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AOL (People) Article
Alarmed by her shrinking frame, friends and family help Mary-Kate Olsen
get treatment for an eating disorder
Like nearly everything they do, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen had planned to
spend their 18th birthday on June 13 side by side. But when the much-hyped
day arrived, Ashley was left to celebrate without her twin sister, first
poolside at the Beverly Hills Hotel and then with a jaunt to Mexico with
two pals. One week later the reason for Mary-Kate's absence became clear:
The star, recently the focus of speculation regarding her increasingly frail-looking
body, had been admitted to an undisclosed facility for treatment related
to an eating disorder. "This is a challenge that Mary-Kate has made
a decision to face," says her rep Michael Pagnotta. "This is a
challenge she will meet."
The admission struck a sad and troubled note for Mary-Kate, who along with
Ashley has turned their image as positive, clean-scrubbed role models into
a business empire that grossed more than $1 billion in sales last year.
Yet to friends, family and even casual onlookers, the subject of Mary-Kate's
health has been a source of concern in recent months. Although the petite
twins (Mary-Kate is 5'2"; Ashley is 5'1") have always been slender,
Mary-Kate appeared to be painfully thin of late. So widespread was the talk
about her weight that the actress herself poked fun at it when the twins
hosted the May 15 Saturday Night Live; playing paparazzi photographers,
they shouted, "Mary-Kate, you're so skinny – eat a sandwich!"
Sadly, beneath the playfulness was a health crisis. "There was an intervention,"
says someone who has known the Olsens for several years, adding that the
twins' father, Dave, and Mary-Kate's therapist committed her to a treatment
facility soon after her June 7 high school graduation. "They finally
reached the point where they had to act. They didn't want to find her dead
on the floor from not eating."
Those close to the star say that there was no single incident that triggered
the decision to seek professional treatment; rather, Mary-Kate's problems
had steadily worsened with time. One source says that the change in Mary-Kate,
who dates Boston University student David Katzenberg, 21 (his dad is DreamWorks
studio cofounder Jeffrey Katzenberg), first became evident two years ago.
"She looked different," says the source. "She developed circles
under her eyes." Staging the intervention before Mary-Kate turned 18
meant that her parents still had a legal right to seek treatment for her.
It isn't the first time her family has tried to aid Mary-Kate, whom close
pals call MK. According to one source, after the actress got into a minor
car accident about a year and a half ago her father tried motivating her
to eat by telling her she couldn't get her black Range Rover back until
she gained some weight. Another source says the family hired someone to
monitor Mary-Kate's eating. "Sometimes she was taken out of school
to eat," says a former classmate at Campbell Hall high school. "During
the last year she had an adult eating with her most of the time. Everyone
knew how skinny she was."
And yet not everyone recognized it as a problem. "I didn't see the
signs of [an eating disorder]," says director Dennie Gordon, who helmed
the twins' spring comedy New York Minute. "I had a lot of meals with
her, and it didn't seem there was anything wrong." Adds Dr. Drew Pinsky,
the TV psychologist turned actor who played the twins' father in New York
Minute: "She was the sweetest of the two. But I didn't notice anything.
She hid it well."
Such deception is typical behavior among eating-disorder sufferers, many
of whom go to elaborate lengths to disguise their problems. "Everyone
was very angry with Mary-Kate at first," says a source. "She's
lied so much and for so long. It's part of the illness." In fact, both
Mary-Kate and Ashley flatly denied such problems in an interview with PEOPLE
in April. "Being in the public eye, you're labeled that you have an
eating disorder," Ashley said at the time. "You have a drug addiction,"
said Mary-Kate. "We don't have problems!" declared Ashley.
The fraternal twins – MK has long been known as the free-spirited one; Ashley as the sophisticated one – have also put on a united front dealing with other recent challenges, including the dismal $13.7 million box office for New York Minute. "We were really disappointed," says Gordon. "They were incredibly mature about it. They said, 'Okay, I guess we can't open a movie just yet. Next!' "
Showbiz vets since making their debut on Full House at just 9 months old, the girls have long been praised for their business savvy and solid grounding. But others have wondered if the stress placed on their slender shoulders would eventually take a toll, as it has on other young Hollywood stars. "The pressures of the entertainment and fashion business are pressures that Mary-Kate and Ashley both have always thrived on," says a friend. That said, "there's no doubt that the pressure of being successful, running a business and planning for college – that's a lot." Still, adds the friend, "I don't think you can draw a straight line between the pressure in anybody's life to this sort of illness." Says Carolyn Costin, the director of the Eating Disorder Center of California and the Monte Nido Treatment Center in Malibu: "We look at it like there's a gun, a bullet and the trigger: The gun is biological predisposition, the culture is the bullet and something like the stress of being a celebrity is what pulls the trigger."
