ONTD Original: 5 things you didn't know about Legends Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen (who turn 32 today!)
Some of us grew up watching their straight-to-VHS movies or followed their adventures as Mary-Kate & Ashley Burke in "Two of A Kind", and later as Riley and Chloe Carlson in "So Little Time". Famous before even turning 1, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen evaded the limelight after their first cinema feature "New York Minute" bombed at the box office in 2004.
Now successful fashion designers (their brand The Row is highly respected in the fashion industry, and their contemporary line Elizabeth & James is a favorite amongst celebrities), the elusive icons remain a mystery to many people.
As Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen celebrate their 32nd birthday today, here are 5 things you (probably) didn't know about them!
1. They don't use social media
"We don't dive into that world," Ashley told Net-a-Porter's The Edit magazine in 2017, adding that they've intentionally "stayed quite sheltered". Don't expect any of them on Twitter either as summing up their thoughts in a few hundred characters gives them "so much anxiety" Ashley admitted to Vogue. To which Mary-Kate added: "We've spent our whole lives trying to not let people have that accessibility, so it would go against everything we've done in our lives to not be in the public."
2. They weren't thrilled with their childhood
In an interview to Marie-Claire in 2010, Mary-Kate confessed "I look at old photos of me, and I don't feel connected to them at all...I would never wish my upbringing on anyone". She even compared them to "little monkey performers".
3. Don't expect them in Netflix's "Fuller House"
MK&A had been contacted to appear in Netflix's "Fuller House" but turned down the role. In an interview to People magazine, executive producer Bob Boyett stated that Ashley had told him she hadn't "been in front of a camera since I was 17, and I don't feel comfortable acting". Mary-Kate (who appeared alone in "The Wackness", "Beastly", and the tv series "Weeds" and "Samantha Who") added "It would have to be me because Ash doesn't want to do it. But the timing is so bad for us." It is rumoured that the part had also been offered to their sister Elizabeth.
Whilst some people called bs on their excuses and seem to think that the Olsens refused come back because they're not in good terms with their former cast mates, "Full House" Dave Coulier sympathized with them telling People: "They're family members. But I think they have a different perspective. When we get together and we reminisce, they were babies [at the time]. So they don't share those same memories. I can't really speak for them but I would understand why they don't have the same sentiments that we all do.
4. Mary-Kate is a horseback-riding champion
MK started riding horses as a child at age 6 on the set of "To Grandmother's House We Go" and has never stopped since despite her busy schedule. She's actually a horse riding champion and has been competing in the annual Hampton Classic Horse Show since 2013. In an interview to equestrian website HITS, she declared “I came back to the sport because I missed it every day that I wasn't riding. It was the hardest thing to leave and the hardest thing to come back to”. Her horse even has custom-made The Row gear!
5. They have a secret twin code
Last February, a fashion editor caught a very special moment between Ashley & Mary-Kate as they took a bow at the end of their The Row fashion show (see it here). In an old E! special, Mary-kate explained: “We have this little thing when we love each other where we’ll squeeze each other like three times,” she said. “Then I’ll squeeze her hand back four times. Like, ‘I love you, too.’”. How sweet!
Source: me & my 20 years of stanning these queens
Photo sources: 01 / 02 / 03 / 04 / 05
ONTD- who is your favorite Olsen twin?
