I want to start this article off by saying that I am an avid Olsen twin fangirl. I was in their fan club for years and have probably spent weeks of my waking hours consuming their many books and films, playing with their dolls, and wishing that I could wake us as the third Olsen twin (or I guess triplet would be more accurate).

We all know the Olsen twins. After all, every stage of their young lives has been documented via film and television for the world to see. Since starting a professional career at the age of six months old (it’s a little late but hey, everyone has to start somewhere) Mary-Kate and Ashley have been unstoppable powerhouses that have dominated pretty much every single industry that they have dipped their toes into. Whether or not you preferred them as Michelle Tanner in Full House, in their musical preteen phase, or in the more plot-driven movies that arose later in their careers, I can guarantee that everyone reading this article has seen at least one Olsen twin production in their lives.

But how much do we really know about the Olsen twins? Just how successful are they? Are they even twins? Or are they actually just one girl moving back and forth so quickly that it tricks the human eye into thinking that there are, in fact, two girls?

Sit back, relax, and get ready to take a trip down nostalgia lane while I take you through 25 things you may not have known about the Olsen twins.

25 An Empire For Two

via: wordpress.com

It is almost impossible to fully comprehend the amount of Olsen twin brand merchandise that was available to consumers to purchase. Understanding it is akin to a human attempting to visualize the size of a blue whale. It’s just so massive that our brains cannot comprehend it. The Olsen twins built an empire by the time that they hit adolescence and that Empire was so far reaching that it rivaled British Imperialism.

The sun never sets on the British Empire? Ha!

Wait until you see what the Olsen twins can do. There were films, several TV shows, make-up, dozens of clothing lines, beauty lines (including makeup and hygienic products,) shoes, multiple video games on different platforms, CDs and soundtracks, jewelry lines, a line of Wiccan products, dozens of dolls (themed after the twins' different products), and hundreds of books (organized into dozens of series; usually based after a film or television show the twins created or starred in).

24 Double Double Toil And Trouble

via: youtube.com

The girls are no strangers to all things magical and mystical due to the fact that several of their films, books, and video games, centered around ancient curses, magical powers, and otherworldly beings. But rumor has it that Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are bringing this recurring theme into the real world by launching a line of crystals, cauldrons, and all things Wiccan/new age-y. According to an article published by OUT magazine, the twins are announcing a witchy new line of products. It is important to note that no other sources have confirmed this rumor; however OUT does not appear/claim to be a satire site and its other articles are well-sourced and backed up by reality. Though it is not the most affordable range, I might consider picking up some ritual candles or an amulet myself to fully embrace my witchy side.

23 Put On Your Blinders

Via Gawker

When you spend your entire life around the lens, people end up getting curious about everything that happens off-screen. Though I would be willing to argue that an actor's job is to act and that everything (within reason) that occurs off-screen should remain personal and private, there is a large community of people that believe that this form of exploitation is the norm/to be expected.

The Olsen twins have spent their lives with their personal issues spread out on the cover of rags like those seen above.

When inquired directly about such things, both twins asserted that they refuse to read anything written about them (good or bad) as they feel that letting one thing will let everything in. They know who they are and they don’t need someone else to tell them. And I think this is an attitude we should all adopt into our everyday lives.

22 One Or The Other

Via Whatculture

When people try to show me their newborn babies, I always struggle with finding the right words to say. “Congratulations! It looks like every other baby I have ever seen in my entire life?" It just never seems appropriate. I have never encountered baby twins but I feel pretty certain that there is literally no way that I could even begin to tell them apart until their seventh birthday, at least.

And this is exactly what happened with Mary-Kate and Ashley while they were sharing the role of Michelle Tanner on Full House. By the arrival of their sixth birthday, audiences were able to easily tell which girl was on screen at any given time. The showrunners sought to fire Ashley in order to give the role to Mary-Kate and Mary-Kate alone; however, their fanbase drew in a large number of viewers that they were afraid of alienating and John Stamos fought to keep both girls.

21 Running The Show

Via Verge Campus

While you were lounging about, being a freeloading baby, the Olsen twins were out there making bank. While you were learning how to walk and talk and all that jazz, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen had already secured a full-time job that would last well into adulthood. They officially began working at the age of six months old and received the titles of “producers” for their personal projects by the age of six years old.

Not only that, but they became the youngest self-made millionaires in American history; they hit that milestone at the tender age of ten years old.

What were you doing when you were ten? They actively worked in the industry until their film New York Minute premiered. Shortly after this film debuted, Ashley left acting. Mary-Kate would take the occasional role for a few years afterward, but her main goal would be their fashion lines.

20 Made For The Small Screen

Via University of Iowa Classifieds

Though they had two films receive theatrical distribution (New York Minute and It Takes Two), their real power came from their numerous straight to VHS/DVD collections, mini-series’, and films. The girls starred in two mini-series’ (one of which sparked a follow-up book series whose editions extended beyond its source material), four different television shows (three of which they were producers for), and approximately fourteen unique films (most of which, they were also named executive producers for). These films include millennial classics like The Challenge, Switching Goals, Passport to Paris, New York Minute, It Takes Two, When in Rome, and Winning London. Even if you are not an Olsen twin superfan, like yours truly, I can guarantee that at least one of these movies has made its way into your viewing history.

