Remember that Adam Sandler song, “Happy Hanukkah?” In it, Sandler gave a list of people who are Jewish so that Jewish kids would know there were plenty of people just like them, even famous ones. Well, guess what twins of the world? There are a bunch of famous twins too, both real and fictional.
Here’s a list of famous twins:
10. Big Business
In this hilarious movie from 1988, Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin star as two sets of twins in a story similar to an odd version of The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse. In it, the country set of twins goes to NYC to fight an evil corporation for the sake of their town. They stumble across the other set of twins, who own the corporation, causing an ensuing case of multiple mistaken identities. Why? Because each set of fraternal twins, 1 Bette and 1 Lily, are actually 2 sets of identical twins that were swapped around at birth. Everyone is confused, and the whole thing is comedy gold.
9. He-Man and She-Ra
These two had the power in the 80's, the power to dominate the toy market! Each had their own show. He-Man was geared towards boys, while She-Ra was geared towards girls. It didn't matter though, both were awesome. Much of their reign, they aired back to back. Well, not everyone remembers this fact, but the two were twins!
8. The Parent Trap Twins
The Parent Trap was a fun, family movie beloved by generations starring Hayley Mills in the original and Lindsey Lohan in the remake, each playing both twins. In the story, identical twins are separated at birth and each live with one of their divorced parents. The twins trick their parents back together after switching places. Can we just say this is a weird setup? Who would split their kids this way? Plus, the audience is rooting for the two to get back together? Wow, the plot of some beloved family movies just really don't hold some plot holes together very well. They sure are fun to watch though!
7. Arnold and Danny
1988 was apparently a big year in Hollywood for twins. Twins, the movie, starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny Devito as unlikely twins. Arnold leaves his idealistic life on an island to find his long-lost twin, Danny who lives a less than idyllic life in the US. Arnold was a product of science, and Danny was the accidental side effect of that experiment. Supposedly, they’re working on a sequel named Triplets which would add Eddie Murphy as the third brother.
6. Weasley Brothers
The Harry Potter movies are known for so many things, not the least of which are Ron Weasley’s twin brothers. Since they were pranksters, the duo often stole every scene they were in. Real life twins, James and Oliver Phelps, play the Weasleys.
5. Quicksilver and Scarlett Witch
Whether they’re the kids of Magneto or not (though I still believe they are), these twins are two of the coolest characters in Marvel Comics. Quicksilver somehow simultaneously jumped to the big screen in both the Fox X-Men series of movies as well as Marvel’s Avenger movies. I never quite understood how that tangled web of licensing came to be, but he was cool in both versions. Scarlett Witch, Wanda, is both pretty and powerful. There’s been much debate on who the strongest Avenger in the MCU is, but after the standoff between her and Thanos in Endgame, I don’t think that’s a valid question anymore. It’s definitely Wanda!
4. Creepy twins from the Shining
The image of those creepy, creepy twins standing at the end of the hallway of the Overlook Hotel in The Shining is one of the most iconic horror movie images in existence. They likely won’t make an appearance, but the “sequel” to The Shining, Dr. Sleep, hits the theaters this fall.
3. Thing 1 and Thing 2
It's hard to say 100% that these little guys were actually twins. They sure look alike, but who even knows what they are? Dr. Seuss' weird tag alongs to The Cat in the Hat sure were mischievous and worked well as a team to destroy the kids' house in the story. If that doesn't say "twins", I don't know what does. Besides, what twin parent hasn't done the whole "Thing 1" and "Thing 2" with their twins?
2. Luke and Leia
“There is another Skywalker.” When Yoda dropped that bomb, who knew it’d turn out to be Leia and that she’d be Luke’s twin? The Star Wars franchise is known for some twists and turns, especially in the realm of who’s related to who. They’re ranked in this list as #2, but they have to be the coolest twins ever. Luke may have ran off and abandoned the universe to be taken over by bad guys in the new Star Wars films, but the real Luke is one of the best heroes of all time.
Honorable Mentions
Tweedledee and Tweedledum were the very strange and often annoying twins who appeared in the Alice in Wonderland Disney movie but, in the book, only appeared in its sequel Through the Looking Glass. Chip N Dale are lovable little twin chipmunk brothers in Disney's cartoons. Viewers love them, but they spent most of their early days frustrating Disney's characters, such as Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, and Pluto.
Now, to #1 …
Wonder Twin Powers - Activate! Power of…awesomeness. O.k, so the old Super Friends show hasn’t aged all that well, and the Wonder Twins are kind of silly. However, they reached a level of pop culture that will have them forgotten no time soon! The Wonder Twins live on. Though Super Friends ended in the early 80’s, the Twins came back to comics in the 90’s, appearing here and there through the 2000’s. 2019 even saw them get their very own ongoing series.
The number of twins in the world is increasing. From women waiting till older ages to get pregnant as well as improved fertility treatments, there are more twins, triplets, and quadruplets than ever before! While 1980’s numbers saw 1 in 53 babies being a twin, 2009’s numbers were 1 in 30. With those kinds of numbers, twins will want to know and see other twins in movies and other mainstream media.
Be sure to check out our movie recommendations that don't all necessarily star twins. *Also published on FamiliesofMultiples.com