Child and Teen Career
In 1987, at the age of six months, the twins were cast in the role of Michelle Tanner on the ABC sitcom Full House. They began filming at nine months old. In order to comply with child labor laws that set strict limits on how long a child actor may work, the sisters took turns playing the role. The Olsens continued to portray Michelle throughout the show's run, which concluded in 1995.
While starring on Full House, the Olsens also began appearing (as separate characters) in films for video and television. The first such film, To Grandmother's House We Go, debuted in 1992 and featured cameos from several other Full House actors. In 1993, the Olsens established the company Dualstar, which would produce the twins' subsequent films and videos, including that year's Double, Double, Toil and Trouble and 1994's How the West Was Fun. A series of musical mystery videos called The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley premiered in 1994 and continued through 1997.
In 1995, following the end of Full House, the Olsens made their feature film debut in It Takes Two, co-starring Steve Guttenberg and Kirstie Alley. In the same year, they introduced a second video series, You're Invited to Mary-Kate & Ashley's..., which continued to release new entries until 2000.
The twins returned to series television in 1998 with another ABC sitcom, Two of a Kind, co-starring Christopher Sieber as their characters' widowed father. The series lasted only one season, but aired in reruns on cable for several years afterward. 1998 also saw the release of Billboard Dad, the first of a new string of direct-to-video films starring the Olsens. The final such film, When in Rome, debuted in 2002.
In 2001, the sisters starred in two new series: So Little Time, a live-action sitcom on Fox Family (later ABC Family); and Mary-Kate and Ashley in Action!, an animated series airing Saturday mornings on ABC. Both shows were cancelled after one season, although Mary-Kate received a Daytime Emmy Awards nomination for her performance on So Little Time.
In 2004, the twins starred in a second feature film, New York Minute. It would be their last film together, as well as Ashley's last acting role. Mary-Kate has continued to appear in film and television.
Read more about this topic: Brother For Sale
Famous quotes containing the words child, teen and/or career:
“In 1600 the specialization of games and pastimes did not extend beyond infancy; after the age of three or four it decreased and disappeared. From then on the child played the same games as the adult, either with other children or with adults. . . . Conversely, adults used to play games which today only children play.”
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“I doubt that I would have taken so many leaps in my own writing or been as clear about my feminist and political commitments if I had not been anointed as early as I was. Some major form of recognition seems to have to mark a woman’s career for her to be able to go out on a limb without having her credentials questioned.”
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