If you grew up watching one of the greatest sitcoms of all time Full House, you probably assumed Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen traded off the role of Michelle Tanner with perfect twins-in-sync energy. But according to two of the Tanner family’s own, things were not quite that smooth at first. It turns out the producers did favor one Olsen twin during the early days, and the reason why says a lot about the girls’ very different baby personalities.
Jodie Sweetin and Andrea Barber answered fan questions on a recent episode of their podast, How Rude, Tanneritos! When after joking about long shoot days and imagining how the Full House characters would fare in a pandemic, Sweetin slipped in a detail that fans might not know: the twins did not have the same temperament on set, which shaped how often each was used. Sweetin explained:
Well, it’s a really good question, and I would say, yes, there was a point when they favored working with one over the other, but it was at the beginning, right as Mary-Kate was not — Mary-Kate did not like being sort of out on set, but Ashley was like, ‘Oh, whatevs.’ She was much more kind of docile about it, which is funny, when I think about them as people, because I’m like, that’s absolutely who they are. Ashley will be like, ‘Sure, whatevs.’ Mary Kate was like, ‘I don’t want to do this.’
The preference evidently had nothing to do with talent and everything to do with toddler mood swings. Ashley was simply more willing to be out in the lights and chaos of a sitcom set, while Mary Kate needed a little more emotional runway. Because of that, Ashley often ended up stepping in for the scenes that had to move quickly. Sweetin added that the twins’ cooperation could shift from moment to moment:
Or there would be certain scenes that one would do and what the other one wouldn’t or something like that.
Barber, who played the hilariously obnoxious Kimmy Gibbler on the original ABC run and later on Fuller House, backed her up. She explained that producers frequently adjusted their approach depending on which twin was in a better mood for the job. As she put it:
One would want to do a certain scene because it was more fun for them and the other one didn’t care.
It is a charming bit of behind-the-scenes insight, especially considering how iconic Michelle Tanner became. The Olsens’ performance may look effortless on screen. But in reality, it relied on producers staying flexible and using whichever toddler showed up ready to hit a mark or land a punchline. Looking back, Sweetin and Barber think those early differences match who the twins grew into as adults. Ashley has always projected a calm steadiness, while Mary Kate has carried a bit more edge and intensity.
So yes, there was a preferred twin at the show’s beginning. But it was not about favoritism. It was simply about which little girl was willing to be the youngest Tanner in that exact moment. And as a parent of both a toddler and a teenager, I completely understand it. Toddlers move at their own pace and on their own schedule. Honestly, it is a miracle the show captured as many unforgettable Michelle moments as it did.
If you’re feeling the urge to revisit all eight seasons of the iconic show, Full House is streaming for everyone with a Disney+ subscription. And you can continue on to the sequel series, sans the twins playing Michelle, with a Netflix subscription.