Paul Teutul Sr. was one of the most recognized faces in the motorcycle-building industry, and this was made possible through the popularity of his reality television series “American Chopper.” The crowd cheered for him and his son Paulie or Paul Jr., in every bike convention that they participated in, and some of the most high-profile motorcycle enthusiasts around the world ordered a chopper from his New York shop, Orange County Choppers. The business empire that he created from the ground up reached the pinnacle of success, and should have made his family closer and unified than ever, as most of them contributed to the family’s hard-earned triumph, but sad to say, it went the opposite way. Paul Sr. mentioned during the early years of the Teutuls’ success that he would often wonder as to what would be the ultimate cost of that fame.

All about Paul Teutul Sr. and his volatile upbringing

Aside from his amazing bike-building skills, Paul Sr. gained worldwide recognition due to his turbulent relationship with his son, which was witnessed by millions of viewers in their reality TV show. While some insisted that it stemmed from the TV show’s writer’s imagination, those who personally knew Paul Sr. would say otherwise. Some of them weren’t shocked at the level of intensity and ferocity of the fights.

His childhood in a chaotic home

Paul Sr. was born with a middle name, John, which made him an official junior as his father was named Paul John Teutul, but he only found out about it when he applied for a passport. His parents never told him about it, so that they could easily distinguish between father and son; it was quite confusing but he said that was how it had always been with their family. His father was German-Austrian, while his mother was pure Italian, and his grandparents from both sides were European immigrants who lived in New York City before settling down in Yonkers.

Corporal punishment was the norm back then, and his parents took it to the extreme as they used a cat o’ nine tails to beat him and his sisters each time they made a mistake that angered them. He recalled that his stay-at-home mother certainly knew what buttons to push when his father came home from work, and so they ended up receiving more beating. It was always a case of a ‘damn if you do and damn if you don’t’ situation – if he was hit without doing anything wrong that day, his father would just tell him to consider it as punishment for a future mistake.

They invented the word dysfunctional

Paul Sr.’s grandfather was successful, and owned houses in the neighborhood that he’d built with his own hands. His mantra was work, work, and more work, and this was his legacy to his clan. While Paul Sr.’s father was a hard worker too, he wasn’t good in business, and failed twice with his investments. As a result, his father was highly dependent on his grandfather, and that made his mom angry; she hated the control that her father-in-law had over her husband. It created a rift in the family, and his mom forbade them to go near their grandparents, which they often disobeyed, and were caught sneaking to eat with their grandmother who lived a block away.

Their house was a battlefield, a picture of chaos, as he grew up listening to so much yelling and screaming. He and his siblings weren’t close, and didn’t look out for each other because they were all afraid to make a mistake. To make matters worse, his mother was a closet alcoholic, while his father would also drink, although he never once saw him drunk. The vicious cycle in their home was that his mother would drink all night and then fight with his father when he returned from work. When it was daytime, she would be asleep and his father would leave to work only to return home to more fighting with his mother. In 1978, his mother died of cirrhosis of the liver.

Meet the Teutuls

Growing up in such a violent environment, Paul Sr. made a vow that his family life would be different. Despite the miserable marriage that his parents had, he still believed in marriage, and wasn’t deterred at all to build a family when he found the right woman for him.

Paul met Paula

After his nine-month stint in military service with a merchant marine ship called Enid Victory, he reconnected with an Italian high school classmate, Paula Leonardo, and they were married in 1972. While he wanted to settle down and start a family, he continued to mess around for a few years, and did odd jobs. His drinking escalated, and Paul Sr. sported a whiskey buzz while working diligently for Metropolitan Tobacco.

It was also during that time when he learned to ride a motorcycle and was hooked. Paula said that when she met Paul Sr. in high school, he wasn’t as angry then. However, she described him as someone ‘between a lost puppy and the kind of guy you wouldn’t want your daughter to date,’ but he charmed her. They went through many hardships in life, but he never gave up. Back then, she already knew something was wrong with their marriage but couldn’t figure out what it was exactly. She was determined to make it work, however, and took it as her responsibility to fix it.

