Ashley Olsen

Ashley Olsen Biography

Ashley Fuller Olsen (born June 13, 1986) is an American actress, fashion designer, producer, author, and businesswoman. She co-founded luxury fashion brands The Row, Elizabeth and James, and the more affordable lines Olsenboye and StyleMint with her twin sister Mary-Kate Olsen.

Birth and family

Ashley and Mary-Kate were born in Sherman Oaks, California to David Olsen and Jarnette "Jarnie" Jones. Ashley is two minutes older than Mary-Kate. They have an older brother, Trent Olsen, a younger sister, Elizabeth Olsen who is also an actress, and younger half siblings Taylor and Jake from their father's second marriage. Olsen's parents divorced in 1995. The twins and their siblings have Norwegian ancestry on their father's side.

Career

Olsen began her career at the age of nine months old, when she and Mary-Kate were hired to share the role of Michelle Tanner on the popular television series Full House in 1987. Following the end of Full House, Olsen released a string of successful straight-to-video movies and became a popular figure in the preteen market during the late '90s and early 2000s. She became a household name, with her likeness seen in clothes, books, fragrances, magazines, movies, and posters, among others. There were fashion dolls of her made by Mattel from 2000-2005. She starred in the video series The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley, the ABC show Two of a Kind, and ABC Family's So Little Time. She and her sister were jointly ranked number three on the VH1 program 100 Greatest Child Stars. In 2004, the twins appeared in the theatrical light-hearted romantic comedy, New York Minute. This was the final acting project for Olsen's, who had grown tired of acting. In 2007 when Mary-Kate and Ashley were 21 they said that if they got involved in movies together again it would be as producers. When asked about acting again in 2009 Ashley said, "Never say never." In 2009 Olsen contemplated returning to acting. She changed her mind and in 2012 the sisters decided to quit acting permanently and focus on fashion.

Dualstar

Main article: Dualstar

In 2004, both Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen became co-presidents of their company Dualstar (created in 1993 following the success of Full House), the brand currently selling in over 3,000 stores in America and 5,300 stores worldwide. Their success has been marked on Forbes' The Celebrity 100 list since 2002. In 2007, Forbes ranked the twins as the eleventh-richest women in entertainment, with an estimated combined net worth of $300 million.

Fashion

Following a high volume of public interest in their fashion choices, both work in collaboration on a string of fashion lines available to the public. They started a clothing line in Wal-Mart stores across America for girls ages 4-14 as well as a beauty line called Mary-Kate and Ashley: Real fashion for Real Girls. In 2004 they made news by signing a pledge to allow all the workers that sew their line of clothing in Bangladesh full maternity leave. The National Labor Committee, which organized the pledge, later praised the twins for their commitment to worker rights. In 2006, in an attempt to gain credibility in the fashion industry after their association with Wal-Mart tarnished their reputations, they were tapped as the faces of the upscale fashion line Badgley Mischka. As adults, the Olsens 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, Olsenboye, and StyleMint retail collections. Ashley Olsen's has appeared on best-dressed lists. The Olsens designed an Olsenboye Change Purse in 2011 and donated the money to "Pennies From Heaven". In 2011 the Olsen sisters teamed up with TOMS Shoes to design footwear for kids without shoes in more than 20 countries worldwide. Mary-Kate and Ashley are now the creative directors for Superga (brand). The Olsens released an Elizabeth and James perfume in early 2013. The two sisters won the top prize at the 2012 CFDA Fashion Awards. StyleMint is now available in the UK. In October 2012 Mary-Kate and Ashley won the WSJ Magazine Innovator of The Year Award.

Book

In 2008, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen wrote Influence, a book featuring interviews with fashion designers that have inspired the girls' fashion lines.

Personal life

In 2004 Olsen graduated from Campbell Hall School. She attended New York University for a period of time with her sister, Mary Kate.

In 2009, Olsen filed a $40 million lawsuit against tabloid magazine National Enquirer for depicting her as being involved in a drug scandal.

Filmography

Awards and honors

1989: Won - Young Artist Award Best Young Actor/Actress - Under Five Years of Age (with Mary-Kate Olsen) for Full House
1990: Won - Young Artist Award Outstanding Performance by an Actress Under Nine Years of Age (with Mary-Kate Olsen)' for 'Full House
1992: Won - Young Artist Award Exceptional Performance by a Young Actress Under Ten (with Mary-Kate Olsen) for Full House
1994: Won - Young Artist Award Best Youth Actress in a TV Mini-Series, M.O.W. or Special (with Mary-Kate Olsen) for Double, Double, Toil and Trouble
1996: Nominated - Young Artist Award Best Performance by an Actress Under Ten - Feature Film for It Takes Two
1996: Won - Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Movie Actress (with Mary-Kate Olsen) for It Takes Two
1999: Won - Kids' Choice Awards Favorite TV Actress (with Mary-Kate Olsen) for Two of a Kind
2004: Nominated - Teen Choice Awards Choice Movie Blush (with Mary-Kate Olsen) for New York Minute
2004: Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (with Mary-Kate Olsen)
2004: Nominated - TV Land Awards Quintessential Non-Traditional Family (with Candace Cameron Bure, Dave Coulier, Lori Loughlin, Mary-Kate Olsen, Bob Saget, John Stamos and Jodie Sweetin) for Full House