Not helping matters is the ever-present skinny sweepstakes among young women, many of whom worship stars like Mary-Kate as a source of "thinspiration." Shortly after Mary-Kate's appearance at a May premiere, Web surfers on a bulletin board at gURL.com posted messages like, "I'm convinced she's ana [a slang term for anorexic]!" Another online follower took notice of Mary-Kate's red string bracelet, which some teens and young adults wear as a signal of their "ana" pride and to remind themselves not to eat. (Her rep's response: "I don't believe that's true [of Mary-Kate].")
What is certain is that Mary-Kate must now do the difficult work of recovering. She has canceled her plans to promote New York Minute in Australia and New Zealand (Ashley plans to go alone this week), but she remains committed to attending New York University with her sister in the fall. "The focus right now is for Mary-Kate to get well," says a friend. "She's taking care of her health, and there's a certain peace that comes from that."
CNN News Article
Teen actress Mary-Kate Olsen, who with her twin sister Ashley has grown
into an American pop icon and fashion brand, has entered a program for treatment
of an eating disorder a source said, which is reported to be anorexia.
The 18-year-old co-star of last month's film "New York Minute" recently "entered a treatment facility to seek professional help for a health-related issue," publicist Michael Pagnotta said Tuesday.
"She is thankful for the encouragement and support of her friends and family, who are with her every step of the way," he added.
A person familiar with the situation told Reuters that Olsen was suffering from an eating disorder. Olsen entered a facility during the past week or 10 days and was expected to remain in treatment for about a month, the person said.
Us Weekly magazine, in the cover story of its upcoming issue, identified the disorder as anorexia.
Speculation about Olsen's rail-thin figure has been the subject of tabloids, gossip columns and the Internet for weeks. The actress herself poked fun at the issue during the twins' recent appearance on "Saturday Night Live," shouting to an extra playing herself, "You're too skinny! Eat a sandwich!"
Pagnotta said both sisters, who turned 18 on June 13, were going ahead with plans to attend New York University together in the fall.
But Ashley Olsen will be making a planned trip later this month to Australia and New Zealand without Mary-Kate to launch overseas promotion of "New York Minute" -- the sisters' first theatrical feature, he said.
The twins have been in the public eye since they were 9 months old, starring in the television sitcom "Full House." Since then, they have sold millions of videos, DVDs and books and have launched their own fashion line.
But director-producer Michael Kruzan, who has worked with the twins for years, was quoted in Us Weekly as describing Mary-Kate as the "more competitive" of the two girls.
Back To Top MTV
Article
After much speculation in the tabloids recently that Mary-Kate Olsen has
an eating disorder, the teen actress has entered a facility to seek treatment
for the problem.
There have also been rumors that Olsen has a drug problem, rumors which
her representative categorically denies. "Those rumors are false, damaging
and inaccurate," Michael Pagnotta said.
Instead, Pagnotta said that Olsen, who turned 18 on June 13, was seeking professional help for a "health-related issue." Sources tell MTV News that the health-related issue in question is an eating disorder, but they didn't specify whether it's anorexia or bulimia.
Mary-Kate and her twin sister, Ashley, discussed the drug and eating-disorder rumors in the May 3 issue of People. "Being in the public eye, you're labeled that you have an eating disorder," Ashley said. "You have a drug addiction," Mary-Kate said. "We don't have problems! There's nothing to worry about," Ashley said. "If I had a drug addiction, I would be in a thingy — like Promises, the Malibu [rehab] place," Mary-Kate said. "You don't see me there. So, like, come on. It's crazy."
Perhaps more succinctly, Mary-Kate addressed her body-image problems, or lack thereof, in a Teen People story in January. "I don't break myself down into body parts," she said. "You can't go through life thinking like that, or you will always end up comparing yourself to someone else. When I'm feeling good on the inside, I'm usually happy with the way I look."
