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Mary-Kate And Ashley Olsen Turn 28: Craziest Facts About The World’s Famous Twins

They're Two Of A Kind, baby

It seems like only yesterday we were glued to the TV screens watching Two Of A Kind after coming in from school.

But Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are all grown up now, turning the ripe old age of 28 today - and they're worth rather more than your average 28-year-old.

Here's what you DON'T know about the world's most famous twins...

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were cast in Full House when they were six months old. [Getty]
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were cast in Full House when they were six months old. [Getty]

1. The pair were cast in their first on-screen role at the age of SIX MONTHS! Yep, they were still in nappies when they were cast as Michelle Tanner in the sitcom Full House in 1987.

2. Between them, they’ve appeared in 50 different films and TV shows, including New York Minute, Passport To Paris, When In Rome and It Takes Two.

3. But if you’re hoping to see them back on your screens, think again – they’ve retired. The pair last worked together in front of the camera in 2004 and have no plans to return, with Ashley saying it was time to step ‘behind the process.’

4. The pair became the richest women in the entertainment industry with their company Dualstar, which they both became co-president of in 2004. Forbes ranked them (collectively) as the 11th richest women in entertainment with a net worth of $100 million (£58 million).

5. They are now said to be worth $300 million.

6. It’s not been an easy ride for the famous pair. Younger twin Mary-Kate went to rehab in 2004 at the age of 18 for an eating disorder and rumoured drug abuse. She also nearly testified in the case into the late Heath Ledger’s death before it was dropped.

7. Mary-Kate single-handedly pioneered the ‘homeless’ trend. It’s really a thing now.

Mary-Kate Olsen: Boho chic extraordinaire. [Rex]
Mary-Kate Olsen: Boho chic extraordinaire. [Rex]

8. They’re ambitious. They launched fashion label The Row - inspired by London’s Savile Row - in 2006 when they were just 20 and launched Elizabeth and James a year later inspired by their own personal wardrobes. They also have the lower-priced line, Olsenboye.

9. But it’s pretty much out of our price range. Case in point, a $39,000 alligator rucksack that sold out online. And there’s us thinking only Ashley Olsen could afford it.



Mary-Kate Olsen's $81,250 engagement ring. Wowzers.
Mary-Kate Olsen's $81,250 engagement ring. Wowzers.

10. The pair dedicated their 2014 CFDA Accessories Designer of the Year Award to their former employee Jay Ott, who went missing in March and was found dead soon after. He worked for The Row (the label for which the pair won the award) from 2008 until 2012.

11. Mary-Kate Olsen is currently engaged to Olivier Sarkozy, half-brother of former French president Nicolas Sarkozy. The couple have a 17-year age difference.

12. He proposed with a vintage $81,000 Cartier engagement ring.

The $38,000 alligator rucksack that we thought only Ashley Olsen could afford. [Rex]
The $38,000 alligator rucksack that we thought only Ashley Olsen could afford. [Rex]

13. And the couple recently bought a $13.5 million New York Townhouse to settle into together, according to reports.

14. But if you think they’re out of touch with reality, rest assured that the pair have their feet firmly on the ground.

‘Strangers assumed we had enough money to just do nothing – or why would we go to college? And it’s such an uneducated perspective! You still have to grow within business. You have to take a chance,’ Ashley told Allure magazine.

15. They might have retired from acting but that doesn’t mean you won’t see the Olsen name in lights. Younger sister Elizabeth, 25, has appeared in a number of films including Captain America 2 and Godzilla – as she’s set to appear in the new Avengers film next year.

LOVE LING THE OLSEN TWINS!

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