The Teutul children: Paulie, Danny, Mikey, and Cristin

While Paul was determined to keep his habits from his wife, Paula eventually realized that he was addicted to drugs and alcohol. Her motivation to stay together as a family was their children, and she knew she had to be strong for everyone. At that time they already had three sons, six-year-old Paul Jr, four-year-old Daniel, and two-year-old Michael. Their only daughter, Cristin, arrived in 1982 when Paul was already in his sophomore year in recovery. Amidst the pain and the confusion that she underwent during the early years, she relied on the eldest son, Paulie, and this somehow took away his childhood, even if he was known to have been the mischievous child who could get away with everything. He was popular in school, the captain of the football team, and the creative one in the family who loved tinkering and experimenting, like his old man.

Of the four Teutul children, it was Danny who was the most responsible, and the one who did great in school. Just like Paulie, he was also into football and became a quarterback for the varsity team. Mikey was the laid-back son who was contented to be just a part of whatever his brothers were doing. Cristin was the daughter and sister they all prayed for. The boys complained that she was such a spoiled girl, but in reality, they were the ones who really showered her with time and attention. She was a social butterfly in high school, but studied hard in college and was rewarded with a nursing degree.

How Paul Sr. built his bike-building empire

Looking back, Paul Teutul Sr. never thought that it would have been possible for a dysfunctional family of bike builders to end up as popular TV stars.

Started with a welding shop where he customized his first chopper

With all the booze and drugs, most people in their neighborhood including former teachers voted that Paul Sr. would end up as a loser, if not for the welding skills he developed after the elective course he took up in high school. He initially worked at his brother-in-law’s welding shop, but it went bankrupt. He then worked for a few local shops, but realized that he was the type of person who needed to be his own boss, because he couldn’t take orders. He took a risk by investing in welding equipment, and offered his services around the community from his truck. Eventually he expanded, and opened up a shop that flourished, as he kept receiving work until he met a smart guy named Fred who became his partner – the name of the shop was P&F Welding. Aside from being an expert in steel fabrication, Fred was also into motorcycles, so Paul learned so much from him, working with steel frames and building just about every part of a motorcycle. It was then that he customized his own Harley, and felt great about it.

From a small welding shop into a 10,000-square-foot Orange County Ironworks

Paul and Fred had a falling out after their shop burned down due to an accident. When Fred opted out, Paul picked up the pieces and opened up his own shop, Paul’s Welding. Soon, his sons worked in the shop as well, and it was then that he realized that Paulie had a gift for steel fabrication, after he’d finished a vocational course in welding, but all the Teutul children started at the bottom of the company doing odd jobs. The company was renamed Orange County Iron in 1986, after Paul Sr. bought a 7,000-square-foot shop in Montgomery, New York. There was a huge demand for iron-related products, so he expanded again, and relocated to a 10,000-square-foot warehouse to accommodate all the orders that they received. In 2004, the company had another rebranding and restructuring made by his second son, Danny, Orange County Ironworks.

The hobby turned into Orange County Choppers

Paul Sr. and Paulie shared a common interest in motorcycles. When Paul Sr. was caught by the bike-building bug, he took his eldest son with him. At that time, he was already divorced and was living alone in an apartment. When he started building a bike, he would call on Paulie to help him out. Eventually, in 1999, they co-founded Orange County Choppers in Newburgh. Initially, they had a hard time promoting their brand, but through hard work and amazing craftsmanship, their choppers were eventually noticed through word of mouth. While they were slowly becoming recognized in the bike-building industry, it hadn’t translated to profit. They needed a boost, as had happened to Jesse James who paved the way for chopper builders to attract global recognition through “Monster Garage.”

“American Chopper”

The Teutul’s time to shine came when Discovery Channel offered them a reality TV show of their own, “American Chopper.” After they watched the pilot episode, they couldn’t help but blame each other for doing something that they believed would ruin their reputation and eventually their business – they were annoyed that the producers hadn’t editing out all the fights and intense yelling between father and son in the episode that aired. Paul Sr. threatened the producer that he would go to Los Angeles just to beat him up – the producer said to wait for the result. The next day, they were shocked at the high TV ratings the pilot episode achieved; even the servers of their website broke down, because they couldn’t handle the influx of messages they received because of the TV show. From then on, each Monday night millions of viewers would tune in to Discovery Channel to see their work on building beautiful customized choppers, and at the same time be fascinated with the family drama that rivaled popular daytime soaps.

