier than Ashley's, and her mouth is thinner.
54	** Whenever Michelle does her HappyDance, Mary-Kate is the one to usually do it.
55	** Ashley's eyes are bigger and more closer to each other, while Mary-Kate's are bluer.
56	** Mary-Kate has a bigger and more angular face shape than Ashley's, whose head is more round.
57	** During most of their movies, their choice of clothing can be easily distinguishable, with Mary-Kate wearing more rebellious or tomboyish clothes while Ashley sticks to the girly and feminine side.
58	* KidsPlayMatchmaker: Happens in ''Film/{{It Takes Two\|1995}}''.
59	* LyingCreator: ABC didn't want viewers to know that Michelle was played by twins, so they were credited as [[MetaphoricallyTrue Mary Kate Ashley Olsen]]. But as the twins got older and the differences between them become more and more obvious, they were credited separately.
60	* MakingUseOfTheTwin: When they just played Michelle, they're both used in several dream scenes. Another episode has an identical-looking cousin visiting from Greece.
61	* MissingMom: The shows ''Series/FullHouse'' and ''Series/TwoOfAKind'' as well as the movies ''Film/{{It Takes Two\|1995}}'' and ''Film/BillboardDad'' have the Olsen Twins playing the daughter(s) of a widowed father.
62	* MoneyDearBoy: Their mother nearly took them off ''Series/FullHouse'' after the first season, not wanting them to miss out on having a normal childhood. When they were offered a higher salary, she allowed them to stay on.
63	* PlayingAgainstType: As mentioned above, Ashley usually played the responsible twin to Mary-Kate's foolish twin--but, also as mentioned above, one of the only times this was switched up was in ''Winning London'', as Mary-Kate plays Chloe, the serious and competitive overachiever, while Ashley plays her laidback and fun-loving sister, Riley.
64	* PolarOppositeTwins: Combined with FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling and/or TomboyAndGirlyGirl, the twins played this up in most of their shows and TV movies. There are only a few averted times, like the movies ''Passport to Paris'' and ''Film/OurLipsAreSealed'', where the twins act the same way, and there are no notable differences between their personalities.
65	* RampageFromANail: In one sketch, a red dragon attacks a city, and Creator/MaryKateAndAshleyOlsen have to stop it. They soon realize the dragon is angry because of a skin condition, so they scrub it and clean it until the red scales turn pink, making the dragon feel much better and no longer willing to attack. [[spoiler:Then the girls rip its skull out of its head.]]
66	* RealitySubtext: Their typecasting in their tween years reflected that on ''Series/FullHouse''--Mary Kate would do the more comedic scenes while Ashley handled the more serious ones.
67	* RunawayBride: Their father in ''It Takes Two''. He was marrying the RichBitch, so it's okay! They also make her suffer through a HumiliationConga as she leaves the chapel. The RichBitch had badgered the guy into considerably moving up the wedding because she realized she had genuine competition.
68	* StarDerailingRole: ''Film/NewYorkMinute'' was the twins' final theatrical release. It flopped at the Box Office and was savaged by critics, marking the end of their prominence. Their business Dualstar is doing well, however, and Mary Kate has continued with acting (albeit mostly for indie films) in addition to fashion.
69	* StrictlyFormula: A lot of the criticism for their DTV movies that they starred as teenagers (like ''Passport to Paris'', ''Film/OurLipsAreSealed'', ''Winning London'', ''Holiday in the Sun'' and ''When in Rome'') is the plot--to go into greater detail:
70	** A pair of teenaged twin sisters go to some foreign country (like France, Australia, England, the Bahamas, and Italy, respectively, for the movies mentioned above) and spend most of the movie shopping in and exploring said country while hooking up with a pair of hot guys--and in quite a few of the movies, there's also a subplot involving the twins helping to solve a mystery and/or stop a robbery.
71	** While "hooking up with two hot guys" was always part of the plot in their movies, some of them did have more original plots--like ''Film/NewYorkMinute'', ''The Challenge'', and ''Switching Goals''.