Pagnotta noted that "getting healthy" was Mary-Kate's priority right now, so that she could go to school with nothing hanging over her in the fall. Both of the sisters are slated to start attending New York University as freshmen in September.
"[Mary-Kate] is thankful for the encouragement and support of her friends and family who are with her every step of the way," Pagnotta said in a statement released Tuesday (June 22).
Healthinfo Cedars-Sinai Article
An eating disorder is believed to be the reason that Mary-Kate Olsen has
checked into a rehab center, the Boston Herald reported.
A publicist said only that Mary-Kate checked into the rehab center to get professional help for a health-related issue. According to US Weekly magazine, the star, who just turned 18 years old, is battling anorexia.
Mary-Kate and her fraternal twin sister, Ashley, have been stars since they first appeared on the TV show Full House as babies, sharing a role. They control a billion-dollar entertainment industry that includes direct-to-video films, home decorating, and clothing lines. In May, they released their second feature film, New York Minute, a box-office disappointment.
In recent months, rumors circulated that Mary-Kate Olsen was suffering from anorexia, and she did nothing to dispel them during her publicity rounds for New York Minute because she appeared frail and bony.
One health expert noted that celebrities are under extreme pressure to be thin.
CTV Article
Teen movie star Ashley Olsen has cancelled a trip to Australia to stay with
her twin sister Mary-Kate who was admitted to hospital this week, a spokesman
for the pair said Thursday, amid rumours Mary-Kate was suffering from an
eating disorder.
Ashley will not attend the Australian premiere of New York Minute -- the twins' new film -- in Melbourne next week, said Robert Thorne, the chief executive of Dualstar Entertainment Group, their entertainment empire, in a statement.
"Ashley Olsen has decided to be with her family at this time," Thorne said.
Earlier this week, U.S. magazines reported that Mary-Kate was suffering from anorexia nervosa. Anorexics are obsessed with losing weight and often exercise excessively or refuse to eat.
Mary-Kate entered "a treatment facility to seek professional help for a health-related issue," her publicist Michael Pagnotta said Tuesday, but did not elaborate.
"While it is unfortunate that plans have been cancelled, Mary-Kate and Ashley appreciate everyone's support and understanding at this time. They look forward to coming to Australia and New Zealand in the very near future," Thorne's statement said.
Mary-Kate and Ashley turned 18 on June 13, assuming control of Dualstar Entertainment. They are estimated to be worth $150 million US each.
They've been acting together since they were nine months old, most notably on the sitcom Full House and in a series of direct-to-video movies. They have also attached their names to a line of merchandise including clothing, beauty products and home decorating materials.
New York Minute did poorly at the U.S. box office after its May release.
YM Magazine
Article
The Tabloids Were Right (Unfortunately)
Rumors have been circulating for a while that Mary-Kate Olsen suffers from
an eating disorder. Pictures of her looking gaunt next to her more filled-out
sister, Ashley, popped up in the tabloids and provided even more grist to
the rumor mill.
Well, apparently the mags were right. People reports that Mary-Kate has
checked into a clinic to get treated for an eating disorder. "Mary-Kate
Olsen recently entered a treatment facility to seek professional help for
a health-related issue. She is thankful for the encouragement and support
of her friends and family who are with her every step of the way,"
her spokesman, Michael Pagnotta, said in a statement.
It has been an eventful year for the Olsen twins who released their first
major movie, New York Minute, graduated from high school, and celebrated
their 18th birthday. Hopefully, she can beat the illness before starting
her freshman year at New York University in the fall.
Got Milk?
(Foxnews)
Out of "sensitivity to their current situation," the "got
milk?" magazine ads featuring twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have
been retracted.
Mary-Kate recently entered a treatment program for what her publicist called a "health-related issue." People and Us Weekly magazines have reported the 18-year-old actress has an eating disorder.
Ashley recently canceled a trip to Australia to promote the twins' new film, "New York Minute," to be with her sister.
Hugh Williams, a director with the Milk Processor Education Program, told The Associated Press on Tuesday the ads were pulled out of "sensitivity to their current situation."
Williams said the ads may run in the future.