What had been the ultimate cost of the Teutul fame?

Paul Sr. already knew back then that the kind of popularity and success that his family achieved would surely cost him something valuable. It was just too late when he realized that fame would break his family apart.

The very public termination of his eldest son’s services

Discovery Channel executives salivated in their offices when Paul Sr. and Paulie unleashed their infamous tempers in one of the episodes in the sixth season of “American Choppers”, as they imagined the kind of boost it would gain them in the ratings; other members of the Teutul family were worried that it would be the last time they would see the two together.

Many viewers thought that it was scripted, because they found it unthinkable that Paul Sr. would fire his only son, who co-founded the customization shop business that put the Teutul family on the bike-building map. Father and son argued about work attitude and habits. They yelled at each other at the top of their lungs. Paulie Sr insisted that his son Paulie follow his way of doing things such as being early coming to the shop. The son justified his tardiness, as he said that it didn’t matter if he came in late because, at the end of the day, he didn’t go home without finishing his work. The moment that led to his firing was after he uttered the line, ‘the shop would have been burned to the ground without me,’ and then he threw a chair in his father’s office out of frustration. He also reminded his father that he technically didn’t work for him since he co-founded the shop, and so was a business partner.

Lawyers made some modifications to the Teutuls’ contract, so Paulie could still appear in the TV show after he was fired by his father. It allowed father and son to continue working and filming, but never together, so avoiding more problems. However, after that season, Paulie left the show.

Paul Sr. and Paulie filed lawsuits

When the Teutuls’ contract was modified and made Paulie an independent contractor, it also affected the 20% shares that the father gave his son when they co-founded Orange County Choppers; Paul Sr. was given the option to buy him out. In May 2009, he had the shares appraised at zero percent value, and tried to have them returned by his son, but Paulie ignored his demands, which led him to file a lawsuit against his son. Paulie countersued, and to his delight, the lower court ruled in his favor. The case was elevated to the Court of Appeals, and his son won the appeal too – the appellate judge declared that the buyout was invalid.

Mikey tried to fix the rift in the family

After joining the business as the assistant general manager, Mikey witnessed the deterioration of the relationship between his father and eldest brother. He tried his best to fix the problem by mediating between them, but it was futile. He had enough problems of his own to deal with, because he’d checked into a rehabilitation facility to work on his alcohol addiction – apparently, he’d inherited this Teutul problem. Sometime before “American Chopper” ended, Mikey was forced out of the business by Paul Sr., stating that he had been given many options to be successful, but he never did. He later on joined Paulie’s company.

The lawsuits that were filed affected the family in many ways. Paul Sr. didn’t attend the wedding of his son Paulie, even though invited. Everyone thought that the drama between the Teutul family wouldn’t end, but time heals all wounds, and eventually they all moved on. Father and son even worked together in a spin-off series called “American Chopper: Sr. vs Jr.” but never on any bike-build project, to avoid confrontations. It lasted for four seasons, and when they did a reboot called “American Chopper: The Last Ride” in 2020, everyone had mellowed down. Paulie just wanted to enjoy quality time with his father for one last time, so he agreed to everything that Paul Sr. wanted, just as when they’d created their first bike together.

Marjorie has been in the spotlight in one way or another since the late ‘90s, and while she may nowadays appear to be just another Hollywood wife with a classic day-to-day life of glamour and massive spending, many would be shocked to know that she may also have helped operate a drug ring involving millions of dollars.

The mention of her name will conjure up the wholesome family photos of her, Steve Harvey and their children, while the shadow of her dark past lays buried deep beneath public information and common knowledge. Conversely, one can’t be blamed for not being aware of who she used to be, since Marjorie has gone to great lengths in order to hide her skeletons.

Unfortunately for her public image, Marjorie’s former partners in crime are still around to this day, with a big story to share. It’s also possible that her former drug kingpin ex-husband is simply looking to pick a publicity crumb, since having been associated with Marjorie is his only public claim to fame. Regardless of his incentive, the narrative he alleges fits with certain case files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).

