Twin Peeks!Inside The Olsens' Empire

Why the former child stars won’t play the fame game.

The offer is on the table. Should Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen ever decide they want to revisit their time on Full House, the show that catapulted them to fame as precocious six-month-olds in 1987, series creator Jeff Franklin is ready.

When promoting his Netflix reboot Fuller House, Jeff said, “When somebody rings a doorbell, the girls yell, ‘It’s always open!’ So that’s kind of how we feel about the Olsen twins – the door is open.”

But after three straight years of being told no – Ashley immediately said she no longer feels comfortable acting, while Mary-Kate cited timing issues – “I’ve stopped asking,” admits Jeff. “Really, I kind of gave up.”

Smart move. The 31year-old former child stars abdicated their Hollywood throne some 13 years ago. After building a billion dollar empire marketing everything from branded toothpaste to Barbie dolls and an endless line of direct-to-video films, they stepped off camera following their last joint venture, the 2004 flop New York Minute.

These days, says a close source, the sisters “spend all of their time” working on their fashion lines, luxury label The Row, and the more contemporary brand Elizabeth and James – and they marvel at their old lives.

“I look at old photos of me and I don’t feel connected to them at all,” Mary-Kate confesses, while Ashley remarks that as pint-sized actors, they looked “like cute little chimpanzees”.

Hiding out