As it tends to go, there are often one or two people who become famous in a celebrity family. The parents, other siblings and everyone else are usually left in the dust to find their way through life. Sure, there are families where every single person—the Kardashian-Jenners—is well-known.

There are plenty of families who have just one or two actors in their lineage, too. This happens to be the case for a sister of a famous set of twins that most of us know. Slowly—but surely—little sister’s fame is growing.

Elizabeth Olsen is the younger sister of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. She came along just under three years after the twins did. It sometimes seems like she’s a lot younger, and this is simply because we know so little about her. It often feels like she’s pretty far behind them. While this may be true as far as stardom goes, it won’t be for long.

Now, we’re gradually seeing Elizabeth—who also goes by Lizzie—ascend up the ladder to fame. What do we actually know about her? She’s spent much of her life out of the spotlight, so there are lots we have yet to learn about her.

16 Elizabeth Didn't Let People Know Her Last Name While Growing Up

As Elizabeth grew up with two famous big sisters right ahead of her, there’s a chance that she could have used their names to her advantage. Imagine what kinds of benefits someone might receive, simply because they are related to two widely recognized celebrities. The attention from that could definitely get old at some point, too.

With those options in mind, Elizabeth chose to use a different last name for a while. While she was in school, she used the name of Elizabeth Chase.

She was attempting to stay separate from her sisters and their fame at this time. This was her way of showing how successful she could be, even without the use of her popular siblings!

We applaud her for not trying to get special privileges just because she is related to the Olsen twins!

15 She Did However Use Olsen When It Was To Her Advantage

While Elizabeth generally doesn’t want to use her real last name to get ahead, there is an exception. In an interview with Bon Appétit magazine, she shared the details behind the one way she uses the Olsen name to her advantage. She said,

"I only use it at Il Buco in New York, because it’s one of my favorite restaurants. If they say they’re booked, then I’m kinda like, 'Okay, well, I’m in the computer…'"

It sounds like Elizabeth only decides to use it when she really has to. She doesn’t overdo it or expect everyone to cater to her every need. She only says she’s an Olsen if it’s necessary! We can totally respect her for this. Seriously, only using that name for one perk is pretty impressive. Most of us would likely choose to abuse that privilege. Why not?

14 About Her Sisters’ Fashion Line

While Elizabeth sometimes doesn’t use her name, other people do. We’re sure they’ve gotten her permission though. Most of us are aware of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s fashion line. We may not know the meaning behind the name or the brand itself though. This high-end clothing line happens to be named after the twins’ siblings. Isn’t that sweet? The company—Elizabeth and James—was founded in 2007.

It’s got to be pretty flattering to know that two designers have decided to name their clothing line after you—even if it’s just her sisters! We wonder what kind of deals she can get. Perhaps there’s a family discount. Maybe Elizabeth doesn’t even shop there though, for some weird reason. We haven’t seen her sporting anything that’s definitely from the twins.

13 She Auditioned For A Major Role In 2001, But Didn't Get It

When Elizabeth was just ten years old, she thought she was ready to kick off her acting career. It would make sense that she would follow in her sisters’ footsteps. That plan didn’t seem to last long though. One audition was plenty for Elizabeth!

She auditioned for the part of Carmen in Spy Kids, which was later released in 2001. As it turns out, she figured out that acting may not be her thing. Of course, this happened to be after her audition. This meant that when she got her callback—which she did get—she had to potentially break some hearts. In a recent interview with The Daily Beast, Elizabeth shared, "...I’m very happy I didn’t get it because I didn’t want to be a child actor." She’s the opposite of her sisters here!

12 She Loves To Cook And More Importantly She Loves To Eat

We don’t often know much about celebrities’ hobbies. Sometimes we might think that their lives are filled with “famous people stuff.” When they aren’t in meetings, being interviewed, trying out for new films or producing music, they’re probably sleeping—or so we’d think. They actually can have lives outside of being a celebrity, but we’re naturally going to hear more about their careers.

When Elizabeth isn’t too busy, she likes to cook! She spoke about this hobby on The Tonight Show and said:

"I look at some actresses and say, 'There's no way she eats.’ That's not me. I get way too much happiness from good food."

We’re sure all of her family and friends benefit from this interest as well! Perhaps she’ll even have her own cooking show someday.

11 She Got Engaged, But Broke It Off 10 Months Later

With so many celebrity relationships going through their ups and downs—though it seems like mostly downs anymore—we surely assumed that Elizabeth has her own relationship stories to tell. As it turns out, she definitely does, but they aren’t happy ones.

Elizabeth was planning to marry Boyd Holbrook, and they got engaged in 2014. They had been dating for three years prior to the engagement. Then it all fell apart just ten months into the wedding plans. She was the one who broke it off, and a true reason hasn’t ever surfaced. Holbrook later shared that Elizabeth had called him to tell him on the same day that he found out about a good friend’s death. Yikes! We feel bad for this poor guy, but we also don’t know the whole story.

10 Fed Up With The Media And Watched It Hurt Her Sisters

Apparently, Elizabeth feels a certain way when it comes to her sisters in the media. Back in 2004—when she was the wise age of 15—she was ready to leave the Hollywood lifestyle behind. Some of this had to do with the excessive media coverage of Mary-Kate’s eating disorder.

Later, Elizabeth spoke about her experience with the media in general and said:

“That was when the media was what I found to be abusive to my sisters, and I thought I really didn't want to be in the industry. They turned 18 and what was going on in her life—

...I'm talking about Mary-Kate–was all over the news. They would follow us shopping and [Mary-Kate and Ashley] would almost get into car accidents because of the paparazzi, and I didn't want to be a part of it.”