The cocaine princess

Marjorie Elaine Bridges was born under the sign of Libra on 10 October 1964, in Memphis, Tennessee USA, to mixed-race parentage – her Caucasian mother Doris Bridges, and African-American father of an unknown name and profession. As for any difficulties that may have nudged her in the wrong direction, all sources point to her having a relatively normal childhood.

Her education is thought to have been somewhat extensive, but the details on this are muddy. Some believe that she enrolled into the University of Memphis following matriculation, but there’s no telling what she studied there, or whether she ever graduated. Marjorie herself, understandably, doesn’t particularly enjoy detailing her past to the media.

The slip into criminality

Whatever job she may have taken after college, the subsequent events in Marjorie’s life led her to the company of a certain Jim Townsend, who was making really good money at the time and had wide social influence. It was later determined that this power came from the extensive drug ring that made him Memphis’ cocaine kingpin.

It is not entirely clear how Marjorie and Jim met, but it’s possible that they may have been through mutual acquaintances in the city. Some believe that Marjorie was involved in the local drug scene pretty early on, which would’ve allowed her to eventually make Jim’s acquaintance as she moved up the ladder. It’s also possible that they met through friends or family, given that they both grew up in Memphis.

Assuming they met through mutual acquaintances, it’s pretty clear why they would’ve been drawn to each other, as he was powerful and enchanted by beauty, and she was a beauty enchanted by power. Marjorie claims to this day that she hadn’t been aware of his illegal activities until the day he was charged in the court of law, but common sense would indicate that to be highly unlikely, as they spent considerable time together.

If it’s to be believed that Marjorie finished college before setting out into the depths of Memphis, she would’ve been around 22 years old at the start of their relationship, which sets the date at 1986. It’d then be ludicrous to assume that Marjorie never even had a hint of what he was up to all the way throughout their approximate four years of dating, and many years later, Jim tells a different story.

He explicitly claims that Marjorie was one of the most important cogwheels in the well-oiled drug machine that kept him on top of Memphis for a number of years. With everything in hindsight, the most likely flow of events was that Jim believed that he’d found a soulmate in Marjorie, and ended up trusting her completely at some point.

The two enjoyed a rather loving relationship for a few years, prior to marrying in an extravagant ceremony in 1990. Probably not for a lack of trying, they never managed to conceive a child, which in the long run made Jim just that much easier to drop when the time was right.

The bust

Due to the magnitude of Jim’s cocaine empire, both the FBI and the DEA put a significant number of operatives on and off the field in relation to his case, all of whom kept careful watch on his men and their dealings. Many undercover agents were present as well, engaging in infiltration and other clandestine activities for months on end in order to accumulate evidence.

Drug lords are notoriously distrustful of pretty much everyone around them, and for good reason. If any of their men are caught, they usually have little to no information to divulge that would assist in harming the general operation of the ring. This also removes any personal stakes from the endeavor, making the kingpin immune to any blackmail from the authorities after they apprehend his associates.

However, Marjorie became Jim’s weak spot over the years, and some say that Jim would’ve received a much lighter sentence if not for his boundless affection towards her. The agents spent months building evidence against individual members, connecting the dots, and creating a solid case for the courts.

They still needed something that was more solid than pictures and rumors though, and that’s where a brilliant undercover agent came around in 1992, who managed to persuade Jim that he would be able to secure a massive shipment for Townsend’s organization to sell off.

The kingpin eventually took the bait and met the agent at a location that unbeknownst to him was swarming with police, and then agreed to the purchase of 40kgs (88lbs) of cocaine, all the while being recorded by the agent’s wire and multiple hidden cameras.

This evidence was as solid as it gets, and so he was arrested on the spot and charged with multiple serious crimes. That notwithstanding, Jim still had a massive amount of money at his disposal, and access to some of the best lawyers in the country. The FBI and DEA were in for a lengthy court process that could go either way, which is something they really wanted to avoid.

