50 interesting facts about Elizabeth Olsen: studied drama in Russia, famous Olsen sisters named fashion line after her

Elizabeth Olsen is an American actress and the younger sister of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. She is best known for starring in gritty and intense independent movies like Martha Marcy May Marlene which garnered a lot of attention.

1. Elizabeth was born in Sherman Oaks, California, in 1989.

2. Her full name is Elizabeth Chase Olsen and her nickname is Lizzie.

3. She is three years younger than Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen who gained fame after appearing on Full House. The Olsens have Norwegian ancestry on their father's side.

4. Her parents are Jarnette "Jarnie", a personal manager, and David "Dave" Olsen, a real estate developer and mortgage banker.

5. In 1995, Olsen's parents filed for divorce proceedings. Her father remarried McKenzie. From her father's second marriage to McKenzie, she has a younger half-sister, Courtney "Taylor" Olsen, and a half-brother, Jake.

6. As a child, Olsen received ballet and singing lessons.

7. One of her favorite films, growing up, was Tremors (1990).

8. Lizzie Olsen began acting at a very young age, with appearances in her sisters' films. Before the age of 11, she had landed small roles in How the West Was Fun, Our First Video and the straight-to-video series The Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley.

9. She auditioned for Spy Kids but never got the part. She told The Daily Beast, "...I'm very happy I didn't get it because I didn't want to be a child actor."

10. Olsen attended Campbell Hall School in North Hollywood, California, from kindergarten through grade 12.

11. She enjoys playing Volleyball.

12. She went by a different name in high school. In order to separate herself from her famous older sisters, Elizabeth went by the name "Elizabeth Chase" in high school!

13. She almost quit acting in 2004 due to the media frenzy surrounding Mary-Kate's eating disorder. According to E! Online, she told Nylon magazine, "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. I just thought, This is such bulls***t."

14. Following her high school graduation, she enrolled at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.

15. Elizabeth didn't always like being in front of a camera. In fact, cameras used to make her incredibly nervous. She thinks that is probably why she focused so much on theatre early in her career.

16. She landed her agent by herself and did not need to use her older sisters connection to break into the Hollywood scene.

17. Her favorite dessert is vanilla frozen yogurt with cinnamon and almonds.

18. Lizzie Olsen is best friends with Aaron Carter's twin sister Angel Carter.

19. Little known fact about Elizabeth is that she earned her New York State real-estate license in 2008.

20. Then in 2009, she spent a semester studying in Russia at the Moscow Art Theatre School. "I've been taking acting classes since I was 7," the actress later 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."

21. While studying in Russia, she met and fell in love with a fellow Russian drama student. Unfortunately, the broke up seven months after she returned to the United States because the distance was too much for them.

22. Olsen's breakout role came in 2011, when she appeared in the critically acclaimed film Martha Marcy May Marlene. Olsen had the titular character Martha, a girl suffering from delusions and paranoia after fleeing her life in a cult and returning to her family. She got nods for both the Independent Spirit Award Best Female Lead and the Gotham Independent Film Award Best Breakthrough Actor/Actress.

23. Sean Durkin, writer/director of Martha Marcy, said he knew he wanted to cast Elizabeth right after seeing her audition. "There wa so much going on behind her eyes." Bruce Beresford, who directed her in the upcoming Peace, Love & Misunderstanding, said similarly, "Nothing ever struck me as false with her.... She listens wonderfully. She has a scene where Jane [Fonda] is telling her about a sculpture she has made. Jane does all the talking. Lizzie doesn't say anything and yet you're fascinated by her reaction."

24. Elizabeth's primary residence is in New York City's West Village-she's got a 300-square-foot one-bedroom apartment of her own.

25. She loves musical theater, but doesn't think her singing voice is strong enough for it.

    
    

26. Mary-Kate and Ashley's clothing line Elizabeth and James was named after her and her older brother.

27. She looks up to her older sisters and says they have handled fame really well. "All of our family vacations were somehow involved or tied to my sisters' working," she told the New York Times. "It wasn't until really a few years ago that I realized how hard that must have been for them. I just thought it was a fun vacation, but they were working every day, whether it was a cruise or a trip to Canada or whatever."

28. Olsen drives a used Range Rover inherited from her older sister, Mary-Kate, in 2004.

29. Growing up with famous actresses as older sisters was not the only reason why she wanted to pursue acting, she admits her favorite actress is Michelle Pfeiffer and attributes her as inspiration for where she is today. Elizabeth told UK's Marie Claire, "I never had a heart-throb or a band I loved, but I had Michelle Pfeiffer, so I tried to copy what my friends would do and had magazine pictures cut out in frames. She was the reason I wanted to be an actor."

30. She got to meet Michelle while she was on the set of I Am Sam. Her dream came true

31. She played Jack Kerouac's wife, Edie Parker, in Kill Your Darlings.

32. In an interview with Ask Men, Elizabeth said that she likes the challenge of auditioning for movie roles. "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."

33. Olsen appeared in two films in 2012: Red Lights (with Robert De Niro) and Liberal Arts (with Josh Radnor and Zac Efron).

34. She is comfortable with doing nude scenes as long is it serves the story. "My dad, when he found out there was nudity in the film, was like, are you sure this is a good idea?" she said in an interview.

35. Elizabeth Olsen has been dating fellow actor Boyd Holbrook since 2012 after meeting on the film Very Good Girls.

36. Speaking of Very Good Girls, Elizabeth is very close with Dakota Fanning, her co-star in the film. The pair have a lot in common, famous siblings and they both attended New York University.

37. In March 2014, the couple became engaged.

38. She's a total foodie. "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."

39. Elizabeth Olsen is 5'7″ (1.70 m) tall.

40. Her networth is $1.5 million.

41. Most actors say they prefer to not watch themselves in the movies they've made. Elizabeth Olsen is quite the opposite. 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."

42. Olsen starred in the 2014 Godzilla remake, opposite Bryan Cranston and Aaron Taylor-Johnson.

43. It was recently announced that Elizabeth will be playing the Scarlet Witch in the upcoming Avengers sequel! With the release of these films, Elizabeth's fanbase is going to continue to grow.

44. She does not like being late and finds it to be disrespectful.

45. Olsen signed on to play the Scarlet Witch in Avengers: Age of Ultron, the 2015 sequel to The Avengers.

46. Her brother helped her prep for her role in Avengers 2. She turned to her comic book-loving brother Trevor. She told Elle, "Actually, I gave him homework before the studio gave me a bunch of stuff to read. I told my brother, 'Tell me which ones I need to be looking for, which ones you think are the most exciting stories,' and he just literally gave me a list per title, like, 'Number 16 of this series,' all that stuff. He's very helpful, that one!"

    
    

47. Her dream roles include Ophelia in Hamlet, Masha in Chekhov's Three Sisters, and Mary Tyrone in Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night. Long Day's Journey may still be a ways away, though; the character of Mary Tyrone is 54 years old.

48. She is often considered a more intense actor than her older sisters and takes on more serious characters to play.

49. She was voted #94 in Ask men's 'most desirable' woman of 2012 list.

50. Her fashion style is casual, chic yet still laid back. "I feel it is obvious when someone has thought too much about what they're wearing."