Mary-Kate & Ashley Our Story: Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen's Official Biography - Softcover

Mary-Kate & Ashley books launched in 1990, and today the various book series continue to grow to reflect the ever-evolving lifestyles of kids, 'tweens, and teens. HarperEntertainment and Parachute Publishing release twenty-five books a year and have sold more than 30 million copies. Mary-Kate and Ashley's two book series Two of a Kind and The New Adventures of Mary Kate and Ashley are frequent USA Today bestsellers. And Mary-Kate & Ashleynovelties, such as Wall Calendars, a Mood Diary, a Be My Valentinecard-making kit, and the movie tie-in series, Starring-In continue to be hugely popular.

The growth of the Mary-Kate & Ashley brand has afforded Parachute and Harper the opportunity to work with companies such as Acclaim Entertainment, Mattel Inc., Warner Home Video, Kid Rhino, Lightyear Entertainment, Sail with the Stars on cross-promotional and cross-merchandise projects, including a very special, book-dedicated area on mary-kateandashley.com -- Now Read This!

Maybe you think that Mary-Kate and Ashley are such big stars that you don't have a lot in common with them. But you and the girls are probably more alike than you think!

"We do everything other kids do," says MaryKate. "We go to school, shop with our friends, and have sleepovers."

"Our friends and teachers treat us just like regular kids," Ashley agrees.

The girls take trips to the mall, rush out to catch a new movie, and love seeing musicals. They used to take piano lessons but gave them up for soccer and cheerleading. They have crushes on celebrities--and guys at school. They listen to the music of 'N Sync and go to concerts with their friends.

Mary-Kate and Ashley were born on June 13, 1986. (Ashley is the older twin by two minutes!) They've grown up in suburban Los Angeles with their brother, Trent, who is two years older, and sister, Elizabeth, who is three years younger. Their parents are divorced, and the Olsen kids divide their time between living with their dad and with their mom. Their dad, Dave, is a mortgage broker. Their mom, Jarnette (Jamie), used to dance with the Los Angeles Ballet.

"Trent is a typical big brother," Mary-Kate says. "'He helps us with our homework. He likes to be our protector. But he also likes to tease us. He's great at drawing, and at sports, too. He plays soccer, baseball, and basketball. And he loves computer games!"

Lizzie, the younger sister, stands up for herself and is very independent. Right now, Lizzie is performing in school plays and. really likes to act. She's starting to do professional work as an actress, too. She's already made her first commercial!

Mary-Kate and Ashley also have a new sister and brother from their dad's second marriage to McKenzie Olsen. Taylor is two and a half years old, and Jake is one and a half. "It's great having little kids to play with," Ashley says. "We help out with babysitting a lot. With so many kids around, the house gets really crazy sometimes. But we like it!"

"Our family is probably a lot like everyone else's," Mary-Kate says. "Sometimes we argue. You know how it goes: One minute everyone is watching TV. The next, a fight breaks out over the remote control. But most of the time, we get along great. We're very close and we stand up for each other. And we all share our stuff. But the rule is you have to ask before borrowing something!"

When all the kids were little, they played house together. Trent would play the dad. Lizzie always had to be the family pet.

But they could have used one of their real pets instead! Over the years, there have been plenty of animals in the Olsen household: Dogs, cats, birds, turtles, and hamsters. Now, the kids have a Teacup Yorkie named Lucy at their mom's house and two dogs at their dad's house. Mary-Kate also has two horses, CD and Star. She stables them at a nearby ranch.

Horseback riding is definitely Mary-Kate's favorite activity. "I love horseback riding. I'd go for a riding lesson every day if I could," she says. Recently, Mary-Kate won an overall first-place medal at a horse show. She competes in categories like grooming and jumping.

While Mary-Kate is riding, Ashley keeps busy with dance class and tennis lessons. Her love of dance is something she inherited from her mother. Together, the girls study kickboxing. For Ashley, it's great mental and physical exercise. "'And it's good for self-defense, too," Mary-Kate adds.

Both girls have very close friends whom they see all the time. They each have their own special friends, of course, but they also have good friends in common. Mary-Kate and Ashley and their friends go Rollerblading, to the mall, to the beach, to Disneyland or to an amusement park called Knott's Berry Farm. "The best part is that we're finally tall enough to be able to go on all the rides," says Ashley. "We ride every roller coaster there is!"

Once the girls took all their friends to Magic Mountain to film a roller coaster scene for their video, You're Invited to Mary-Kate & Ashley's Birthday Party. To get the scene, the whole group had to ride the roller coaster eight times in a row! "We all got so dizzy we could hardly stand," Ashley remembers.

"Sometimes we hang out with our friends at our house," Mary-Kate says. "'There's always something fun to do. Especially swimming! We have a pool in the backyard. Ashley and I learned to swim when we were very little--and we love it!"

The girls have had many awesome birthday parties in their backyard, too. Sometimes their parents hired disc jockeys to spin records and teach the. girls new dances. They've also rented an inflatable Moonbounce for the kids to bounce in. Of course, there was always plenty of food and games-and swimming!

"Next to birthday parties, we love sleepovers with our friends," Mary-Kate says. "We love to stay up late. We dance and sing, watch videos, tell ghost stories, and make our own custom pizzas. We have a blast!"

Ashley and Mary-Kate have rooms at both their mom's and their dad's places. At their dad's, the rooms are down the hall from each other. Ashley's room is fully decorated. Mary-Kate has been so busy with her horses lately that she hasn't really done much with hers yet. But she's starting to pick furniture from a catalog.

Both girls have put up posters on their walls. They display lots of pictures, too, from their days on Full House, their travels, and their TV show Two of a Kind. They also have plenty of photos of their family.