The agents then presented Jim with a mountain of evidence against Marjorie, which detailed her criminal activities to a very wide extent. It’s safe to say, had she ever been charged with what they had, she would still be behind bars in 2023. Townsend was ready to sacrifice everything and everyone, save for Marjorie, and so he accepted the deal, pleading guilty to all charges so that the FBI and DEA would completely ignore Marjorie.

Of course, believing that they were meant to be, Jim told her of this plan and asked her to wait for him, promising to try and appeal his sentence as many times as necessary to eventually get out of prison, in spite of his initial sentencing to life without parole.

Marjorie did everything she could to get Jim to accept the deal, promising that she would wait for him as long as necessary. Blinded by emotion, Townsend went to prison, potentially until his death, with a smile on his face, trusting that her feelings for him were just as pure. He was wrong though.

From one ring into another

Lo and behold, not long after Jim’s conviction, Marjorie began finding it increasingly difficult to stay in the marriage. He still had significant power in Memphis, however, and it would’ve been unprofitable to abandon the business just yet. With immunity from the FBI and the DEA, she was able to continue engaging in her regular practices for a while, making significant money from the drug trade at everyone else’s expense.

Not even five years into their marriage, Marjorie filed for divorce from Jim, whose entire motivation for getting out was exactly this never happening. As a cherry on top, at the time she was already dating his first cousin Darnell Brooks.

Darnell was a kingpin in his own right, now also with a big piece of Jim’s former territory, and some of the experienced men previously under his command who were able to avoid the massive drug bust. At this point in the story, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to conclude that the only thing Marjorie was married to was the flow of money.

The details surrounding their relationship and subsequent marriage are incredibly scarce, with the only real bit of information from that part of Marjorie’s life being that she gave birth to three of Darnell’s children – Morgan, Jason and Lori. Since it seems like Darnell literally fell through the ground at some point, most of the details surrounding Marjorie’s second marriage are up for assumption.

The most likely final outcome, with Jim’s unfortunate story in mind, is that something quite similar could’ve happened. However, there’s no record of Darnell Brooks from that time being imprisoned on drug charges, which opens the door to much more grim possibilities.

Knowing how easily people disappear in the underworld, some theorists give credence to the idea that a rival kingpin ordered a hit, but his family was left intact. This is one of the only explanations as to why Marjorie just gave up on the drug world after Darnell, as she was probably scared of remaining involved.

It could also be that the DEA and the FBI had amassed evidence on her that was well beyond the scope of what was initially thrown out of her file, and there was no one to protect her for the second time.

Whatever may have happened throughout the undotted i’s, Marjorie literally went from drug lord to drug lord, took charge in their operations and engaged in heavy criminal activity, raised children in a criminal household while making drugs readily available to their peers, evaded the law on pretty much every single violation, and ultimately came out with an almost squeaky clean reputation and a lot of money. Taking all this into account, even the most dedicated fans of today would have a hard time discrediting the idea of Marjorie Elaine Bridges being a very cold, calculated and selfish individual.

A comedian’s innocent wife

Steve Harvey laid eyes on Marjorie for the first time in 1987, while he was performing at a comedy club in her birthplace. The comedian was immediately enchanted by her, even going as far as to state that he had no idea who she is, but that he will certainly marry her one day.

Marjorie herself wasn’t all that impressed by him at the time, and most who know of her past chalk that up to Harvey not being a drug lord, as she was heavily involved with Jim at that time. Almost a decade down the line, she suddenly found the highly successful comedian that he became quite attractive.

The two hit it off in no time, but it was going to be a bumpy road. Unlike her exes, Steve didn’t have to hide anything about his lifestyle, and being in his presence as a woman was far from anything frowned upon. As a result, he had marriage opportunities left and right wherever he went, as well as one-night stands.

This made Steve an exceptionally difficult man for Marjorie to fully seduce, which must’ve been the first time she had to work really hard for something. She was apparently doing a lousy job as well, now with three children from a previous marriage to boot, since Harvey ended up cheating on her and dooming the relationship.

However, it looks like the guilt that came with the act did the trick for Marjorie, and she finally broke through to Steve. He subsequently ended up just as enchanted as Jim, if not even more so, vowing to make it up to his ex- and give her the best life that he possibly could. He adopted those three children after they married in 2007, and has apparently remained deeply in love with her ever since.

