Seeing double in Hollywood

Did you know that famous celebrities Justin Timberlake, Ashton Kutcher, Elvis Presley, Alanis Morissette, and Kofi Atta Annan have twin brothers or sisters? Justin had a twin sister, Laura Katherine, who died minutes after birth. Ashton’s fraternal twin Michael was born suffering from cerebral palsy. The King of Rock ’n Roll, Elvis, was the second of identical twins. His twin brother, Jesse Garon, was stillborn. Alanis’ twin brother, Wade, is 12 minutes older than her. The pair is really close that her song, No Pressure over Cappuccino, was dedicated to Wade. Ghanaian diplomat Kofi Atta Annan was the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations and recipient of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. His deceased twin sister, Efua Atta, shares the second name Atta with him which in Fante and Akan languages means twin.

Probably, the most famous celebrity twins are Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. The Olsen Twins landed their big acting break in 1987 on the hit TV sitcom Full House where they played the same character Michelle Tanner. In 1995, the sisters left the show and began marketing their image. They established a company called Dualstar and their brand has been sold in more than 3,000 stores in the US and over 5,300 stores worldwide. They have been included in Forbes’ The Celebrity 100 List since 2002. In 2007, Forbes ranked them collectively as the 11th richest women in entertainment with an estimated net worth of $100-M. They starred in video series like The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley and You’re Invited to Mary-Kate and Ashley’s. New York Times declared Mary-Kate a fashion icon while Ashley was included in PETA’s 2006 Worst Dressed list for wearing a fur. The siblings have a clothing line in Wal-Mart stores and a beauty line called Mary-Kate and Ashley: Real Fashion for Real Girls. They have launched their new couture fashion label The Row named after Savile Row of London. The sisters also started their new line for The Row called Elizabeth & James named after their siblings. Mary-Kate was caught in a media frenzy following the death of Heath Ledger. Masseuse Diane Lee Wolozin who had gone to the actor’s flat and found his naked body lying on the bed called up Mary-Kate twice before calling 911. There is speculation that the Olsen twin had a romantic relationship with Ledger at the time of his untimely demise.

James and Oliver Phelps are best known for playing Fred (James) and George (Oliver) Weasley in the Harry Potter film series. Oliver was born 13 minutes before James. Both showed a special interest in acting at an early age and performed in several school drama productions. In 2000, the twins were cast in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and appeared in each screen installment of the series.

There are also personalities who are proud parents of twins. US President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush have fraternal twins Jenna and Barbara. They are known as the First Twins and they also happen to be the first twins of a sitting president in American history. Music icon Nat King Cole and singer Maria Hawkins Ellington got married just six days after his divorce from his first wife became final. They have five children including twins Casey and Timolin. Ingrid Bergman’s controversial affair with Italian filmmaker Roberto Rossellini created a huge scandal in the US because the actress became pregnant. During that time, Bergman was still married to Dr. Petter Lindstram. She left her husband and married Rossellini. They have twins Isabella Rossellini, a famous actress and model, and Isotta Ingrid Rossellini.

Julia Roberts and her husband, cameraman Daniel Moder, are parents of fraternal twins Hazel Patricia and Phinnaeus Walter. Al Pacino never got married but has three children including his twins Anton James and Olivia Rose with ex-girlfriend Beverly D’ Angelo. Mel Gibson and wife Robyn Moore have twins Edward and Christian who were born in 1982. Robert de Niro and former model Toukie Smith have twin sons Julian Henry and Aaron Kendrick who were conceived via in vitro fertilization. Michael J. Fox and actress Tracy Pollan are blessed with twins Aquinnah Kathleen and Schuyler Frances. Denzel Washington and actress Paulette Pearson have four children including twins Olivia and Malcolm. Patrick Dempsey who is famous for his role as neurosurgeon Dr. Derek Shepherd (Dr. McDreamy) in the medical drama Grey’s Anatomy has twin boys Darby Galen and Sullivan Patrick by his second wife noted makeup artist and founder of Delux Beauty Jillian Fink.

The Philippines also has its share of celebrity twins like Aga and Charlene Muhlach’s Atasha and Andres who both inherited their parents’ good looks. Carmina Villaroel and Zoren Legaspi’s Maverick and Cassandra star in a string of TV commercials like Payless Instant Mami, PinkBox, Nido and Colgate. Eddie Gutierrez and the feisty Annabelle Rama’s identical twins Richard and Raymond Gutierrez are now two of the country’s hottest teen heartthrobs.