9 Unsure About Fame Anyway

After seeing how her sisters were being treated in the media, Elizabeth began questioning her potential future as a celebrity. Is that really what she wanted to put up with for the rest of her life? Additionally, she had already backed away from her callback after auditioning for Spy Kids. As mentioned previously, she wanted to avoid becoming a child actor.

Elizabeth was also embarrassed about starting her career as an actress. She started thinking of backup plans, too. She mentioned her feelings about this time and said: “I was embarrassed to say that I wanted to be an actor. When I was 14 or 15, I was a really good volleyball player, so I thought, ‘Well, maybe I’ll just get a scholarship to an Ivy League school through volleyball.’” It looks like she’s since changed her mind!

8 Elizabeth, Mary-Kate, And Ashley Have A Brother Too

Some of us got lucky with our siblings and others just didn’t. Brothers and sisters can get on our nerves and hurt our feelings. We all remember those terrible fights we had with them. Mom or dad usually had to play the part of a referee. They have their good moments though!

We’re not sure how Elizabeth’s relationship with her brother usually is. This particular situation is either a heartwarming one-time deal, or the Olsen girls are pretty fortunate to have such a caring brother.

When Elizabeth was preparing for her role in Avengers 2, she spoke with her brother Trent. He happened to be into comic books, which made the genre easy for him. He ended up helping his sister out and filling her in on everything related to superheroes!

7 She's Much Bigger Than Her Sisters

Many of us have noticed that Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are on the petite side. Mary-Kate is five feet, two inches tall. Ashley is an inch shorter. Elizabeth—on the other hand—is five feet, six inches tall. This seems like a bigger difference than just a few inches when it’s in pictures!

While this isn’t very tall by anyone’s standards, she pretty much towers over her older sisters in photos. Elizabeth is a whole head taller than Mary-Kate and Ashley. It’s funny how it worked out that the little sister ended up taller than the older girls! We’re sure they probably don’t think so though.

Just imagine if Elizabeth wore heels and her sisters didn’t. We’re wondering how tall their brother is compared to them, too!

6 She Wanted To Be A Dancer, But Her Sisters Fame Got In The Way

As the Olsen family is filled with performers and entertainers, it’s expected that they would start their children young. Sometimes it’s necessary to get kids a good foundation in different sports or activities when they’re little. Some of the most successful athletes started taking lessons or playing in recreational leagues when they were not even in kindergarten.

Because of this, the Olsen family began taking Elizabeth to dance lessons when she was growing up. She was a talented ballerina and seemed very passionate about it.

Unfortunately for Elizabeth, this interest had to come to a close quickly. She was often unable to make it to classes because of her sisters’ obligations.

The ballet teacher kicked Elizabeth out, and she still hasn’t returned to any form of dance yet as far as we know.

5 She Insisted On Finding Fame On Her Own Without The Help Of Her Sisters

We would naturally assume that Elizabeth’s fame has something to do with her sisters’ fame and experience. Why wouldn’t she use them as a connection into Hollywood if she could? As we know from her school experience where she used a different last name, she doesn’t want to take advantage of the twins.

When Elizabeth was ready for her big jump into stardom, she decided to handle it on her own. She was able to find an agent and get rolling right away. This was all without the help of her sisters.

While we understand why she would want to do this all on her own, we think her sisters’ success would have been very beneficial to her career. No matter what, it looks like she made it into the spotlight without a problem!

4 Chilled Out For Auditions

It may seem strange, but Elizabeth manages to keep things cool during auditions. Most of us would be a nervous wreck and have a hard time even making it through the first round. Even celebrities will say this. This is regardless of how many tryouts they have been through over the years.

Elizabeth shared about how she stays calm and collected during auditions. She said, "I really actually enjoy auditioning. I believe that you are only in control of so much. So, whatever you are not in control of you can't worry about. So, one of those things is what the director wants to cast, what he wants them to look like, does it work with his idea or not. You just try to be present for this amount of time."

3 Not Afraid To Watch Her Films

Many of us can hardly stand listening to our own voices on a recording or watching ourselves in quick little videos. Actors and actresses often feel the same way. It’s got to be pretty strange to sit through 90 minutes of a movie and stare at your own face.

Elizabeth doesn’t seem to have these issues though! She’s got a great attitude and wants to use her films as a means of reflection. Elizabeth has talked about this, saying,

"I'm not someone who'll watch myself and be like, 'Oh, I'm so uncomfortable watching myself.' I find that watching yourself is an interesting step in making movies.

...I'm still very new to everything, but I find it important to go back and learn from what you did, as opposed to avoiding it."

2 She Studied In Russia

When Elizabeth was just 20 years old, she went to Moscow, Russia to study theater. This was in 2009. She went to the Moscow Art Theatre School for a semester. Even though she went to this school, she didn’t do much theater work. She claims that this is because her singing voice isn’t fit for the theater. The theater was a good place for her when she was just getting started because it was less intimidating than being on camera.

She has since mentioned her previous classes and said, "I took classes, kids auditioning with their mothers, and I didn't want that, I just liked the classes. I met my agent through understudying a Broadway play, and I was doing some underground stuff that nobody saw." We wonder what “underground stuff” she could have been talking about!

1 Her Big Break

Some of us aren’t all too familiar with how Elizabeth first became famous. It’s not super important anymore, just because she likely would have been able to pave her way by some other means if it hadn’t happened. It’s still interesting to learn about her past, what roles she had, and what pushed her toward acting at the very beginning.

Elizabeth’s first chance on the big screen was in Martha Marcy May Marlene. This came out when she was 22 years old in 2011.

She got the role of Martha, which later resulted in a long list of award nominations. She walked away with six different awards from this film alone. Following Martha Marcy May Marlene, Elizabeth was cast in a handful of other movies. It must have been her success in that first movie!

Sources: Daily Mail, What Culture, Booms Beat

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