When they were child stars, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were the twinkle in Hollywood’s eye. At just six months old, they shared the role of Michelle Tanner on the ABC sitcom Full House and stole the hearts of audiences all around the globe, soaring into stardom forever. After the show ended in 1995 they continued to appear in a plethora of movies and TV shows, but ultimately retired from the entertainment world and went off to college.
Since then they’ve developed a pretty low-key reputation and have actively maintained a no-social-media status for years. After the passing of their beloved Full House on-screen father, Bob Saget, they were yanked back into the spotlight and released a statement, but spotlight or no, we’re always wondering: what are Mary-Kate and Ashley up to?
The Olsen twins have worked in the fashion industry for over a decade
When Full House neared its end in 1993, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen created an entertainment company called Dualstar where all of their direct-to-DVD films were produced, including Our Lips Are Sealed, Passport To Paris, and How the West Was Fun. In one interview, the twins said that even during their time in front of the camera, they spent equally the same amount of time behind the camera building a brand for themselves, so in a way, they always felt like businesswomen.
Which explains why in 2006, the two sisters shed their on-screen personas and went on to create the now-successful luxury fashion line The Row. (And by luxury, we mean luxury. A cashmere scarf can run you upwards of $9,000).
The Row’s mission is to inspire women and challenge fashion norms, according to its website. In a 2021 interview with i-D Magazine Ashley confessed that she and her sister didn’t want to be the face or the name behind the brand. “We didn’t want to be in front of it, we didn’t necessarily even want to let people know it was us,” she said. “It was really about the product, to the point where we were like: Who could we get to front this so that we don’t have to?”
The twins chose not to give an interview for almost three years after the brand’s birth because, as they say, they wanted the clothes to speak for themselves. Now, 17 years later, we’re pretty confident they succeeded.
Is it Sayonara to Hollywood forever?
One of Mary-Kate and Ashley’s biggest reasons for leaving Hollywood was because the entertainment world is often run by people in positions of power who can steamroll an actor’s (or even a producer’s) opinion if it’s not complimentary to their own. With their fashion line, they have much more creative control.
Acting is likely off-limits forever, but that doesn’t mean we will never see the Olsens return for some behind-the-camera roles given their history of producing their own work. Or, at least one can dream.
This is likely why neither Mary-Kate nor Ashley returned for the reboot of Fuller House, unlike almost every other cast member, including Bob Saget. That didn’t stop them from offering their deepest condolences to the Saget family for the sudden and incredibly saddening loss of their former on-screen father, though. Speaking to People, they said:
“Bob was the most loving, compassionate and generous man. We are deeply saddened that he is no longer with us but know that he will continue to be by our side to guide us as gracefully as he always has,” said Mary-Kate and Ashley. “We are thinking of his daughters, wife and family and are sending our condolences.”
Even though both the twins have departed the entertainment scene, their last name still makes its occasional rounds through the proverbial blacktop thanks to their younger sister, Elizabeth Olsen, who many now know as Wanda Maximoff, aka Scarlet Witch in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Like her sisters, Elizabeth’s life is much more private than most celebrities. She currently has no social media presence and appears only at red-carpet events, premieres, and interviews.
Similarly to Mary-Kate and Ashley, Elizabeth initially toyed with the idea of using a different last name to disassociate herself from favoritism. But at this point, her talent has spoken for itself with or without her famous moniker. I mean, have you seen WandaVision or Love & Death?
What is Mary-Kate Olsen up to now?
Three decades after her days on Full House, this child actresses-turned-adult-designer still lives an incredibly private life. Both Mary-Kate and her sister have zero social media presence and are often only spotted from time to time at red-carpet events and the annual Met Gala, which sees some of the biggest names in fashion and entertainment come together for a red-carpet extravaganza.
In 2015, Mary-Kate married Olivier Sarkozy but by May 2020 the two filed for divorce, right around the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their divorce was finalized in January 2021. In May 2023 she was spotted in a rare public appearance at an airport in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, so at least we know she’s having fun. Shortly after the trip, in June 2023, Mary-Kate was spotted again grabbing lunch near Central Park in New York City with PC (Paul-Charles) Valmorbida, an Australian art dealer who is the heir to a $500 million Italian smallgoods dynasty back in Australia.
In addition to her love life, Mary-Kate has kept up with her passion for horses. On Sept. 6, 2022, she even placed 3rd at the Longines Equestrian Tour, according to Vanity Fair.
What is Ashley Olsen up to now?
As for Ashley – she married 35-year-old artist Louis Eisner in a private wedding on Dec. 28, 2022, according to Page Six. The pair have been linked since October 2017 and first sparked rumors of an engagement in 2019 when Ashley was spotted at dinner with a band on her finger.
On Aug. 14, it was revealed that Ashley and Loius welcomed their firstborn son into the world, Otto. The news not only shocked us fans but also Ashley’s friends; she reportedly kept the entire pregnancy a secret from everyone, which goes to show the extent to which she and her sister will work to keep their personal lives private.
Aside from infrequent peeks into their personal lives — even big ones such as giving birth to a child — there’s little else to know about the current state of Mary-Kate and Ashely, save their devotion to The Row. As they told i-D Magazine, “We were raised to be discreet people,” so it’ll likely be a while before we hear from them again. Whenever that may be, we’ll be here to spill the tea.