Running from the past

The whole charade would’ve worked out perfectly for Marjorie, if not for a man so powerful she couldn’t possibly even approach him – Barack Obama. The former US president himself gave clemency to Marjorie’s first husband in July 2015, whose words against her were completely insignificant until that moment.

Jim was adamant that, in spite of the perfect mother figure that she now portrays for the whole world, Marjorie was instrumental in running the drug ring, and that only he knows the true extent of her criminal involvement. If not for his pardon, Marjorie’s entire past would’ve been permanently forgotten.

Townsend is in the process of publishing his memoirs, two thirds of which he wrote in prison. Entitled “Snakes in the Garden: The Untold Story of the Life Of Jim (aka Jimmy) L. Townsend Part One”, a big chunk of their story is set to be released on 1 July 2023. It’s expected that the book will have a significant impact on Marjorie’s career, threatening to bring down the public image she’s so carefully cultivated over the years with her second husband.

Conjoined twins, commonly known as Siamese twins, are an extremely rare identical twin developmental defect that has captivated the world for centuries. For reasons still unknown to humanity, assumedly due to particular mixtures of various unpredictable genetic and environmental factors, the single embryo of identical twins sometimes fails to fully separate in the fetal stage.

As a result, the children are born with one or more of their body parts fused, depending on how far the embryo managed to split itself before it stopped altogether. They frequently share various vital organs, such as the heart or liver.

Since even the world’s most technologically advanced hospital is powerless against this condition, it’s encouraging that this occurrence is so rare it only happens approximately once per 200,000 births. Naturally, owing to how uniquely they interact with the world in most respects, conjoined twins tend to be the main celebrities of their communities, while fewer still have managed to charm the entire globe.

Chang and Eng Bunker

The famous Bunker brothers were born in 1911 in Siam, now known as Thailand. Their fame birthed the more common synonym for conjoined twins, ‘Siamese twins,’ although there were many previous such instances around the world   They were joined at the chest by a band of flesh that was about 8ins (20cms) long and 2ins (5cms) wide. The twins’ condition is known as symmetrical conjoined twins, meaning that their bodies were perfectly mirrored, with each twin having his own head, arms and legs.

At the age of 18 Chang and Eng were discovered by a Scottish merchant named Robert Hunter, who convinced them to travel to the US and Europe to be exhibited as a curiosity. The twins agreed, and embarked on a world tour that lasted for over a decade, during which they were displayed in various circuses and sideshows, essentially as ‘freaks’.

The Bunkers eventually decided to settle down and start a family. They purchased a plantation in North Carolina and married two sisters – Adelaide and Sarah Yates, with whom they had a total of 21 children. Despite the challenges of living as conjoined twins, the brothers managed to lead a relatively normal life, running their plantation and engaging in various business ventures.

As the twins grew older, however, Chang and Eng’s health began to decline, causing Chang to suffer a stroke that paralyzed his right side, towards Eng, who cared for his brother from then on. Chang passed in his sleep at the age of 62 on 17 January 1974. Eng was woken up by his sons, and a doctor was called, but he died just two hours following his brother.

Millie and Christine McCoy

Also known as ‘The Eighth Wonder of the World,’ ‘The Caroline Twins,’ and ‘The Two-Headed Nightingale,’ the McCoy sisters were born to enslaved parents in 1851 in North Carolina USA. They were joined at the lower spine and shared a circulatory system, but each had their own heart, lungs and other vital organs. Despite their condition, they were able to walk, run, and even dance, displaying remarkable co-ordination and athleticism.

After their supposed emancipation from slavery, Millie and Christine were taken on tour by their owner and subsequently sold to a showman, who exhibited them around the world. They became known for their singing talents, performing for audiences that included even world leaders, such as Queen Victoria and President Abraham Lincoln.

Despite the exploitation they faced, Millie and Christine were able to negotiate better working conditions, thanks to both being very business orientated. They eventually bought their own freedom, and went on to even purchase a farm in North Carolina, where they lived until passing away aged 61 in 1912.

Millie and Christine were also active in the abolitionist movement, and used their platform to speak out against slavery and racism. They were hailed as symbols of strength, resilience, and perseverance, and their story continues to inspire many.

