Elizabeth Olsen Wanted to Change Her Last Name Growing Up
Elizabeth Olsen once considered changing her famous last name.
On Wednesday (April 13), British Glamour published an interview with the WandaVision star, who spoke candidly about growing up in the spotlight.
Elizabeth recalled that she first became curious about auditioning for acting roles when she was ten years old. However, she "realized very quickly" that she didn't enjoy missing practices and games for her various sports teams, dance classes and school activities.
She also shared that she wasn't comfortable carrying the mantle of "Olsen," her surname which had by then become widely recognized thanks to her famous older sisters.
"During that time, I thought, ‘I don’t want to be associated with [Mary-Kate and Ashley]’, for some reason," she admitted. "I guess I understood what nepotism was like inherently as a ten-year-old. I don’t know if I knew the word, but there is some sort of association of not earning something that I think bothered me at a very young age. It had to do with my own insecurities, but I was 10."
Elizabeth revealed that, at one point, she planned on changing her name to "Elizabeth Chase" when the time came to pursue acting—but she ended up sticking to her inherited last name.
As for her child star sisters, Elizabeth revealed the important piece of advice Mary-Kate and Ashley once bestowed upon her: “No is a full sentence." Elizabeth has carried that wisdom with her in both her personal and professional life.
“The word ‘no’ specifically was something that I remember my sisters isolating and it becoming really empowering,” she said. “And for women, it’s a really empowering word. People say, ‘Just say no to drugs,' but truly, you can just say no whenever the hell you want! It’s really a powerful thing.”
When it comes to work, Elizabeth is now able to confidently say "no" to any situation that makes her uncomfortable: "We don’t have to follow suit if it doesn’t feel right. We need to be listening to our gut. There was a time where women were competing with one another and now we’re at a time where women are holding each other up."