How Mary-Kate And Ashley Olsen's Fame Nearly Convinced WandaVision's Elizabeth Olsen To Change Her Name

Mary-Kate (Roxanne "Roxy" Ryan) and Ashley Olsen (Jane Ryan) in New York Minute (2004)

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen took the world by storm in the late ‘80s and ‘90s, continuing into the early 2000s. From classic sitcom Full House to a production company and movie and merchandise deals (and now their growing fashion empire), the Olsen Twins emerged as the most famous twins in the world. Little sister Elizabeth Olsen has now made a name for herself, especially in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it wasn't always like that. Recently, the WandaVision actress is revealed how she felt growing up in her sisters’ shadows.

Back in the day, it was really hard not to see the Olsen twins on your TV screen or in a theater. One can imagine that growing up with such famous siblings made for an interesting experience for Elizabeth Olsen, who regularly got to spend time on the set of Full House and hang out with stars like John Stamos. However, Olsen told Glamour that growing up, she was insecure about being related to her very famous sisters and that she actually, at one point, wanted to change her name. Olsen explained:

I was 10 and I was curious about auditioning… and I realised very quickly it wasn’t for me because I was missing my sports teams, my dance class and all the extracurricular activities at school. But during that time, I thought ‘I don’t want to be associated with [Mary-Kate and Ashley]’, for some reason. I guess I understood what nepotism was like inherently as a 10-year-old. I don’t know if I knew the word, but there is some sort of association of not earning something that I think bothered me at a very young age. It had to do with my own insecurities, but I was 10. So I don’t know how much I processed, but I did think, ‘I’m going to be Elizabeth Chase [her middle name] when I become an actress.’

While the twins are no longer acting, Elizabeth Olsen has been working non-stop and coming in to her own as a performer. WandaVision has completed its nine-episode season, and fans are still buzzing about it. The show was a nice stroll down TV memory lane and even included shout-outs to the series Olsen loved, including her sisters'. Last year, the actress got nostalgic about working on WandaVision and getting flashbacks to when she grew up visiting her sisters on the Full House set.

Elizabeth Olsen also appeared in a couple of episodes of Full House, the Olsen twins’ television film How the West Was Fun and multiple video specials. These days, there are people who are, surprisingly, just finding out that the Marvel actress is the younger sister of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. It’s safe to say that she’s mostly disassociated herself from her sisters, while still getting advice from them from time to time and remembering back on those days when she was little and getting playfully dissed by them in a music video. All in all, Olsen still seems to have some nice memories of growing up with her two sisters, and it's nice to see that she's come to accept and love that fact that she shares their name.

WandaVision is currently available to stream in its entirety on Disney+. Also be on the lookout for other MCU shows that are headed to the platform.

Megan Behnke
Freelance TV News Writer

Passionate writer. Obsessed with anything and everything entertainment, specifically movies and television. Can get easily attached to fictional characters.