|
G
I
R
L
S
I
N
C
O
R
P
O
R
A
T
E
D
|
They
are to tweens what Martha Stewart is to American homemakers: arbiters of
all that is right and good and stylish. But Mary-Kate (far right) and
Ashley Olsen, 15-year-old twins from San Fernando Valley, are also budding
tycoons, blithely ensconced atop a cross-platform
fashion-and-entertainment empire. Having infiltrated every medium known to
girls aged 6 to 14, the Mary-Kate-and-Ashley brand is poised to generate $
1 billion in revenue in 2002. The twins'clothing-and-accessories line,
purveyed exclusively through Wal-Mart, is on pace to eclipse Kmart's
Martha colossus. Their new television series, So Little Time, is one of
four Olsen offerings currently on the air, including a Saturday-morning
cartoon, recycled episodes of Two of a Kind, and reruns of the
irresistibly hokey Full House, on which the then nine-month-old twins cut
their acting-and actual-teeth. They have sold 24 million videos, host a
heavily trafficked Web site, and play protagonists in best-selling books
and video games. Then there's the freshly inked deal with AOL, the feature
film in development, the in-the-works recording contract-and the
obligatorily eponymous magazine. All that-and only two hours of homework a
night. "Ashley's better in math and French," admits 10th grader
Mary-Kate. Says Ashley, "Mary-Kate's a better writer." They both
want to attend college. ("In New York," says Ashley. "Hopefully,"
says Mary-Kate.) First, though, they will celebrate their sweet-16th this
summer. Recently emancipated from a $10 weekly allowance, the sisters plan
to splurge on matching Range Rovers. Try as they may vamp it up for a
Vanity Fair photo session, the pair can't help but buck the
teenage-vixenette trend; their dolls natch, outsell those of Britney and
Christina combined. For the savvy Olsens, wholesome beats fulsome every
time. |


|