The magazine ads featuring the Olsen twins, each with the trademark milk mustache, began running May 7 and were to continue to the end of July.
When the advertising campaign was announced, Mary-Kate said in a statement, "We wanted to appear in this ad because we love the campaign and we want to help make sure our fans are healthy like us."
Mary-Kate discharged
from treatment facility
(CNN)
"She is feeling very well and is looking forward to rejoining her family
and friends and preparing for her freshman year at New York University,"
said Michael Pagnotta in a written statement.
Olsen was undergoing treatment for an eating disorder, a source close to her told CNN last month, declining to elaborate on the nature of the eating disorder.
Us Weekly magazine reported that Olsen was suffering from anorexia.
Pagnotta would say only that Olsen had entered a treatment facility last month to "seek professional help for a health-related issue" and was discharged late Friday night.
Speculation about Olsen's health intensified as she and her twin sister, Ashley, promoted their first feature film, "New York Minute."
In a May appearance on "Saturday Night Live," Mary-Kate Olsen made light of the speculation during a sketch in which she shouted at someone playing herself, "You're too skinny! Eat a sandwich!"
Olsen has formed a mini-entertainment empire with her twin. The sisters have been in the public spotlight since they were toddlers when they shared a role on the television series "Full House." They went on to become multimillionaires by selling products emblazoned with their images, ranging from DVDs to bedsheets.
On their 18th birthday, which they celebrated June 13, the sisters became co-presidents of their company, Dualstar Entertainment Group.
Mary-Kate to
return home soon
(CNN)
NEW YORK (AP) -- After six weeks at a treatment facility for a health-related
issue, Mary-Kate Olsen, the brunette half of the Olsen twins, is "doing
well" and her fans can "expect her to return home soon,"
her publicist, Michael Pagnotta, said Tuesday.
The 18-year-old actress has been reported to be battling an eating disorder.
People magazine said Tuesday that Mary-Kate will be released this weekend, return home to her family and begin preparing for college in the fall.
Mary-Kate, and her blond twin sister, Ashley, turned 18 in June. They plan to attend New York University in the fall.
They've been acting together since they were 9 months old, most notably on the sitcom "Full House" and in a series of direct-to-video movies.
They've also attached their names to a line of products ranging from clothing to beauty items to home decorating merchandise.
Their big-screen debut, "New York Minute," did poorly at the box office after its May release.
How Mary-Kate's
Image Has Changed
(CBS)
There are two Mary-Kates in crisis.
One is the fragile 18-year-old who was released this week from treatment for an eating disorder. The other is Mary-Kate the product, half of the multimedia Olsen twins empire that has been shaken by her personal troubles.
As Ashley Olsen shoulders the burden of doing international publicity for their twins-in-the-city comedy "New York Minute" all by herself, Mary-Kate is trying to return to a healthy weight and restore her spirits by hanging out with friends and family in Los Angeles, their publicist said.
But what does this mean for their billion-dollar business?
It may ultimately help Mary-Kate's image by humanizing it.
Instead of rejecting their fallen teen idol, many of Mary-Kate's young fans have embraced her vulnerability, forging an even deeper bond with the star they know from direct-to-video movies, her clothing line and merchandise including toothpaste and dolls.
Apart from jokesters who mock her ailment, many of Mary-Kate and Ashley's young fan base have defended her from cruel barbs, organizing mass "Get Well" card signings and counseling each other over the sadness and worry they feel for the actress.
"Since I heard about (the eating disorder) my enjoyment of their movies did change a little. I'm always thinking, 'How did she get herself like that when she was perfectly normal and fine before?'" Monica, a 15-year-old fan from Canada, told The Associated Press. (Her mother declined to allow her last name to be used.)
Now, Monica said, Mary-Kate's problems make her more relatable. "It feels like celebrities never get sick and are always perfect but this makes us realize Mary-Kate and Ashley are like us too."
The twins are grateful for their fans understanding, said Michael Pagnotta, their longtime publicist.
"What (Mary-Kate and Ashley) have always said is they're normal kids and lead normal lives," Pagnotta said. "This is something she's been dealing with. I don't want to say that it's normal, but it is certainly REAL. ... What we've seen is people are not just sympathetic. They feel closer to her "
Some fans have even come forward to talk about their own experiences with anorexia and bulimia. Pagnotta said opening up discussion has been "a wonderful unintended consequence" of Mary-Kate's rehabilitation.