19 Credit Where Credit Is Due

Via Romper

Ah, the nineties. A decade filled with films about summer camps (seriously, there are like 30 films about summer camps created in this decade for some unknown reason), smart children who bamboozle grown-ups, and modernized versions of classic films and books. Although many believed that the Olsen twin classic, It Takes Two, was a rip off of the recently released Lindsay Lohan-ran adaptation of The Parent Trap.

But it wasn't a rip off!

Though It Takes Two was not as popular, nor has it received the cult status that the Lohan film has, it is important to note that the Olsen twin film was released three years prior to the Lohan film. Also, according to IMDB, writers for the film claim that the film was based on The Prince and the Pauper. This makes sense considering the fact that the girls are not related and that the biggest distinction between them is their class status.

18 Pint-Sized Detectives

via: youtube.com

The first mini-series I wanted to bring to readers' attention was The Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley. This epic show was a detective style mystery series where characters were able to “phone in” mysteries that they desperately needed solving by two eight-year-old girls. The mysteries ranged from things like a monkey in a funhouse to a girl discovering a person while on vacation. Yikes.

The second mini-series they created was the You’re Invited To series where the Olsen twins held insanely rad parties that I would have sold my left arm if it would have landed me a real invite. The events included a ballet party in New York, a beach day in Hawaii, and even hosting a fashion show (complete with a song that has been stuck in my head for well over 10 years).

17 Glimpses Of The Past

via: pinterest.com

One of my favorite things about films and television shows is when they decorate the sets with childhood photos of the main actors in order to give it a more realistic feel. Sometimes the sets are filled with badly photoshopped photos of the entire cast together at different stages in their life.

And sometimes the photos are simply the main casts' actual childhood photos.

Such is the case with the framed photos that line the halls of the Ryan family home in the Olsen twin film New York Minute. The photos that line the walls show the Olsen twins at different stages of their lives and it adds a personal touch to the set. However, it is important to note that the woman in the photos is not actually their real-life mother but rather an actress that was superimposed onto the photos. This is an odd choice considering the fact that there is no mother seen in the film.

16 The Tale Of Two Rileys

Via EW

When creating and starring in dozens of films, television shows, and books, a person is bound to run out of cute, trendy, and fun, teen girl names at some point. Though, I would like to note that neither girl ever played a character named ‘Zoe/Zoey/Zooey.’ Nearly each and every project the girls starred in featured a different set of names for the girls (Our Lips Are Sealed featured nearly ten different names for the pair), except for Winning London and So Little Time. Both projects used the names Chloe and Riley for the girls (though it is important to note that the names were switched between works). The film Winning London also used the song “So Little Time” during a fight sequence, which was later used as the theme for their show, So Little Time.

15 How Novel

Via Pinterest

I want to note that I was in their fanclub and I didn’t even know how many different books and book series’ these girls have published during their careers. Stand-alone books include their nonfiction book Influence and their biography. Series include the novelization of their films (with seven books falling under this title), The Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley (with 10 books in this series), The New Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley (with 46 books in this series), Two of a Kind and Two of a Kind: Diaries (with 40 books between these two series’), So Little Time (with 17 books in this series), You’re Invited To (with 5 books in this series), Mary-Kate and Ashley in Action! (with 8 books in this series), and their Sweet 16 books. That is over 130 published books!

14 Toothless Wonders

Via The Odyssey Online

When I was in kindergarten, all of my friends began losing their teeth. My baby teeth stayed firmly rooted in my mouth and didn’t begin to come loose until I was halfway through the first grade.

Teeth fall out at their own rate and the same is true for twins.

This caused an issue while filming Full House as the girls began losing their baby teeth at entirely different rates. While one girl had a mouthful of chompers, the other girl had nothing but gum and something had to be done. The showrunners and prop department fixed this by fitting both girls with identical dentures so that they could lose teeth on their own time without affecting continuity or filming in any way, shape, or form.

13 Three... Two... Nevermind

Via NY Daily News

This is one of the more troubling facts on this list and I even contemplated leaving it out entirely, but I think that this fact opens up a very important dialogue that is worth having. We literally watched the Olsen twins grow up right in front of our eyes.

But some more questionable people of the internet wanted to watch the girls grow up a little quicker. A countdown website was created that would alert the people of the world of the exact moment that the girls turned 18 (an age synonymous with the age of consent in many areas). A similar countdown clock was also created for Emma Watson. As a society, we view women as young as 13 as objects for the taking. This robs them of a childhood, forces them to grow up too quickly, and enforces the idea that women are useless when they are “past their prime” (ex. 35) as they are no longer available for our objectification.

