Why Elizabeth Olsen Wasn't A Child Actress Like The Olsen Twins

Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch

Elizabeth Olsen has only been in the public eye for a few years, but she has a pair of older sisters who were celebrities when they were babies. So, why didn't the other sister follow their example? Elizabeth Olsen made her acting debut at five years old in one of TV movies that her older twin sisters, Mary-Kate and Ashley, starred in, but from there she didn't do much acting until later in life. Elizabeth Olsen has been open about the fact that she simply had other priorities when she was younger, saying...

I wanted to do my after-school sports and dance instead.

According to Australia's News.com Elizabeth Olsen started dancing about the same time she tried out acting, but apparently, she found the former activity more fulfilling at a younger age. Based on her comments it sounds like she just didn't really care for the process of auditioning and filming television. It wasn't until high school that the younger Olsen found a new passion for acting, mostly surrounding the more academic side of the profession. The more philosophical aspects of the job gave her something new to latch onto and got her interested in acting once again. Olsen returned to films in 2011 where she came away as a Sundance Film Festival favorite for her performance in Martha Marcy May Marlene. Now, she's mostly known for her role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Wanda Maximoff, aka, Scarlet Witch.

It had to have been interesting growing up as the younger, non-famous, sister in the Olsen household. Mary-Kate and Ashley went from being child stars on Full House to teenagers who ran something of a media empire thanks to a collection of made for TV and direct to video films that were, even at the time, shockingly popular. The twins were some of the biggest celebrities in the world. They'll still make headlines now and then, even though their current activities take place mostly outside the public eye. Their level of celebrity was so over the top it's impressive that most people weren't even aware that there was another sister in the family until Elizabeth broke onto the scene on her own terms.

Now, Elizabeth Olsen is the big celebrity in the family thanks to her work with the biggest film franchise on the planet. Her character of Scarlet Witch was a major part of Captain America: Civil War and we know that she'll be back, along with most of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, for Avengers: Infinity War next year. Her next film, Wind River, will pair her with her MCU co-star Jeremy Renner once again and will see Olsen as an FBI agent investigating a murder on a Native American reservation. Wind River will be in theaters August 4.

Dirk Libbey
Content Producer/Theme Park Beat

CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis.  Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.