It takes two to celebrate this major milestone.Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen turn 40 June 13. And if you’re thinking it’s been more than a New York minute since fans last heard from the child-stars-turned-fashion-moguls, that's because they prefer to live a life out of the limelight."We’ve been there, we’ve done that, we started out that way," Mary-Kate told British Vogue in 2019. "But this is the way we chose to move forward in our lives: to not be in the spotlight, to really have something that speaks for itself."That something is The Row, the ready-to-wear luxury brand they launched in 2005. It came at a time when Mary-Kate and Ashley were switching goals—pivoting from acting to design.
"I don’t know how conscious we were of what we were doing at that time, to be really honest,” Ashley recalled to i-D in 2021. "We had just moved to New York. We were 18 years old and I think what we did know was that we wanted to take that time to take a break from what we were previously doing and to explore things that interested us, and explore what life has to offer…We wanted to explore making something of ourselves."
Although, many would argue they already had. Ashley and Mary-Kate's career started when they were babies after they landed the role of Michelle Tanner on Full House. From there, the actresses launched their media and merchandise empire Dualstar at age 6 and starred in several movies and series, including The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley, Passport to Paris, Holiday in the Sun and So Little Time.
Their last joint film was 2004’s New York Minute. And while Mary-Kate and Ashley have since cemented their place in the fashion world—their last public appearance together was at the 2025 CFDA Fashion Awards, where they were named American Accessory Designer of the Year—they can get frustrated when they’re still referred to as "The Olsen Twins" or "The Girls.""We have had very interesting lives," Mary-Kate explained to Financial Times in 2023. "We work together. We’re business partners. We’re sisters. I think that's the first thing that comes to mind. How many other people are called 'the girls' when they’re designing? I think that’s where the disappointment comes from."Because after all, they are adults. "Age doesn’t really matter," she continued. "But we’re still 'The Girls.'"In honor of their birthday, learn more Mary-Kate, Ashley and their family.
Dave Olsen never expected daughters Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen to enter show business."I didn't even want to be bothered with it," the golfer-turned-real-estate-professional shared in 1991 with The Washington Post—which noted his then-wife, former ballerina Jarnette Olsen, gave a talent agency a photo of their twins at the suggestion of a friend. "I said, 'Honey, if you want to do this, fine.'"Mary-Kate and Ashley began playing Michelle Tanner on Full House when they were 9 months old. While the '90s sitcom was a huge success, they didn’t feel pressured by their mom and dad to be stars—with Ashley noting on The Late Show in 2004 "we’re lucky that we never had those types of parents."Dave and Jarnette helped manage Mary-Kate and Ashley’s finances, including their riches from their media and merchandise empire Dualstar, before they turned 18. "You can imagine the mountains of memos I receive on a daily basis on all these contracts,” he told the L.A. Times in 2000. But they didn’t do it alone."My parents had very little to do with my sisters' job really, at least not after getting them that first job," sister Elizabeth Olsen told The Guardian in 2012. "They always did what they could to hook them up with the right people to handle things, like being child stars and managing assets and running production companies and so on, but they never pretended they could do it well themselves."Jarnette and Dave divorced in the mid-90s, and he remarried McKenzie Olsen.
Dave and Jarnette's eldest child, Trent Olsen, was born in 1984. "My older brother Trent is actually the most talented one in the whole family," Elizabeth told Interview in 2012, "seriously."While he appeared in a few of Mary-Kate and Ashley’s videos—including You’re Invited to Mary Kate & Ashley’s Sleepover Party—as a kid, Trent now prefers to live a life off-camera. Over the years, he’s served as a screenwriter, a comics writer for Storm King Productions and editor in chief of digital content platform Rogue Matter.He wed his wife, Alexis, in May 2026.
Arriving two minutes ahead of her twin, Ashley entered the world in 1986. After acting in Full House as well as several other TV shows and movies with Mary-Kate—including their Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley series, It Takes Two, Passport to Paris and So Little Time—she made her final film appearance alongside her sister in 2004’s New York Minute. Shortly after, the pair moved to New York to attend NYU. However, they pivoted to launch their fashion brand The Row the following year. And Ashley hasn’t expressed any interest in returning to the screen."I was reading scripts," she recalled to Allure in 2013, "and ultimately I just said to the people who are representing me, 'I need to do things 100 percent. I don't feel like I can give you 100 percent of my time.'"Ashley wed Louis Eisner in 2022 and, according to multiple reports, they welcomed son Otto the following year.
After Ashley left acting, Mary-Kate continued with it for a little longer—appearing in the 2007 show Weeds, 2008 movie The Wackness and finally 2011’s Beastly. And while Mary-Kate’s personal life occasionally made headlines—including her 2020 split from then-husband Olivier Sarkozy—she prefers to be more private (neither she nor Ashley are even on social media). "Everyone's looking for a good story," she told E! in 2004, "we don't read the good, we don't read the bad. We just can't let things like that affect us.”When Mary-Kate isn’t busy co-running The Row, she enjoys riding horses. As the equestrian once told horse show HITS, "It allows me to exist in another world."
Born in 1989, Elizabeth started acting as a kid by appearing in her sisters’ movies, including 1994’s How the West Was Fun!. However, she held off on pursuing the craft professionally until she was an adult, returning to the screen in 2011’s Silent House and Martha Marcy May Marlene. Since then, the NYU alum has starred in several movies and TV shows, including Godzilla, Wind River and Love & Death. Elizabeth also entered the MCU by playing Wanda Maximoff, including in the Avengers movies and series WandaVision."I never got any job because of my sisters," the actress told The Guardian in 2012. "I could have pulled a few strings through them, but I never needed to."Elizabeth wed Robbie Arnett in 2019. In June 2026, People reported that the couple is expecting a baby.
Courtney, born in 1997, is Mary-Kate and Ashley’s half-sister from their dad Dave’s marriage to McKenzie. While she lives a more private life, she's shown support for her siblings, posting photos of her seeing Elizabeth’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in 2022 with Trent and brother Jake Olsen writing, "Big Wanda fans over here."Like her sisters, Courtney is an actress—starring in the 2024 short-film Cheers. And it looks like she’s found her costar in life. In May 2025, she announced on Instagram, "Got engaged this weekend …. no biggie."
Jake is the youngest of the Olsen siblings, with McKenzie and Dave welcoming him in 1998."I love every chaotic moment I have when my family is all together," he told Runway magazine in 2016, per People. "It's a lot more normal than you would think....We all support each other's dreams."Fans got a peek at that support when Jake posted a photo of himself with Elizabeth, which he captioned, "I love family time with my sister."In terms of his career, he works behind the camera—like when he was an assistant director on the 2022 music video for Lil Rot’s song “Make Up My Mind.”