Ashley Olsen

Though they look identical, Mary-Kate and Ashley, born on June 13th, 1986 in Sherman Oaks, California, are actually fraternal twins. Ashley is the "older" one, arriving a full two minutes before her sister. A close family friend persuaded reluctant mother Jarnette to take the four-month-old babies to an audition for a TV sitcom that was about to begin filming. After the producers held the babies in their arms without inducing any crying, the twins were rewarded with their first role, in the easiest audition they would ever have to do. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, in the shared role of "Michelle Tanner" on the new hit series Full House, instantly won over television audiences. The Olsen twins became baby celebrities right from the show's debut in 1987, opposite the performances of Bob Saget, Candace Cameron and John Stamos (who they are apparently still close to). The lessons and family-oriented comedy that Full House presented to the public were very well received, and paved the way for Olsen mania. During their run on Full House, Mary-Kate and Ashley also came out with a slew of straight-to-video and made-for-TV movies, including Double, Double, Toil and Trouble and How the West Was Fun. After management in the new production company saw how "tweens" (children aged between 8 and 12) ate up this kind of entertainment, they kept the projects coming. In fact, the videos became so successful that the Olsens could afford to experiment a little -- they even became the youngest producers in history after doing work on one of their films at the age of six. In 1995, the Olsen twins, not even 10 and already famous worldwide, made their first feature film, called It Takes Two. They were paid $1.6 million for the movie and, though it didn't do well in theaters, raked in $75 million when released on video. Going back to the old formula of straight-to-video creations, the Olsens rediscovered a tried and true -- not to mention lucrative -- formula. Those that bought the Olsen videos were also likely to purchase a Mary-Kate and Ashley schoolbag and interactive video game. The numbers reflecting Mary-Kate and Ashley's success are staggering: 40 video titles that have sold 30 million copies, 6 music albums that have sold a total of 1.5 million copies, and 29 million books sold -- and they're not through yet. This helped Dualstar Entertainment earn $500 million in 2001 and around $1 billion in 2002. Consequently, the girls, who became co-presidents of the company once they turned 18, are now worth hundreds of millions... each. In 2004, they starred in their own full-length film, New York Minute, and finally officially became legal adults. And now that Mary-Kate and Ashley are attending New York University, look out for them to appear in the tabloids (and party circuit) even more