Giacomo and Giovanni Battista Tocci

Giacomo and Giovanni Battista Tocci were born in 1875 or 1877 in Locana, Turin, Italy. They had two heads, two arms each, and one leg each, sharing a pelvis but having separate vital organs. The brothers were discovered by an American showman named P.T. Barnum in 1887, and brought to the US to perform in his circus.

They became famous as a circus attraction throughout Europe, and toured for many years before retiring around 1900. Little is known about their later lives, but they lived until their late 20s, surpassing the previous record for longevity for conjoined twins.

One not-so-pleasant fact about the poor brothers is that they never learned to walk, since having to stand as an exposition all day at the order of their parents caused severe atrophy, disallowing them from actually developing and growing muscles that are crucial for leg movement and stability. However, they could stand using a chair or walking aids.

It at least seems like they didn’t have to suffer much longer, as many have reported them as passing early in the 1900’s, although some skeptics place the twins’ death as late as 1940. Interestingly, author Mark Twain saw them in a circus once, and subsequently wrote the short story entitled “Those Extraordinary Twins,” which was later renamed to “Pudd’nhead Wilson.”

Rosa and Josepha Blazek

Rosa and Josefa Blazek were conjoined twin sisters born in 1878 in Bohemia, which is now the Czech Republic. They began their career as performers when they were only one year old, with exhibitions of their unique condition at local fairs.

At the age of 13 they went to Paris to meet with doctors to explore the possibility of separation, but this was eventually dismissed as it was both too dangerous and way too advanced for technology at the time. Regardless, they moved on and continued to perform together, traveling all over Europe and later the US.

The Blazek sisters were popular performers in vaudeville shows, and their act was described as ‘a graceful and artistic performance of precision.’ They were well-received no matter the performance location, while in the US they graced Coney Island and other popular venues.

They passed away in 1922 at the age of 44, having left behind the customary substantial legacy of conjoined twin performers, adding to the overall legendary repute that these rare ‘couples’ enjoyed throughout history.

Daisy and Violet Hilton

Daisy and Violet Hilton were born at some point in 1908 in Brighton, England. The sisters were joined at the hip, and shared several organs including their circulatory and digestive systems. They were adopted by Mary Hilton, who began exhibiting them as ‘The Hilton Sisters’ when they were just three years old.

Daisy and Violet quickly became famous attractions in the sideshow circuit, and later on vaudeville (comedy) stages. They were trained in singing, dancing, and even playing musical instruments. They appeared in several films, including “Freaks” in 1932, which was a controversial movie that delved into the many particularities of living as a sideshow performer.

The sisters faced many challenges throughout their years, including financial exploitation by the bosses and a tumultuous love life. In the 1950s, they sued their managers and won back their earnings. They also had a failed attempt at a solo career, but audiences weren’t as interested in seeing them apart.

In 1961 Daisy and Violet retired from show business and moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. They lived in a small house and worked at a grocery store. Their health eventually began to decline, and they both died of the Hong Kong flu within days of each other at the age of 60 in January 1969.

Ronnie and Donnie Galyon

Ronnie and Donnie Galyon were born on 28 October 1951, in Beavercreek, Ohio USA. The brothers were joined at the sternum to groin, and  also sharing a set of organs. They became circus exhibits in early childhood touring Latin America for many years, and with such as Coleman Shows among others,. In spite of their desires, they didn’t receive formal education because no school would accept them.

Their family was supported by their income as a sideshow attraction for many years, until in 1991 retiring from the entertainment industry, purchasing a house in Dayton, Ohio and living a fairly ordinary life with the help of twin wheelchairs.

Even after abandoning the limelight, the two still occasionally made appearances on television, including in “The Jerry Springer Show” in 1997, as well as a documentary film on the Discovery Channel a year later, and another documentary by Channel Five in 2009.

They eventually earned the title of the world’s oldest living pair of conjoined twins, keeping it until their deaths at the age of 68 on 4 July 2020, due to congestive heart failure.

