Ashley and her twin sister Mary-Kate Olsen began their acting career in 1987 when they were chosen to play ‘Michelle Tanner’ on the TV show “Full House.” The show and the twins were an instant hit which paved the way for merchandising opportunities. During the shows production the twins teamed up with Robert Thorne and created Dualstar, their production company. At age 6, Ashley and Mary-Kate became the youngest producers in history.
Following the years after “Full House” the twins continued to share roles with several DVD and music video releases. In 1998 Ashley returned to TV, performing in the short-lived series "Two of a Kind."
Ashley and Mary-Kate enrolled at New York University in Sept. 2004, Mary-Kate left the University after discovering her classmates were selling stories to the tabloids, and Ashley followed soon after.
No stranger to long hours, the mini moguls have since launched their own clothing and accessory lines, a line for Wal-Mart, a couture collection (The Row) and a contemporary line (Elizabeth & James).
Did you know...
- At age 6, she and Mary-Kate became the youngest producers in history.
- Has a bi-monthly magazine called Mary-Kate and Ashley Magazine.
- When she was young, she and Mary-Kate used to call their "Full House" co-stars by their characters names so they wouldn't mess them up during taping.
- She and her sister became the youngest self-made millionaires in American history before they were 10 years old.
- Her favorite city is Paris.
- May 2003: Ashley is named one of People’s Most Beautiful.
- April 2004: The twins get a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, recognizing their contribution to television.
- She donated many signed head-shots to Rocky Stone to be auctioned off to raise money to buy more toys for less fortunate kids as part of the Toy Mountain Campaign 2004.
- Ashley's favorite subject in school was math.
- February 2005: she filed a $40M libel suit against the "National Inquirer" for alleging her involvement in a drug scandal.
- Ashley was included on PETA's 2006 Worst Dressed list for wearing fur.
- Ranked #37 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2007 list. (She was listed alone, her sister Mary-Kate did not appear anywhere on the list).
- Feb 2007: The twenty-year-olds top Forbes' list of Young Hollywood's Top Earners and place 37th on Forbes' Most Powerful Celebrities list.
- Mary-Kate and Ashley hate people calling them “the Olsen Twins.”