Interview

On January 20, the United States got a new president, and the billions who were not watching on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., were gathered around television sets and computer screens to witness the changing of command. Mary-Kate Olsen was among the billions watching via satellite. She spent the day cooking in her downtown New York apartment with friends. It was that rare kind of day that suggested we might actually be able to cut through all of the bullshit of the past decade and enter a kinder, less trigger-happy age. But a trip through one of the gossip websites that very evening already revealed a picture of Mary-Kate, dressed in a long black coat and sunglasses, descending from her house with bodyguards, the caption reading, "President of Bohemia Surrounded By Secret Service." So much for kinder and less trigger-happy.

No question, the public's fascination with the 22-year-old actress, fashion designer, author, and co-president of the company Dualstar Entertainment Group is warranted. Mary-Kate and her (older by a few minutes) sister Ashley were beamed into American households from their infancy on the television series Full House, and since then they've brilliantly maneuvered their charm, beauty, and wit into a multimillion-dollar industry. But in the last few years, Mary-Kate has transformed herself from a child star and adorable twin into something far more rare: a hauntingly gorgeous young woman with serious acting talent and a remarkably individual, articulate fashion sense that speaks more of classic New York and haute Paris than it does of breezy L.A. The paparazzi can't get enough of Mary-Kate. Maybe because she's not easy to get. She doesn't party all night. She doesn't make stupid comments, act up in public, fail to show up for appearances, or parade around with an aura of star entitlement. She's genuinely serious about what she does, and she seems to want us to take her seriously, too. This must infuriate hardcore gossip junkies. All of that beauty, all of that style, all of that intelligence: Why isn't she self-destructing and throwing it all away?

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 The Mary-Kate that most of us don't know is a very thoughtful, intelligent woman with a blistering sense of humor and an enterprise that makes even hard-working friends feel like they aren't doing enough with their days. She walks quietly into rooms and gives you her full attention when you talk to her. And you always leave kind of wishing you'd hugged her more. Lately, she's been focusing on acting, and won kudos for her delightful performance as a weed-smoking Phish fan in last year's love letter to New York in the '90s, The Wackness. She and her sister are also hard at work on their two clothing lines, the higher end The Row and the more contemporary Elizabeth & James (the latter named after their other two siblings), and they are launching both shoe and men's collections later this year. The two even teamed up to publish a book of interviews last fall called Influence (Razorbill), in which they interviewed other artists and designers who have inspired them.

Mary-Kate has been calling New York home lately, and it's a world away from her childhood of riding horses and being cute on cue in Full House. She has already lived so many lives and accomplished so much, it's hard to believe she's just begun her twenties. I phoned her at home from Milan about an hour after President Obama's inaugural address. We were pretty happy about life that day.

CHRISTOPHER BOLLEN: Where are you?

MARY-KATE OLSEN: I'm in New York. We just made a big breakfast for Obama's speech.

CB: I wish I were in America today. It sucks to be in Europe on the day when the country is changing.

MKO: It's pretty powerful. I thought his speech was great.