Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen are two of the most famous child actors of all time,
but the twins appear to have left acting for good.
Was it their new careers?
Or was it just their complicated feelings about being celebrities?
The reasons why they stopped acting might surprise you.
Mary-Kate and Asley became famous thanks to their dual-role playing Michelle Tanner on
the hit sitcom, "Full House," which aired for eight seasons from 1987 until 1995.
The dynamic sister duo also starred in a handful of beloved children's movies in the '90s,
including "It Takes Two," and they flexed their acting chops as teens in films like
"New York Minute" and "Passport to Paris."
Although the pair seemingly stepped out of the spotlight in the early 2000s to attend
college, as well as focus on their careers as budding fashion designers, Mary-Kate appeared
in a few projects throughout the decade.
This included an eight-episode stint on "Weeds" in 2008, and the film "Beastly" opposite "High
School Musical" alum Vanessa Hudgens and "Magic Mike" star Alex Pettyfer.
Meanwhile, her sister, Ashley, almost completely left Hollywood after starring in "New York
Minute" in 2004, and has appeared in only a couple of small cameo roles since.
It's been over a decade since both Mary-Kate and Ashley appeared in any movies, though,
and fans everywhere are wondering why exactly the two shelved their acting careers after
such a successful run.
During an interview with Allure in 2013, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen revealed the real reason
they quit acting for good.
Ashley explained,
"I was reading scripts, and ultimately I just said to the people who are representing me,
'I need to do things 100%.
I don't feel like I can give you 100% of my time.'
There's a lot of compromise in the entertainment industry."
Mary-Kate added,
"I am not great at not being able to control the end product."
The Olsen twins had founded their clothing line, The Row, in 2006, and within a few years
of the launch, the company had accrued over $12 million in sales, another reason it was
hard for the former "Full House" stars to focus on anything but fashion.
Ashley told i-D in 2021,
"I think in the beginning it was really a project for us.
So yes, it started with the T-shirt and then six other pieces fell out of that.
[...] It really was kind of just a passion project.
It took a year and a half, because there really was no end date or goal in mind as far as
turning it into a business, I'd say."
After having two of the most successful childhood acting careers early on in life, both Mary-Kate
and Ashleymade it their mission to retreat from the limelight to focus on building their
fashion careers behind the scenes.
In an interview with Elle in 2012, Mary-Kate opened up about being called a "celebrity"
most of her life, and the term actually doesn't sit well with her.
She revealed,
"It's weird to be called a celebrity or talk about it.
[...] I don't talk about being a celebrity in my business meetings.
I don't talk about it with my friends.
It's not a part of my life.
It's a media perception of who I am.
It's very weird.
I mean, if I see a paparazzi shot of me walking that's in a magazine or something at some
event, it's as if I see it from an outsider's point of view."
When it was announced that a "Full House" spin-off, aptly titled "Fuller House," was
making its way to Netflix with the majority of the original cast, fans of the beloved
sitcom were hoping that Mary-Kate and Ashley would reprise their role as Michelle Tanner.
However, fans were let down after the twins turned down the offer to appear on the show.
Executive producer Bob Boyett told Cinema Blend in 2019,
"Ashley said, 'I have not been in front of a camera since I was 17, and I don't feel
comfortable acting [...] Mary-Kate said, 'It would have to be me because Ash doesn't want
to do it.
But the timing is so bad for us.'"
"I love them, and there was a lot of miscommunication in the press and stuff."
During an appearance on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen," John Stamos, who also
served as an executive producer on the Netflix reboot, revealed another reason the Olsen
twins likely didn't want to join the cast of "Fuller House."
"They won, like, two or three CFDA Awards.
That's like winning two or three Oscars.
If you won three Oscars, would you come back and do this?"
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