Elizabeth Olsen

Elizabeth Chase "Lizzie" Olsen (born February 16, 1989) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in the films Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Godzilla (2014), Silent House (2011), Liberal Arts (2012), and the critically acclaimed Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011), for which she was nominated for numerous awards. She is the younger sister of actresses and fashion designers Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.

Born: February 16, 1989 (age 26), Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California, United States

Height: 1.70 m

Siblings: Mary-Kate Olsen, Ashley Olsen, Trent Olsen, Taylor Olsen, Jake Olsen

Parents: David Olsen, Jarnett Olsen

Education: Campbell Hall School (2007)

Early life and education

Olsen was born and raised in Sherman Oaks, California, the daughter of Jarnette "Jarnie" (née Jones; b. 1954), a personal manager, and David "Dave" Olsen, a real estate developer and mortgage banker. She is the younger sister of twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, who became famous as TV and movie stars at an early age. Her oldest brother is named Trent Olsen, and she has two younger half siblings as well. In 1996, Olsen's parents were divorced. The Olsens have Norwegian ancestry on their father's side and English ancestry on their mother's side.

As a child, Olsen received ballet and singing lessons. She began acting at a very young age, with appearances in her sisters' films. Before the age of eleven, Olsen had small roles in How the West Was Fun and the straight-to-video series The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley. Having appeared in her sisters' videos, when she was in the fourth grade, Olsen began to go on auditions for other projects.

She attended Campbell Hall School in North Hollywood, California from kindergarten through grade 12. After graduation, she enrolled at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. In 2009, Olsen spent a semester studying in Moscow, Russia at the Moscow Art Theatre School through the MATS program at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center.

Olsen began acting when she was four years of age and co-starred in six of Mary-Kate and Ashley's productions; she also auditioned for the film Spy Kids. She almost quit acting in 2004 due to the media frenzy surrounding Mary-Kate's eating disorder.

Olsen's breakout role came in 2011, when she appeared in the critically acclaimed film Martha Marcy May Marlene. Olsen was nominated for and won numerous critics awards for her portrayal of the titular character Martha, a girl suffering from delusions and paranoia after fleeing her life in a cult and returning to her family. She next appeared in the horror movie remake Silent House, in which she played the role of Sarah, and appeared in the music video "The Queen" by Carlotta. Olsen filmed the movie Red Lights during mid-2011, and it was released in the U.S. on July 13, 2012. She starred in Josh Radnor's film Liberal Arts, which was released on January 22, 2012. She and Dakota Fanning starred in Very Good Girls, a 2013 release.

In January 2013, Olsen was nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award. She co-starred in the 2013 American remake of the 2003 South Korean film Oldboy; she played Marie, a young social worker who developed a relationship with the protagonist, played by Josh Brolin. Olsen played Edie Parker, Jack Kerouac's first wife and the author of the Beat Generation memoir "You'll Be Okay", in Kill Your Darlings.

Olsen starred in the 2014 Godzilla remake, opposite Bryan Cranston and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Olsen played the Scarlet Witch in Avengers: Age of Ultron, the 2015 sequel to The Avengers. She first appeared as the character in a mid-credits scene of the film Captain America: The Winter Soldier, again alongside her Godzilla co-star Taylor-Johnson, who portrayed her brother Quicksilver.

In September 2014, it was announced that Olsen would portray Audrey Williams, Hank Williams' wife, manager, and duet partner in the upcoming 2015 biopic I Saw the Light directed by Marc Abraham and starring Tom Hiddleston as Hank Williams. She will reprise her Scarlet Witch role in the 2016 film Captain America: Civil War.