Abby and Brittany Hensel

Abby and Brittany Hensel were born in Minnesota in 1990, and are perhaps the most famous conjoined twins of today. They are dicephalic twins, meaning they have two heads joined to one torso, with the rest of the body being that of a regular individual. Despite their unique condition, they have defied the odds and have lived a relatively normal life thus far.

The twins faced many challenges growing up, including learning to co-ordinate their movements and deal with the public’s curiosity about their condition. However, they were determined to overcome these obstacles and live their lives just like all other children. They hence went to school, participated in sports, and even learned to drive a car.

The sisters pursued a career in teaching after their college graduation, eventually earning a certificate for teaching elementary school. Their more-than-unique appearance is sure to at least attract everyone’s attention immediately, regardless of the age of their class, which surely must’ve helped in that line of work.

In 2012 they became arguably the most famous living conjoined twins after TLC did an eight-episode reality TV series on them, each of which lasted an hour. They also appeared in “Dateline NBC” in 1998, “Joined for Life” in 2003, and “Extraordinary People” in 2007.

Carmen and Lupita Andrade

Carmen and Lupita Andrade were born in 2000 in Veracruz, Mexico. The doctors’ prognosis at the time of their birth was three days of life at most. However, they defied all odds and continued to thrive, becoming nothing short of a medical miracle in their country. When they were old enough to travel, the family moved to Connecticut USA in search of better healthcare.

Despite being physically connected from their chest to their pelvis, where their spines connected, Carmen and Lupita lead separate lives. Interestingly, Lupita identifies as asexual and aromantic, while Carmen has been in a relationship with her boyfriend, Daniel, for over a year. They attend school, enjoy hobbies, and have even started their own YouTube channel, where they share their experiences with the world.

Their story has been documented in the TLC special entitled “Inseparable: Joined at Birth,” and the Channel 4 documentary “Two Sisters, One Body.” They have also appeared on several other content creators’ platforms, where they candidly answered questions about their daily life, dating and emotions.

The twins have faced a number of medical issues due to their condition, but modern medicine proved more than capable each time an intervention was necessary, allowing them to lead fulfilling lives. In early 2023 they’re fresh into adolescence and in peak health.

Krista and Tatiana Hogan

Krista and Tatiana Hogan were born on 25 October 2006, in Vernon, British Columbia, Canada. Unlike most other conjoined twins, these sisters are fused at the head and share a neural bridge that connects their brains. This makes them one of the rarest and most unique cases of conjoined twins in the world, identified as craniopagus twins, conjoined at the skull (cranium).

The twins have separate personalities, which is remarkable considering that they share a portion of their brain. Krista is more introverted and relaxed, while Tatiana is outgoing and high-strung. They are able to see and feel what the other twin is experiencing, which is due to the fact that they share a thalamus – the part of the brain that is responsible for relaying sensory information.

The Hogan sisters have received international media attention due to their almost fantasy-like mutual mind-reading capabilities. In 2011, The New York Times published a feature story on the twins, exploring the possibility of them sharing a mind. Their tale has also been featured in documentaries, including “Twin Life: Sharing Mind and Body” which aired on CBC in Canada.

Regardless of their unique condition, Krista and Tatiana are just like other children their age. They enjoy playing with their toys, riding their specially-built bicycle, and going down hills on toboggans.

Ladan and Laleh Bijani

Ladan and Laleh Bijani were born on 17 January 1974, in Firouzabad, Iran. They captured the world’s attention in 2003 upon attempting to undergo a risky separation surgery. The twins had fused heads that had shared critical blood vessels, making the medical procedure an incredibly complex and uncertain.

The sisters accepted the risks and remained determined to undergo the surgery, which they believed would allow them to live independent lives. The procedure was ultimately performed in July 2003 in Singapore, involving a team of more than 28 world-renowned medical professionals from all over the planet.

Tragically, in spite of all of the preparation and expertise that was invested into the surgery, it proved to be too difficult, with both Ladan and Laleh dying on the operating table. The loss of the twins was a shock to many, and their story brought attention to the difficult ethical questions surrounding conjoined twin separations.

Ladan and Laleh’s story continues to be studied and discussed by medical professionals and ethicists today, keeping the door open for an eventual breakthrough that would potentially enable a majority of conjoined twins to opt for a safe separation procedure.