Mary-Kate Olsen Doesn’t Think of Herself as Rich and Famous — ‘It’s Weird To Be Called a Celebrity’
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen grew up on the studio set on Full House. They also produced 45 direct-to-video films, three music videos, and a line of dolls from Mattel. The girls were millionaires by 10. However, the Olsen twins think, “It’s weird to be called a celebrity.”
![Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen](https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Mary-Kate-and-Ashley-Olsen-1.jpg?w=1024&h=683&strip=all&quality=89)
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s salary on ‘Full House’ kept increasing
Although the Olsen twins started out making only $2,400 per episode of Full House, according to Cosmopolitan, it increased significantly when Michelle Tanner’s popularity soared. Over the years, Mary-Kate and Ashley’s lawyer, Robert Thorne, negotiated with ABC to raise the twins’ salary to $25,000 per episode, all the way to $150,000 by the end of the series, according to Elle.
![Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen in 'Full House'](https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Mary-Kate-and-Ashley-Olsen-in-Full-House-1.jpg?w=1024&h=699&strip=all&quality=89)
The Olsen twins made millions of dollars outside of ‘Full House’
Although Full House got Mary-Kate and Ashley started in Hollywood, the girls’ fame led to 45 direct-to-video films, which grossed over $750 million. They also starred in three music videos that went multi-platinum, produced 14 albums, a website, a video game, a line of dolls, and a library of books.
In 2007, Mary-Kate and Ashley made the Forbes Richest Women in Entertainment List because their combined net worth was already $100 million. That was partly due to the Dualstar Entertainment Group that sold $1 billion worth of merchandise per year online and in Walmart.
![Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen in 'Double, Double, Toil and Trouble'](https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Mary-Kate-and-Ashley-Olsen-Double-Double-Toil-and-Trouble.jpg?w=1024&h=699&strip=all&quality=89)
The women continued into the fashion industry with The Row and their less expensive clothing line Elizabeth and James. The twins are currently worth an estimated 250 million dollars each.
Mary-Kate doesn’t like to think of herself as rich and famous
When a journalist from Elle asked Mary-Kate if it was harder to find a date because she is rich and famous, she had a fascinating answer. The outlet posed the question in 2012 before she married and then filed for divorce from Olivier Sarkozy.
“Well, first of all, that’s a weird question,” the Olsen twin began. “Let’s start with the words rich and famous. Those are weird words.”
“No,” she does not think of herself as rich and famous; she continued. “But it’s nobody’s business if I am or I’m not.”
![Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen](https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Mary-Kate-and-Ashley-Olsen-New-York.jpg?w=1024&h=819&strip=all&quality=89)
Mary-Kate has a different opinion about being rich and famous because it is all she has ever known.
“I have a completely different point of view about all this because I was never thrown into it,” the fashion designer explains. “I grew up in it. It wasn’t something that I aspired to. It’s just something I knew. For me, I just worked. I had a job. I’ve had a job for 21 years.”
Mary-Kate believes being a celebrity is the media perception of who she is.
“It’s weird to be called a celebrity or talk about it,” she adds. “I don’t talk about being a celebrity in my business meetings. I don’t talk about it with my friends. It’s not a part of my life.”