Mary-Kate Olsen
By Christopher Bollen
Photography Craig Mcdean
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?