12 Family Matters

Via The Verge

One of my favorite facts I uncovered during my research for this article is the fact that Bob Saget took his role as the Olsen twins father very seriously. While the girls were young, Bob would often feed them and change their diapers between takes.

Saget has twin daughters of his own so he was no stranger to the art of baby wrangling.

Both Mary-Kate and Ashley have been quoted saying that they feel as though the main three men on Full House truly raised them and they consider them important father figures that shaped their lives and both harbor warm and loving feelings towards them. This screen traversing relationship was hinted at in the twins’ final film, New York Minute when Saget briefly appears on screen, with a confused expression on his face, after Mary-Kate and Ashley run past him in matching towels.

11 Before They Were Famous

Via Bustle

Sometimes it’s fun to see where some of our favorite actors got their start. It can be so exciting to spot one of our favorite stars in an old movie we never even knew they were in. The best things about these moments are seeing their old haircuts, awkward gangly phases, and roles they played before they were typecast in Hollywood. A great example of this is watching Michael Cera play a bratty, demanding, and slightly athletic child berating a grown-up while trying to acquire some soccer equipment. I believe that was the first and last time Cera ever berated anyone.

Another brilliant gem hidden in the Olsen twins body of work is the first appearance of actress Megan Fox as a typical, snobby, rich bully. In an interview with W magazine, Fox revealed that she was often cast as the “mean girl” in earlier roles due to blonde actresses playing the lead and showrunners wanting to create a visual contrast.

10 Didn't Your Teachers Warn You About Plagiarism?

Via Wiki

Now, I love Rugrats. However, during a recent rewatch of Rugrats in Paris, I saw a few similarities between the big wedding scene in the film and a scene in an old favorite film of mine. Five years before Rugrats in Paris, the Olsen twins theatrically released film It Takes Two was released and the climax was centered around a girl trying to get to a church in time in order to stop her father from marrying a cruel woman. Well, it is true that the plots are similar on the surface, it could be chalked up to coincidence. Unless you watch the films back to back.

If you do that you would realize that the scenes are darn near identical.

The wedding dresses and hairstyles are near identical, the plot is identical, and the big moment of comedic relief (where the children of both films step on the bride's train which tears the dress) are identical.

9 A Family Affair

via: guardian.co.uk

We all know that the Olsen twins are international treasures, but is there more where that genetic line came from? Though their older brother, Trent, has chosen to dedicate himself to a life outside of the spotlight, the youngest member of the Olsen clan has been taking Hollywood by storm. Elizabeth Olsen has come a long way since she first appeared as “annoying little sister” in an old-school Olsen twin music video. She has appeared in several Indie films over the past years as well as becoming a main cast member in the Avengers films (and appearing in several other Marvel films as well). Elizabeth had made a name for herself in the industry and I honestly can’t wait to watch where she goes from here.

8 A Hold On Normalcy

Via IMDB

Social media is a rather recent invention, however, some people treat it as if it is an integral part of modern life that people cannot live without. Though I do love the way that social media has allowed celebrities to take control of their public image and has given them the opportunity to easily disprove tabloid rumors, I do think that it can get unhealthy very quickly if used for the wrong reasons.

Sometimes fans can develop this weird sense of ownership towards the lives of these stars.

This can lead to them mistaking the one-way relationship for a friendship (as seen in the Elizabeth Olsen film Ingrid Goes West). Neither Olsen twin maintains any form of social media as both girls have found immense value in their privacy after leaving the entertainment industry. So, if you see an “official Olsen twin account” floating around online, just ignore it.

7 Double Duty

Via Vulture

In our modern times, it has become a well-known fact that pretty much every baby/toddler you see on screen is being played by twins. However, this fact wasn’t as well known in the 1980s, so the Full House showrunners wanted to keep Michelle’s “true identity” a secret for as long as possible. Instead of listing both girls beside Michelle name in the credits, the girls' names appeared as “Mary-Kate Ashley Olsen” for several seasons. Another issue that cropped up from filming with two different people playing the same role was the case of Michelle’s writing hand. Since Mary-Kate is left handed and Ashley is right-handed, Michelle ended up being shown as ambidextrous (once she was old enough for it to matter) in order to prevent continuity issues.

6 Two Separate Peas In A Pod

Via Life & Style

Ah, the Olsen twins. The most famous set of identical twins in the history of the world. Well, I hate to burst your bubble but it turns out that these talented sisters aren’t actually identical twins.

While they are still twins, it turns out that the girls are actually fraternal twins rather than identical.

Fraternal twins occur when two separate eggs are fertilized in the womb which results in two separate fetuses rather than two fetuses resulting from a single fertilized egg splitting in two. Though many people struggled to tell the twins apart as toddlers (even the Olsen twins themselves can’t tell which one is which in old photos,) their differences emerged quickly as they grew older. Ashley developed a freckle on her upper lip and a longer face while Mary-Kate developed a shorter face with comparably wider-set eyes.