All About Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's Parents, David and Jarnette Olsen

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are a part of a very private family.

Born in Sherman Oaks, California, in 1986, the twins rose to fame after their time on Full House, where they shared the role of Michelle Tanner. Their parents, David and Jarnette Olsen, were unfamiliar with Hollywood, so they often turned to advisors to help manage their daughters’ careers. At the height of the twins’ fame, the couple divorced in 1996 and have largely remained out of the spotlight since their daughters took over their business at 18.

The amount of attention and media scrutiny the twins faced at such a young age was concerning to David. “They’ve been put on such a pedestal — I’d have shaky knees,” he told PEOPLE in May 2004. “They’re not Disneyland kids. They’re just real kids with real issues.”

Now, the twins have left acting behind to focus on designing clothes for their brand, The Row, and rarely make public appearances. In an interview with Marie Claire in August 2010, Mary-Kate shared that she “wouldn’t wish my upbringing on anybody” because of their grueling schedules.

“I look at old pictures of me, and I don’t feel connected to them at all,” she said. “But I wouldn’t take it back for the world.”

Here’s everything to know about the Olsen twins’ parents, David and Jarnette Olsen. 

They divorced in 1996

While it’s unknown when David and Jarnette tied the knot, they ultimately got a divorce in 1996 when the twins were 9 years old. Following the couple’s split, David got remarried to a former coworker.

In a May 1996 interview with Entertainment Weekly, David said the split was amicable for everyone involved. “The reality is that the transition has been very smooth,” he shared. ”Everyone sees eye to eye. The girls are fine.”

Ashley echoed the same sentiment in a later interview with PEOPLE in May 2004. “To be honest, we were kind of busy at that point,” she said. “We had so many people that loved us that we were like, ‘That’s okay. Things will be better this way.’ We were very mature for our age.”

They share four children together

David and Jarnette share four children together. They welcomed their only son, Trent Olsen, on May 6, 1984. Two years later, they welcomed twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen on June 13, 1986, followed by their youngest daughter, Elizabeth Olsen, on Feb. 16, 1989.

Both Trent and Elizabeth also have ties to the entertainment industry. Trent previously worked for Storm King Productions and has authored several comics. Elizabeth, meanwhile, has built a successful career in acting, starring in projects like WandaVision and Ingrid Goes West.

Jarnette got Mary-Kate and Ashley their roles on Full House

According to the Los Angeles Times, when the twins were 6 months old, Jarnette went on a shopping trip with a friend and accompanied them to the office of their child’s agent. It was there that Jarnette mentioned she had twin daughters, and the agent asked to see photos, which eventually led to the girls auditioning for Full House.

Jarnette was a former ballet dancer, and David worked as a commercial real estate investor, so they had no prior experience with the entertainment industry. “It was the first time [Jarnette and Dave] had ever been around anything like this,” the late Bob Saget, who played the twins’ father on the show, told the Los Angeles Times. “They were just parents. They were always there. Always.”

In a February 1991 interview with The Washington Post, David shared that he “didn’t think it [Full House] was going to make it.”

"I didn't even want to be bothered with it," he said about Jarnette sharing photos of the twins with a talent agent. "I said, 'Honey, if you want to do this, fine.' "

The twins went on to become the breakout stars of Full House, which kickstarted their careers in film and beyond. David told The Washington Post that the public fascination with his daughters was likely because “they utilize their personalities pretty well” and are “just kind of funny.”

They weren’t “stage parents”

Despite entering the entertainment business at such a young age, Mary-Kate and Ashley have always had a hand in managing their careers. Though David and Jarnette helped manage the girls in the early days of their career, Ashley told PEOPLE in May 2004 that they “never had stage parents,” while Mary-Kate added that they “were definitely protected.”

Speaking with Nylon in August 2006, Ashley shared that she and Mary-Kate were heavily involved in their business decisions from a young age.

“We have been really involved in the process from the beginning, even when we were just 10 years old,” she said. “We really don’t want our name to be on anything we don’t approve. It happens to so many people, and my sister and I just want to keep it true to ourselves and not sell out like that. We’ve been able to learn a lot over the years, and the more you know the more you want to control things.”

Rather than completely running their careers, David and Jarenette took on a protective role by introducing the twins to people who could help them manage their business. The girls’ younger sister Elizabeth told The Guardian in September 2012 that after Jarnette helped the twins land Full House, her parents “had very little to do with” their jobs.

“They always did what they could to hook them up with the right people to handle things, like being child stars and managing assets and running production companies and so on, but they never pretended they could do it well themselves,” she said.

David helped manage Mary-Kate and Ashley’s finances

Though the twins gained full control of their business at 18, David helped them manage their finances throughout their childhood. According to the Los Angeles Times, David previously oversaw the finances for the twins’ production company Dualstar and made sure to invest their money wisely, including placing more than is required by law into a trust for the girls.

David told the newspaper in January 2000 that he was preparing his daughters to take over their business and made it a point to educate them on their finances.

“They know they have financial advisors. They understand their money’s invested in stocks as well as the bank,” he said. “I try to educate them that there’s a system in place that I want them to continue with when they get older. That is extremely important, especially before they turn 18.”

They supported Mary-Kate and Ashley at their Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony

According to a 2001 New York Times profile, Jarnette doesn’t speak to the press or participate in her daughters’ public lives, but she was on hand for their Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in May 2004. The twins were the youngest celebrities to receive the honor at just 17 years old.

The twins’ siblings, Elizabeth and Trent, were also at the ceremony, as well as David, his second wife McKenzie and their two children, Courtney and Jake.