Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Lucy Domachowski

Elizabeth Olsen reveals dark side of child star life with obsessive fans

Former child stars Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen attracted huge fame in the 2000s after they started acting as small children.

The twins began their career on the long-running ABC sitcom Full House when they were just six months old.

They stared in numerous TV series and films together through to their teen years, before turning their hands to fashion design as adults.

They’re now said to be worth a whopping $500million.

But the twins’ life of fame and fortune has come with a dark side, as their younger sister Elizabeth unveils the truth of what it was like to grow up on the other side of the camera flashes.

Elizabeth Olsen, who grew up to find her own immense fame in notable adult roles like Wind River and the Avengers films, has reflected on her and her siblings’ experience of child stardom.

Elizabeth opened up about how 'weird' it was as the world became 'obsessed' with her sisters (Getty Images)

The 31-year-old Avengers star has told how “weird” and “very scary” her childhood was as the world became “obsessed” with her sisters.

Opening up on Jessie Ware’s Table Manners podcast, she said: “It’s weird growing up with that.”

The Wanda Maximoff actress revealed how “scary” it was to be followed and photographed as a child.

“The paparazzi part was the strange part because they follow you, and as a child it was very scary.

“They were obsessed with them turning 18,” she revealed.

Mary-Kate and Ashley were hugely successful as child stars (/ Retna Ltd.)
They're all grown up now! (Getty Images for The Met Museum/)

The strange childhood of the twins took many dramatic turns.

They were reported to be addicted to coffee at age 10, and Mary-Kate suffered bouts of anorexia and was admitted to rehab in her teens.

Both girls dropped out of college and seemed hell bent on dropping the innocence of their child star brand as they turned teen rebels - chain-smoking in the toilets at the Met Gala, being reportedly carried out of Oasis’s dressing room after one too many, and almost throwing up on Penelope Cruz at Naomi Campbell’s 35th birthday bash.

By the time their 18th birthday loomed, the twins seemed keen to ditch the wholesome image for good.

The twins’ experience of growing up in the spotlight left them eager to escape the glare of publicity in their late teens, famously telling fans they were ‘almost legal’ in a creepy statement as they endeavoured to sexualise their image.

Elizabeth is now a highly successful actress herself (Getty Images)

The pair turned their back on acting and decided to concentrate on building their fashion empire after their last film New York Minute flopped.

As their fortune grew, the pair became increasingly reclusive, hiding away from the public glare and only occasionally being spotted together near their New York offices.

Mary-Kate was linked to Heath Ledger and was reportedly dating him when he died of a drug overdose, in 2008, at the age of 27.

A string of failed relationships then led her to French banker Olivier Sarkozy - 17 years her senior.

Mary-Kate and Olivier were married on November 27, 2015 in New York City and the actress filed for divorce in April last year.

She later requested an emergency divorce order the day after filing, alleging that Olivier was forcing her out of their home just as the coronavirus pandemic started to take hold.

The twins grew up in the spotlight (GETTY)

Mary-Kate recently hit headlines when she reached a final agreement in her ‘nasty’ split from Sarkozy.

Meanwhile Ashley also found love with an older man, dating financier Richard Sachs, who was 28 years her senior.

The relationship didn’t last and the actress-turned-fashion mogul has been linked to Still House Group artist Louis Eisner, who she has been quietly dating since 2017.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.