Ashley Olsen

Spotlight

Don’t let the tiny frame fool you. As one half of the Olsen twins, Ashley, older by two minutes, is one seriously huge pop culture icon, fashionista and mogul. Starting as newborns, the twins shared the role of Michelle Tanner on the popular ABC sitcom Full House. As they grew so did their paycheck, which went from an initial $2,400 each per episode to $80,000 by the end of the show in 1995. By the time they are 15, they’ve established their Dualstar empire which includes CDs, more than 40 videos, the big screen debut It Takes Two, two more TV shows Two Of A Kind and So Little Time, a Wal-Mart fashion and accessories line and magazine they co-edit. In 2004, the same year they were awarded a Hollywood Walk Of Fame star and took control on their company, they produced and starred in the box office fizzler New York Minute. Perhaps inspired by the film, they head to the Big Apple to study at NYU and quickly become constant subjects of gossip columns and tabloids. Ashley, who was linked to Lance Armstrong in 2007 and Justin Bartha from 2008-2011, interned with designer Zac Posen her freshman year. After modeling for Badgley Mischka, encouraging the bobo (bohemian bourgeois) phenomenon and becoming regulars in magazines like Vogue, they launched a high-end label of their own called The Row in 2006. The following year they introduced a lower-priced alternative, Elizabeth and James.