Elizabeth Olsen has shared some candid thoughts about the prospect of raising children who are working Hollywood actors.
The WandaVision star, 34, is the younger sister of former child stars Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, 37.
Though she gained a small number of film and television credits as a young child, Elizabeth had a relatively off-screen childhood. Her elder twin sisters, however, began their first job at nine months old, sharing the role of Michelle Tanner on the family sitcom Full House.
In a new interview with The Times, the actor admitted she was reluctant to allow any children she may have in the future to act professionally before they turn 18.
“Hard no,” she told the interviewer with a laugh. She went on to clarify that her decision has less to do with Mary-Kate and Ashley’s specific experiences, and more to do with the existing difficulties of navigating modern life as a young person.
“My sisters are unique so it’s not a reflection on them when I say no, I think it’s a reflection more on culture today,” she said.
“Being younger today is already so complicated. To amplify it by being a child actor and then amplify it by social media, I just think it’s a lot for a kid’s development… I think my sisters are on a totally different path than your average child actor.”
Ashley retired from acting in 2004, with Mary-Kate following in 2012. Since 2006, the sisters have both had successful fashion careers after founding New York-based luxury brand, The Row.
Previously, Elizabeth shared her feelings about growing up with media attention as the sister of the Olsen twins and an actor in her own right.
“It’s weird growing up with that,” Olsen told singer Jessie Ware and her mother Lennie on their Table Manners podcast in 2021.
“The paparazzi part was the strange part because they follow you, and as a child it was very scary. They were obsessed with them turning 18.”
Elsewhere in the Times interview, the actor expressed hesitance to discuss her role as Wanda Maximoff in several Marvel properties, including WandaVision and the Avengers films.
“It’s not that I don’t want to be associated as just this character,” she noted. “But I really feel like I need to be building other parts back up for balance. I so much want to do films right now. And I hope some of them come together in the way I feel like they can.
“But yeah, that’s something that I need. I just need more, other characters in my life. There’s no longevity in one character.”
UK viewers will soon get a chance to watch Olsen in the Max miniseries Love & Death, based on a true story of an axe-murdering mistress.
Love & Death launches on ITVX on 7 September.