72	** The "hooking up with two hot guys" is lampshaded at the end of ''The Challenge'' (the last DTV movie that they made and, overall, the second-to-last movie that the twins did together). In a short scene at the end of the movie, some of the twins' boyfriends from past movies and TV shows they had done come in and start arguing over who they loved more. While the boys are all arguing, the twins leave and end the movie with a really sweet line: "Boys may come and go, but we'll always have each other--and that's ''not'' just in the movies."
73	* TakeThat: "I Blame The Media" after getting caught making a mess in Larrypolooza in Series/SoLittleTime.
74	* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: While they sometimes switched it up, Mary-Kate usually played the more tomboyish sister while Ashley usually played the more feminine sister. To name a few examples --
75	** In ''Series/TwoOfAKind'', Ashley was presented as a very fashion-forward girl while Mary-Kate was a typical sporty tomboy.
76	** A mild case in ''Series/SoLittleTime'': Ashley plays Chloe Carlson, the girly, boy-crazy sister, while Mary-Kate plays Riley Carlson who is only slightly tomboyish (she wears less girly clothes than her sister, and is not as boy-crazy). However, the difference is not very pronounced, and the twins are more similar to each other than in other works.
77	** ''Film/{{It Takes Two\|1995}}'': Mary-Kate is Amanda Lemmon, an orphan who plays streetball and resents having to act lady-like to get adopted while Ashley as Alyssa Callaway is like a little princess, coming home from her boarding school's piano recital competition, expecting to meet her wealthy father at the airport but it's the butler instead.
78	** ''Film/BillboardDad'': Mary-Kate plays Tess, who is better at most sports than her sister Emily (Ashley's character), although Emily is better at surfing.
79	** ''Switching Goals'': Mary-Kate plays Sam Stanton, an athletic star soccer player, who is jealous of her sister's popularity with boys. Ashley plays Emma Stanton, a popular fashionable girl but terrible at sports, who is jealous of her sister's athletic achievements.
80	** ''The Challenge'': Mary-Kate plays Shane, a laidback OutdoorsyGal with a TomboyishName who lives with her mother. Ashley plays Lizzie, a prissy GoGetterGirl who lives with her rich father.
81	** ''Film/NewYorkMinute'': Mary-Kate plays punk-rock rebel Roxy while Ashley plays classy and uptight Jane.
82	** ''Film/WinningLondon'' invert their usual roles. Ashley plays laidback, fun-loving Riley who is a bit of TheLadette, while Mary-Kate plays Chloe, a goody two-shoes who always wants to be perfect. It's probably the only work where Ashley is more tomboyish than Mary-Kate.
83	* TomboyAngst: In ''Switching Goals'', athletic tomboy Sam (played by Mary-Kate) admits she's tired of her YouGoGirl reputation and that she would give away all her sports trophies to become a popular DudeMagnet like her girly sister Emma. Conversely, Emma (played by Ashley) would like to be good at sports like Sam. In fact, in this movie, the twins have an AdaptationalAngstUpgrade of their respective roles in ''Series/TwoOfAKind''.
84	* TwinSwitch: Part of the main plot in ''Film/{{It Takes Two\|1995}}'' and ''Switching Goals''.
85	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
86	** They nearly starred as CreepyTwins on an episode of ''Series/TheXFiles''. Due to strict child labor laws, they were replaced with the Krievins twins instead.
87	** Ashley considered returning to acting in 2009 and was even announced as playing Christie in ''The Informers''. She dropped out and was replaced with Amber Heard.
88	* WitnessProtection: The main plot in ''Film/OurLipsAreSealed'' (the movie where the twins go to Australia)--Abby and Maddie Parker (played by Ashley and Mary-Kate, respectively) witness a jewel heist and testify against the person who did it in court. Rightfully worried that the criminals will come after them, the twins and their parents are put into the FBI's Witness Protection Program and are (eventually) placed in Sydney, Australia.

Context Creator / MaryKateAndAshleyOlsen