Mary-Kate Olsen has said she gets annoyed by stories suggesting all she does is shop, because she and sister Ashley Olsen work so hard.

She told Harper’s Bazaar recently that in addition to their acting roles (including Mary-Kate’s forthcoming 10-show guest role in Weeds) the pair are businesswomen, designing a ready-to-wear clothing range, the Row, and a more upmarket fashion line, Elizabeth and James.

She explained: “The [paparazzi] take photos of us going into our offices, and it’s ‘Mary-Kate and Ashley shopping again.’”

“But I’m going to work for eight hours, and we’re working so hard. … It just shows how people want to think of you.”

“I always get creamed for having my Starbucks cup. But the only time people get photos of me is when I’m getting coffee, when I can’t sneak away from the camera.”

She added that had she not grown up with it, she doesn’t know whether she’d be able to cope with the attention: “I think it helped that I started in front of the camera, so it didn’t come as a shock. If I was a teenager and was thrown into the spotlight, I don’t know how I would react, to be honest.”

“I feel like I’ve lived 10 different lives already and I’m only 21. But I also feel like I’m entering a new chapter.