Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, the once phenomenally successful child actors behind a plethora of films, TV shows, products, merchandise, books, magazines and more, have retreated from the limelight.
The Olsen twins were among the world's most renowned and beloved teen stars, with a devoted fan base eager to devour anything they produced. Upon turning 18, they became co-presidents of their production company, Dualstar, making them some of the wealthiest women in showbiz.
Now the twins, 38, have swapped acting for fashion, and are primarily known for their luxury brand, The Row. Renowned for its high-quality, classic tailoring, it has a dedicated following of fashion enthusiasts.
Despite their success in the clothing industry, many fans are keen to remember their acting days. For numerous millennials, iconic films like Passport to Paris, Our Lips Are Sealed, Billboard Dad, Winning London and others were a staple of their childhood.
Many yearn to relive these memories by re-watching these films, but it's not as straightforward as it seems. In this streaming age, accessing films and TV shows from various decades is typically easy, yet Mary-Kate and Ashley's early works are noticeably absent from the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime, Peacock, Disney+ and other popular platforms.
TikTok creator Maya, who posts videos under the handle @pizzamydarling, has sparked a conversation with her latest video about the Olsen twins' deliberate step back from the limelight, and what it might mean. She began: "Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have gone so far out of their way to make sure that we don't remember them as actresses. When you stop and think about it, it's very, very crazy because those girls were billionaires by the time they were 18.
"They were more successful than Hilary Duff, they were more successful than Miley Cyrus, one could say they were more successful than Britney Spears. The girlies were pumping out content from the day they were born - show, movie, another show, another movie, books, clothes. We throw around the word 'empire' a lot but those girls built an empire."
She touched on the current trend of 90s nostalgia and how some celebs are cashing in with remakes and reboots, while Mary-Kate and Ashley have seemingly chosen the opposite path, making their work hard for fans to find.
Maya added: "We were absolutely obsessed - those girls had a chokehold on fashion, on everything. It's kind of wild to think about how revisionist history works and how they kind of revisionist history-ed themselves."
She concluded: "When you remove yourself from the ability of being remembered, then people don't remember you and they don't learn about you.
"Erasing yourself from the narrative of nostalgia is such a power move. One day, people aren't going to remember how much of an impact they had."
Maya's comments struck a chord with many, as she lamented: "I know this is what they wanted but I would love to just enjoy the nostalgia of Mary-Kate and Ashley but you can't even watch their movies. I have to go and find a VHS player. I got to go to the thrift store."
She wasn't alone in feeling this way – legions of TikTok users echoed her sentiment. One user expressed their yearning for the past: "I still mourn So Little Time. The fashion was peak 2000s". Another reminisced: "Every Friday night, my dad took me and my sister to blockbuster and we were grabbing a MKandA movie. I must find the evidence."
And another fan commented: "They could NEVER make me forget them! I was OBSESSED! New York Minute, Billboard Dad, It Takes Two, Passport To Paris, and so much more!!"
English (US) ·