Detailed Biography

Ashley Fuller Olsen is an American fashion designer, entrepreneur, and actress. Ashley co-founded luxury fashion brand The Row and the more affordable Elizabeth and James with twin sister Mary-Kate Olsen.

Career

Working as a twin

Ashley Olsen began her career at the age of nine months, when she and her sister Mary-Kate Olsen were hired to share the role of Michelle Tanner on the popular television series Full House in 1987. To comply with strict child labor laws regarding child actors, Ashley and Mary-Kate took turns during taping of the show. Both girls were credited as "Mary Kate Ashley Olsen" in an attempt to keep audiences from realizing that two children played the role.

Following Full House, Ashley 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. Her name became a household item, with her likeness seen in clothes, books, fragrances, magazines, movies and posters t.v and many others . There were even 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 Fox Family's So Little Time. They were ranked number three on the VH1 program 100 Greatest Child Stars.

In 2004, Ashley appeared alongside her twin sister in the theatrical light-hearted romantic comedy, New York Minute, also starring Eugene Levy.

In 2008, Mary-Kate and Ashley released a book titled "Influence", which contained interviews with many creative and influential people including Karl Lagerfeld, Terry Richardson, Diane von Furstenberg and many more.

CEO

In 2004, both Ashley and Mary-Kate became CEO of their company Dualstar , 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, and in 2007 Forbes ranked the twins as the eleventh-richest women in entertainment, with an estimated net worth of over $100 million each.

Fashion designer

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.

Starting as young girls, they have 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. The director of the organization, Charles Kernaghan, is quoted as saying:

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

Ashley and her sister have released The Row, a high-end fashion line inspired by London's Savile Row. The clothing is sold at high-end retailers such as Barneys, Maxfield, Harvey Nichols, Brown's, and others around the world. Ashley and Mary-Kate continued their expansion in the fashion industry with the Fall '07 launch of Elizabeth & James, their contemporary collection inspired by many of their unique vintage finds and pieces in their personal wardrobes.

Public image

Though her fashion choices have become popular, Olsen has not been without criticism for her wearing and promotion of fur. In 2006, she was included on PETA's 2006 Worst Dressed list for wearing fur and is often a target of their anti-fur campaigning.

Libel Lawsuit

In 2005, Ashley filed a $40 million lawsuit against tabloid magazine National Enquirer for printing a headline reading "Ashley Olsen Caught In Drug Scandal," and the associated story.