Elizabeth Olsen: Her Own Path

Elizabeth Olsen stars as Scarlett Witch in several Marvel projects. Yet how is she the third famous Olsen sister? Well, when you are the younger sister to twin celebrities, the path to stardom does not come without challenges. Olsen was born in Sherman Oaks, California, in 1989. She grew up right into the entertainment industry as Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen starred in Full House. Before the age of 11, she had landed small roles in How the West Was Fun, Our First Video, and the straight-to-video series The Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley. However, it wasn’t until her 20s that she first began to develop her own film career. She appeared in 2 notable films in 2011, Silent House and Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding. Olsen’s performances led many critics to deem her the festival’s breakout star that year, especially for her work in Martha Marcy May Marlene. According to Olsen, she fell in love with that project because “the audience takes the point of view of my character, Martha.” 

 

Prior to her nickname, the Scarlett Witch, we meet Wanda Maximoff in Captain America: Civil War. Wanda and her brother Pietro are rebel fighters in Sokovia before joining the Avengers in their fight against Zemo. After the death of Pietro, Wanda struggles to fit in with the new Avengers, and this carries all the way into Avengers: Infinity War. What keeps her going is her lasting relationship with Vision, played by Paul Bettany. Seen again in Endgame, Wanda takes on Thanos in an epic battle and ultimately cements her place as one of the main characters moving forward. Over the course of her Marvel projects, Olsen is said to have a net worth of 5 million dollars.

 

“The first time I heard about the concept was in Kevin Feige’s office, and I thought it was brilliant. And we are putting our own spin on it like we always do. And I just think it’s going to be so shocking and confusing and exciting for our fans to dissect what we’re doing and why.” This was Olsen’s reaction to her own spinoff show, WandaVision, which premiered on Disney+. The show took viewers through different decades, starting with the 1950s. What made this TV show special was it was shot in front of a live studio audience. When asked about this, Olsen said “I’ve done theater before, but shooting a TV show in front of a live audience was like a strange meta experience for me. I grew up on sitcom sets, watching these live tapings on Fridays, never thinking that would ever be my reality, truly! I wish we got to do it again because you always learn when you have an audience.”

On May 6, 2022, viewers will catch Scarlett Witch on screen once again. Yet this time, not on Disney+ right away. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is set to be Marvel’s first horror-themed project, and based on the trailer, we could be in for a battle between Scarlett Witch and Doctor Strange. While many theorize that Wanda is the strongest avenger, she may have the chance to prove it this May. Olsen’s career may be shadowed at times by her older sisters, but when asked if this impacts her mindset, she said the following: “I decided that as long as I felt confident and worked hard for it, instead of having it handed to me, no one could take that away from me. I don’t have any insecurity about it. I never got any job because of my sisters. I could have pulled a few strings through them, but I never needed to.”