For many young admirers, they have liked the Olsen girls for as far back as they can remember — and they aren't about to cast off their affection for the twins because of one problem.
"People magazine and Star magazine, delighting in celebrity tragedy ... that's an adult entertainment mode," said Chris Byrne, an independent toy-industry consultant and proprietor of TheToyGuy.com. "It doesn't affect kids. ... They're not looking that deeply."
But if other and more embarrassing problems follow this one as the Olsen's prepare for their first year of college at New York University — some of their many sponsors and business partners may begin to get nervous.
The flip-side is, if Mary-Kate gets her well-being under control, she may become even more popular.
"I think it's kind of a wait-and-see. There's a sizable investment in that," Byrne said. "The savvy (partners) will leverage this to say, 'Let's get a new definition of what's normal and what's healthy.' ... That can only build the brand. What brand wouldn't want to be associated with healthy?"
For now, Mary-Kate and Ashley haven't lost a single partner, Pagnotta said.
"Not only have the fans been supportive, but all of the business colleagues, the retail partners and so on — who certainly can make judgments based on things other than pure sympathy — all of them have been incredibly supportive," he said.
And how is Mary-Kate doing in all of this?
Eventually, she plans to come forward, but for now she is keeping a low profile, Pagnotta said.
"She's home," he said. "She's doing really well. She looks great, but even more importantly, she feels great."
Mary-Kate
Olsen Released from Treatment Facility
(Yahoo! News)
Teen actress and pop icon Mary-Kate Olsen has been released from a health
facility where she underwent six weeks of treatment for an eating disorder
widely reported to be anorexia, her spokesman said on Monday.
The 18-year-old star, who with twin sister Ashley Olsen built a child-acting career into a billion-dollar fashion and entertainment franchise, is "feeling very well" and will continue treatment privately while preparing for college, her publicist Michael Pagnotta said.
The sisters plan to enroll together at New York University in Manhattan
in August.
"The focus right now is on school," Pagnotta said. "She intends
to live her day-to-day life normally. ... She won't be hiding. She'll be
going out and doing a lot of the things that she's missed doing over the
past few weeks."
As far as heightened attention from the media, both sisters "understand
that it comes with the territory," Pagnotta said.
Speculation about Olsen's rail-thin figure had been the subject of gossip
columns for weeks before it was announced last month that she had entered
an undisclosed facility for treatment of a long-suspected eating disorder.
She was discharged on Friday.
The sisters canceled recent plans to travel abroad to promote their film,
"New York Minute." The DVD release of their movie, which flopped
at the U.S. box office, is set for August.
Pagnotta said the Mary-Kate and Ashley retail goods brand remains strong.
"Things are going forward there, and all of their retail partners,
all of their business associates have really stood by them," he said.
"Not one has been lost in this whole process."
The twins have been in the public eye since they were 9 months old, first
starring in the television sitcom "Full House." Since then, they
have built their wide-eyed, wholesome image into an entertainment and merchandising
empire.
Pagnotta said retail sales of Mary-Kate and Ashley clothing, dolls, games,
videos and books are projected to top $1 billion this year.
Mary-Kate
Olsen Extends Stay In Clinic
(MTV)
A month into her treatment for an eating disorder, Mary-Kate Olsen is extending
her stay for approximately two more weeks, according to her press representative.
She plans to be out in time to prepare to attend New York University in
the fall.
Olsen's rep said the actress, who checked into an undisclosed facility in mid-June and was tentatively scheduled to be released this week, is continuing her treatment not because something is wrong, but rather because she is making progress (see "Mary-Kate Olsen Seeks Treatment For Eating Disorder"). "Mary-Kate is doing very well, and will likely be released before the end of [July]," her rep, Michael Pagnotta, said. "Things are going well for her there."
Pagnotta also noted that stays for eating-related disorders commonly last up to 90 days at live-in clinics. Experts who specialize in teen girls and eating disorders noted that recovery can be a long process once patients are outside of a clinic's care — for some, taking years.
Olsen's freshman orientation for NYU takes place at the end of August, and she plans to be in New York to get settled before then, Pagnotta said.