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The Olsen Twins (born June 13, 1986) are twin Danish-American actresses who have appeared in television and films since the age of nine months. Despite their near-identical looks, they claim to be fraternal rather than identical twins.

Born in Sherman Oaks, California to David Olsen and Jarnette Jones, the Olsens started their acting careers on the television series in 1987. The show was widely popular during the late 80s and early 90s, and both sisters played one character, Michelle Tanner, taking turns during the tapings to do so, in order to comply with child labor laws regarding child actors. Because the producers did not want viewers to know that Michelle was played by twins, the sisters were originally credited as "Mary Kate Ashley Olsen", but later credited as separate people.

Shortly after the end of by heavily merchandising their image. Taking the world of tweens by storm, their names have become a very profitable industry, with their likeness seen in clothes, fragrances ,magazines, movies, posters, and even video games like .

Today, Mary-Kate and Ashley are popular figures in today's tween market, following along the lines of such Hollywood child stars as Shirley Temple, Ron Howard and Macaulay Culkin among others.

They starred in . They also have their own book series.

In 2004 Mary-Kate and Ashley surprised many when they announced that they would be attending college after graduating high school. Most child and teenage actors usually choose to pursue acting full time after graduating from high school, with few (such as Brooke Shields, Jodie Foster, Julia Stiles, and Natalie Portman) choosing to further their education. They both studied at New York University at the Gallatin School of Individualized Study until Mary-Kate took a break in 2005.

The twins received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on April 29, 2004. They are the youngest celebrities to receive this honor. They are reported to be worth $150 million each [1].

In the episode of .

They ranked at number three on the VH1 program 100 Greatest Child Stars.

They are mentioned and insulted along with other celebrities in the song by rapper Eminem. The song was released as a single in 2005. A portion of the music video features the two as puppets who engage in lesbian activity together. The song also makes references about the 2004 movie

This is a table comparing the significant differences between the two:

table align="center" icons, Mary-Kate dresses more boho- (also called homeless-chic), while Ashley is more conventionally stylish. Both are known for wearing flip-flops usually, as well as a large number of accessories, such as large sunglasses.