Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, better known as the Olsen Twins, were everywhere you looked in the 90s and early 2000s. They were the golden child stars, so to speak, who started their careers before they could even read their ABCs.
In fact, during their prime, they had been featured in dozens of movies, TV shows, and cartoons – there’s even a video game inspired by them.
These days, however, it seems that a different Olsen is dominating the entertainment industry, while the Olsen Twins have gone under the radar.
With that said, many are curious to know whether Elizabeth Olsen is related to the Olsen Twins, given that they all look the same and share the same surname.
So, if you’re interested to know the answer to that question, keep reading!
The Six Olsen Siblings
Yes, Elizabeth Olsen and the Olsen Twins are sisters! And they have three other siblings in the family. Here are their names, arranged according to birth order:
- James Trent Olsen – The oldest Olsen in the family. He writes comics.
- Mary-Kate Olsen – The twin of Ashley.
- Ashely Olsen – The twin of Mary-Kate Olsen.
- Elizabeth Olsen – The ‘technically’ middle child of the family.
- Courtney Taylor Olsen – The eldest half-sibling from their father’s second marriage.
- Jake Olsen – The youngest in the family. He’s also the son of McKenzie Olsen, the second wife of their father.
It seems that talent runs in the family, too. All six of them have dabbled in the entertainment industry. James, the oldest brother, has previously appeared in some movies of his youngest twin siblings.
Courtney also tried her hand at acting by appearing in movies such as YOLO: The Movie and Malignant Spirits: Sense of Fiction. Meanwhile, Jake hasn’t engaged in acting but he appears to be interested in modeling.
Needless to say, the Olsen siblings are used to the spotlight. They had to adapt to the ‘insanity’ of mainstream media before most of them even hit puberty – all thanks to the massive success of the Olsen Twins. But was it all sunshine and butterflies? Elizabeth Olsen says no.
How The Olsen Twins’ Fame Affected Elizabeth
The unprecedented rise to stardom of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen brought with it significant consequences to the rest of their siblings – especially to the young Lizzie. In an interview with The Sun, Elizabeth revealed the negative side of her sisters’ fame:
“It was insanity. There were times when my sisters would always be spotted and I would be in the car with them and it would really freak me out.”
We can’t imagine how terrifying it must have been for young Lizzie to have cameras shoved to their faces every time they go out.
Still, we’re glad that those experiences did not stop Elizabeth from starting an acting career for herself. This time, however, she wants to do it without piggybacking off on her twin sisters’ success:
“I thought, “I don’t want to be associated with [Mary-Kate and Ashley],’ for some reason. I guess I understood what nepotism was like inherently as a 10-year-old. I don’t know if I knew the word, but there is some sort of association of not earning something that I think bothered me at a very young age.”
At one point, she even considered changing her name to Elizabeth Chase. But in the end, she decided not to drop her surname.
“I was like, ‘I love my family, I like my name, I love my sisters. Why would I be so ashamed of that?’ It’s fine now.”
You can really see how much Elizabeth loves her siblings. We’d love to see them all on the big screen someday!
