Entertainment

Which Olsen Twin is Which?

by Kadeen Griffiths

It's been so long — too long — since Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were television staples. It's understandable that they would get burnt out on the whole acting thing since they've been doing it since they were infants, but if there's one thing Mary-Kate and Ashley's appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show did, it was take us all back to the days of Michelle Tanner, It Takes Two, and The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley. It was their first time on television since appearing on the show together back in 2010. The twins were promoting their new fragrances, Elizabeth and James Nirvana White and Elizabeth and James Nirvana Black, and DeGeneres used the dual release as a jumping off point to play a game of "Mary-Kate or Ashley?" It is, after all, the same game that everyone has been playing since their Full House days, despite the fact that the two are actually fraternal twins.

Mary-Kate and Ashley have done a lot to differentiate themselves from one another over the years, but apparently not enough. Ashley said that she is commonly asked, "Are you Mary or Kate?" while Mary-Kate said she's been asked, "Are you one of the Ashley twins?" The two seem to be maintaining a good sense of humor about it all despite the fact that they have been acting since before they could talk and have established themselves as huge figures in the fashion industry with their personal styles and fashion label The Row. For people who are still confused, here's the rundown on which one's Mary-Kate and which one's Ashley.

Mary-Kate Olsen

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Although most of her acting roles were done with her sister, Mary-Kate is the only one of the twins to continue a solo acting career after 2004’s New York Minute. She appeared in Factory Girl, Weeds, Samantha Who?, The Wackness, and Beastly, the latter her final film before giving interviews that indicated she might be quitting acting for good to focus on fashion. Mary-Kate is currently engaged to Olivier Sarkozy, the half brother of former French President Nicholas Sarkozy. Physical cues include the fact that Mary-Kate is left-handed and has eyes and lips slightly narrower than those of her sister.

Ashley Fuller Olsen

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After New York Minute, Ashley stopped acting entirely in order to focus on her budding fashion career. She appeared on numerous best dressed lists and usually made the news in conjunction with Mary-Kate and their fashion label The Row. Ashley has been single since breaking up with her boyfriend, David Schulte, in January 2014, but she's since been rumored to be dating Moneyball director Bennett Miller. Ashley is two minutes older than Mary-Kate, one inch taller, and right-handed. In addition, her eyes and lips are wider and fuller than those of her sister, for anyone who's looking at pictures and scratching their heads in confusion.

The best parts of the game were the points where the twins would stare at one another in confusion over a question as it appeared not even they knew which one of them had been kissed first or which one of them was the best singer. "We're both bad," said Mary-Kate.

Watch the interview below.