Call them nice. Call them famous. Call them rich. Just don't call them Olsen twins. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are as cool as it gets. And prefer their individual names, thank you

Girls' Life, April-May, 2004 by Jodi Bryson

Just like you, Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen are growing up. In June, they'll be 18, and like any senior in high school, each is stoked to talk about what's ahead. Curiously, both girls are much more into chatting about going to college in New York than the other huge happenings in their lives. On May 7, they've got their big new film New York Minute hitting theaters. It's the movie that will finally give them the crown to the teenage throne they've spent their childhoods earning.

And perhaps more exciting than their forever hot careers, they both have dreamy college boyfriends. Mary-Kate is dating future power player David Katzenberg, son of movie studio boss Jeffrey Katzenberg. Ashley is two years into Columbia University quarterback Mart Kaplan. Wow, right? What's a double-date with them like?

Still, the girls' focus on college is new. Hot boyfriends notwithstanding, these girls have always been busy with glamorous distractions. There are all the TV shows and movies they've been doing since they were toddlers. Plus, they've spent years in the driver's seat of their own production company, which is the muscle behind girl-friendly projects too numerous to list.

Their enormous wealth is often reported on. And it is intriguing 'cause money is, well, intriguing. But c'mon. Ashley and Mary-Kate are 17-year-old girls, so whatever--don't go thinking they're beyond real life or even all that different from you. They're both eager to admit that they've done a lot, seen a lot and, fine, have a lot ... yet they have never gone to college.

They so know that university instructors don't give a rat's patooty about celebrity--studies are studies. You and the very cool Olsen girls have that much in common. Fancy yourself intelligent, polite and great to talk to? Then you're even more like them than you realize. See what we mean, right here.

GL: You've been famous your whole lives--what question do you get asked the most?

Mary-Kate: It always changes, and it depends on our age. Now it's, "Where do you see yourselves in 10 years?"

Who even knows that answer? We won't ask that. Let's talk about your new film.

Ashley: It's very different from the things we've done before. There are a lot of characters girls can relate to. But it's not just for girls. There are a lot of really fun guys. Guys will definitely like it.

Mary-Kate: It's an action-comedy, and it all takes place in 24 hours. My character is a drummer for a band, and she isn't a punker, but she's a little crazy and out there. Ashley's character is more sophisticated.

Are your characters in the movie anything like you two in real life?

Ashley: Not really. My character is very uptight, very driven. She's rigid, and she lives by the rules.

Mary-Kate: We're both casual people. I don't know how to describe myself. I like to have fun and Ashley does, too. She's a bit more sophisticated than me. I am when I have to be, like at a press conference. We're Geminis, and we like to say that Ashley took one personality, and I took the other.

Gemini twins? That makes four of you! Do you have that ESP thing twins are supposed to share, where you finish each other's sentences and whatever?

Mary-Kate: Oh, my gosh, we can look at each other and know what we're thinking.

How exciting to be born with a built-in best friend. What do you like to do when you're with other friends?

Mary-Kate: Me and my friends ... my friends and I. I correct myself--I know it's weird. We like to go on adventures. Like, if we see someone's car we recognize, we'll put a smiley-face sticker or a present on it.

Ashley: I like dinner parties with girlfriends. But I can't wait to go to college. I'm excited to put myself in a different environment, to study, to have fun.

Mary-Kate: I can't wait for the opportunity to study anything I want, to travel, maybe study abroad. I'm excited.

Did you debate different colleges before deciding? Was there any arguing or compromising?

Ashley: We've wanted to go to the same college since we were young, so it wasn't a sit down conversation. Decisions are definitely easy because we both have the same outlook on things. Sometimes, we disagree on small things like what someone should wear or, script-wise, if a line is right. But nothing major like choosing a college.

Why New York?

Ashley: I love New York, and I love the energy there. Personally, I have to live in a big city. I could never live in a small town. And we're from the West Coast, so I think when you're from the West Coast, you should try a school on the East Coast. When you grow up in a certain area, especially if you haven't traveled a lot, going away" to school shows you how people are in other places. You get that education, too.

What kind of hours do you clock in when you're working?

Mary-Kate: If we're working on a movie set, we can go 10 hours a day. Usually, it's more like 13 when it's all said and done. During any normal week, we're always on the phone with the office or going to meetings to make decisions for our company. Basically, we're always working.