Mary-Kate Olsen drug addiction journey is just another two peas in a pod, as most Hollywood celebrities struggle with fame and substance abuse. In retrospect, the glamorization of drug abuse in Hollywood is all too common.
Numerous tabloid stars have encountered drug abuse disorders, and if not, someone close to them is doing drugs. It is almost as if it comes with the territory since many have disclosed their battles with drug addiction to the public.
But where did it all begin? It began in the 1930s when Hollywood stardom was flooded with young, rich, ambitious actors and actresses accustomed to publicity and long work hours brought about by their demanding careers.
To fulfil the Hollywood hustle, the system encouraged pep pills or “vitamin shots,” as doctors called them, to help the superstars be energetic or get sleep. This gave them a ticket to abuse drugs as long as they would be on-set when needed and develop tolerance with time.
It was, therefore, not unusual for celebrities to engage in alcoholism heroin or cocaine use. Worse, the public and the media began idolizing drug-abusing celebrities while stigmatizing ordinary people who fall victim to addictions.
This Hollywood tragedy still lives on in the 21st century, where people are desensitized to drug abuse, just like they are desensitized to violence through movies and TV shows.
The media has witnessed the likes of Zac Efron, Angelina Jolie, Oprah Winfrey, Robert Downey Jr., Lindsay Lohan, and many more media personalities confess their struggle with alcoholism, heroin and cocaine addictions.
On that note, this article will look into Mary-Kate Olsen drug addiction through her screen career and how she got over the addiction. Grab a coffee and get comfortable.
Mary-Kate Olsen’s screen debut
As one-half of the sororal Olsen twins, Mary-Kate was born on June 13, 1986, with her twin Ashely Olsen and together, they began their screen careers at nine months old on the sitcom show Full House.
While child labour laws restricted children to 20 minutes per episode, the director hit the jackpot with the lovely twins switching places to cover 40 minutes on-set.
Their first gig was profoundly successful; since then, the duo has always been together. It was also an avenue for launching the Dualstar Entertainment Group, making them one of the youngest executive producers in Hollywood history.
After a few years, Mary-Kate and Ashley produced countless shows, movies, and fashion lines, including The Row, Elizabeth and James, Olsenboye and StyleMint, and a metric ton of merchandise totaling their net worth of $500 million.
Just like their career flourished, so did the twins maintain a stellar reputation, unlike the rich and famous teenagers of their age who were party animals. They either kept a clean record or were so good at escaping the tabloids. Well, the latter sounds truer if you keep reading.
The beginning of the Olsen tragedy
Mary-Kate and Ashley fell into the media limelight accidentally. They did not choose a life of fame. Nonetheless, they had to measure up; fortunately, it worked to their advantage.
However, measuring up to their demanding career meant taking a lot of coffee to get them wired enough for the day. As a result, they developed a caffeine addiction at a very young age.
As the twins confessed, their mother would make them pancakes and a tiny cup of coffee on the weekends. Mary-Kate tells the WMagazine, “I remember at 10 sneaking my own coffee and pouring a ton of sugar in and going up to the playroom and drinking it.”
Additionally, the twins were obsessed with Starbucks and the paparazzi would always be selling pictures of them holding Starbucks cups around the city.
Despite their efforts to maintain a clean reputation, their 18th birthday was not so squeaky clean. Dark rumours unveiled the duo’s liberation on their campus life at New York University. Their public image began shifting to that of divas who flaunted their smoking and drinking all over the tabloids.
This approved a previously leaked photo of Mary-Kate drinking at a party while in high school by Spencer Pratt, a reality series personality. While Mary-Kate regularly managed to make news in the media, Ashley stayed in their good books.
Down the road to addiction
Mary-Kate was exposed to drug abuse during their campus escapades, where they tried all sorts of drugs, from marijuana to ecstasy, cocaine and alcohol. Although her cocaine and alcohol addiction was known to the media, her family remained hushed.
Her condition plummeted when she had to check herself into a rehab facility in 2004 for anorexia and drug addiction after a lifetime of denial. The family quickly denied that non of the girls had an addiction problem, but their bodyguards held contrasting opinions. They confessed to seeing the girls participate in pot circles and pass the joint around.
To support it, Mary-Kate Olsen was often sported by paparazzi carrying a pack of cigarettes proudly into interviews, clubs, and bathrooms. She wasn’t quite into the under-the-radar affair about her drug use.
Mary-Kate went through six weeks of treatment and, three years later, struggled with kidney problems. Her love life has also brought her to the mud after her boyfriend, Heath Ledger, died of an overdose in 2008.
How is Mary-Kate Olsen today?
Mary-Kate has had a bumpy recovery as rumours of her relapse made the headlines once a few times. Regardless, relapse is part of recovery. The Olsen twins retracted from the limelight to build their careers and work on their mental and physical health.
She recently shared her thoughts in an interview with Marie Claire, where she was quoted: “I think it’s really important to be able to talk when something’s wrong”. I learnt at a really young age that if you don’t talk about it, it can drive you insane.
The 30-something-year-old fashion mogul now lives off social media and married Olivier Sarkozy in 2015. She has managed to hide from the public eye and lead a quiet private life. Ashley and Mary-Kate were last spotted at the 2017 Met Gala.
