Relatively rare is the celebrity who achieves momentous heights of fame and then steps away from the spotlight in order to focus on more idealized goals, but Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen could probably write the book on it. The Full House vets became multi-bazillionaires as adolescents, spinning out one successful project after another before leaving acting behind for the spotlight of the fashion industry. And they stuck together the entire time, all while hating being referred to as “the Olsen twins.”
At an age when many people are struggling to understand themselves and what their path in life is, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were already setting themselves up to become their own bosses for decades to come. Now, former publicist Michael Pagnotta has opened up to US Weekly about the siblings’ keen business sense and ability to thrive from such a young age. In his mind, that ability came from constantly staying informed about everything behind the scenes. As he put it:
I think by keeping them copied on those memos, keeping them informed, making sure that they were as empowered as possible, it suited them well to move into whatever business.
Pagnotta worked alongside the twin superstars from the age of 5 through their career transitions at age 18, so he was obviously there as Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen skyrocketed from being cutie-pie sitcom co-stars to media moguls to haute fashion designers. And he said from the very start of their shared time together, both sisters were kept in the memo loop.
Full House led the Olsens to developing an empire of made-for-TV movies, Hollywood features, books, video games, makeup lines, dolls, and a host of other branded items. (I know somebody out there had an Olsen twin telephone.) And the way Michael Pagnotta saw it, it was when they were able to tap into their non-acting creativity that they settled in. (And presumably also stayed on top of everything happening in their companies.) In his words:
There was no precedent for what we did. They were in charge. When they decided to bail on all the entertainment stuff and move into fashion, I think that’s why they felt they had some credibility.
The sisters' combined net worth is reportedly somewhere north of $500 million, which isnt' the kind of money that comes from being lazy or weak-willed, and I can't imagine Mary-Kate or Ashley Olsen would ever be described in such a way. (Plus, Ashley became a mom for the first time in August 2023, which also doesn't allow much room for laziness.) But it's not entirely the massive wealth that makes them role models.
Pagnotta thinks it's the fact that they molded their career to fit their personalities and talents that makes them so beloved and somewhat enigmatic to fans. He said:
They’re real women, and that is still what people find so I think enchanting about them. I think people love the fact that they didn’t sell themselves out, do desperate things. They found cool things to do and quality things to do.
Considering Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have remained away from the TV spotlight for years now — they turned down Michelle's Fuller House return — fans probably shouldn't expect to see them popping up in any 2024 TV premieres, but one can always hope.
