5 Astonishing Real-Life Accounts of Twins Reunited After Being Separated at Birth

Essential Insights

Twins, inherently a two-for-one marvel, have captivated both history and science. Consider Cain and Abel, whose twin status is debated depending on biblical interpretation. Move on to Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome. Fast forward to Mary-Kate and Ashley, who remain culturally relevant, and the Winklevoss twins, who allegedly laid the groundwork for Facebook before it existed. Regardless of perspective, twins have undeniably left an indelible impact on the world.

Researchers have long acknowledged the significance of twins and have dedicated studies to unraveling their mysteries. The Minnesota Twin Family Study (MTFS), a prominent example, has been examining twins since 1987, with earlier studies also conducted in Minnesota and beyond. Nearly 10,000 participants have contributed to the MTFS, which seeks to explore "how genetic and environmental factors interplay to shape personality, strengths, weaknesses, and values."

Among the most fascinating and thought-provoking narratives in the "genes and environment" discussion — the timeless debate of "nature vs. nurture" — are those involving siblings separated at birth.

Elizabeth Hamel and Ann Hunt, fraternal twins, spent 78 years apart after being separated at birth. Their reunion in 2014 — one residing in Oregon, the other in the U.K. — sparked immense interest among nature-nurture enthusiasts, who were amazed by their striking similarities and notable differences despite their shared genetics and contrasting upbringings.

Both Elizabeth and Ann were widowed, both had husbands named Jim, and both share a religious inclination and a penchant for playful photo poses.

"Research on twins raised apart reveals that even when growing up in entirely different families or cultures, they often exhibit strikingly similar attitudes in areas like politics, religion, and social behavior," explained psychologist Nancy Segal, head of the Twin Studies Center at California State University-Fullerton, in an interview with the BBC. "The origins of these tendencies are hard to pinpoint, but it appears that genes related to intelligence, personality, and temperament steer them toward comparable worldviews."

Below are five additional instances of siblings separated at birth who reunited after many years.

5: 'Three Identical Strangers'

The 2018 documentary "Three Identical Strangers," which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival, chronicles the lives of triplet brothers separated at birth in 1961 under unsettling circumstances.

The trio reunited 19 years later by sheer coincidence when one brother enrolled at a New York college where another had previously studied. Upon arriving on campus, Brother 2 (Bobby Shafran) was mistaken for the popular Eddy Galland (Brother 1), causing initial bewilderment. When the two met, it became undeniable: they were long-lost siblings separated at birth.

Soon after news of their extraordinary reunion broke, David Kellman reached out to Shafran and Galland with a bombshell: he believed he was the third brother.

Their story sparked a media frenzy, featuring multiple appearances on NBC's "Today" show (including one in 1981, just before celebrating their first shared birthday), an interview on "The Phil Donahue Show," and a cameo alongside Madonna in the 1985 movie "Desperately Seeking Susan."

Despite being raised in separate homes, the triplets' uncanny similarities were astonishing. As Kevin Fallon notes in The Daily Beast: "[T]hey exhibited identical mannerisms, even sitting in the same posture. They all wrestled, favored the same colors, had a preference for older women, and even smoked the same cigarette brand. Each also had an adopted sister of the same age."

However, the triplets' tale takes a darker turn: born to a single mother who placed them for adoption, they were deliberately separated at birth as part of a "nature vs. nurture" study and placed in homes of varying socioeconomic statuses. Throughout their lives, researchers posing as adoption agents monitored them, but the siblings were never informed about the experiment or each other. The study's findings remain undisclosed to this day.

"It was cruel; it was wrong," Kellman told The Washington Post in early 2018.

4: Uncovering a Secret

Following the revelation of the New York triplets' story in "Identical Strangers," the adoption agency behind the secret study began disclosing the names of some participants upon request. (The study, facing public scrutiny, ended in 1980.)

Elyse Schein, born and adopted in New York and residing in Paris, sought details about her birth mother in 2004. Through the now-defunct adoption agency, she was shocked to discover she had a twin sister.

At the time, Schein was 35 years old.

Paula Bernstein and Schein first met at a cafe in New York City's East Village soon after the discovery, eager to catch up on decades of lost time. After a quick embrace, their first instinct was to scrutinize each other from head to toe.

"I recall asking her, 'Do you have chubby knees?'" Bernstein told NPR. "I peeked under the hem of her skirt and noticed her knees were quite slender. I’ve always thought mine were a bit chubby, so I wondered, why did she get the nice knees?"

The contentious study that separated Schein, Bernstein, the triplet brothers, and others was led by Austrian child psychologist Peter Neubauer, who passed away in 2008. In interviews before his death, he expressed no regret for splitting siblings or withholding their birth information, insisting it was for scientific purposes [source: NPR].

The nonprofit Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services, linked to the now-defunct adoption agency involved in the separations, issued a statement to The Washington Post in early 2018, denying responsibility and encouraging study participants to come forward: "The Jewish Board does not support Dr. Peter Neubauer's study and is grateful that the film ['Three Identical Strangers'] has sparked public discussion. ... We hope the film motivates others to seek access to their records."

Bernstein shared with NPR that discovering her twin made her reflect deeply on the nature vs. nurture debate.

"Twins truly challenge us to ponder what defines our individuality. Since meeting Elyse, it's clear that genetics play a massive role — likely over 50 percent," Bernstein explained to NPR in 2007. "It's not just about shared preferences in music or books; it runs deeper. In her, I recognize the same core personality. Yet, we eventually had to acknowledge that we're distinct individuals with unique life experiences."

3: A Social Media Meetup

Anaïs Bordier, a young woman raised in France and pursuing studies in the U.K., was informed by a friend in 2012 about an American actress who bore an uncanny resemblance to her. As it turned out, the actress, Samantha Futerman, shared a similar background: born in South Korea and adopted, just like Bordier.

The clincher: They also shared the exact same birthday.

This isn't the plot of Lindsay Lohan's movie "The Parent Trap," a remake of the 1961 film about twin sisters separated at birth.

But it’s strikingly similar.

"So ... I don’t want to sound too much like Lindsay Lohan, but ... how do I say this ... I was curious about where you were born," Bordier wrote in her Facebook message to Futerman [source: Baker].

A series of Skype conversations, a London meetup, and some DNA testing followed, all of which became the foundation for the 2015 documentary "Twinsters" and the sisters' 2014 book, "Separated @ Birth: A True Love Story of Twin Sisters Reunited."

Regarding the nature vs. nurture debate, consider this:

"Apart from their mutual dislike for cooked carrots, the two share nearly everything in common, from painting their nails simultaneously to visiting the hairdresser around the same time. Their most notable difference lies in their musical preferences. Bordier enjoys old-school rock and roll and electro-techno, while Futerman favors rock, soul, funk, and pop artists like Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber" [source: Suh-young].

Or, as Bordier told The Guardian in 2015: "We’re incredibly alike: she reacts to situations just as I do. We’re both awkward and share the same quirky sense of humor. She never has to explain herself to me, and she understands me completely."

2: The Mixed-up Twins of Colombia

Twin brothers reside in Bogotá, a bustling city of roughly 8 million people in Colombia, South America. In 2013, a woman brings a friend to visit one of the twins, who works as a butcher.

The friend, however, notices that the butcher is the spitting image of her colleague, Jorge. Despite the butcher’s insistence that his name is William and not Jorge, the resemblance is uncanny.

The situation grows stranger and more complex. Upon returning to work, the friend informs Jorge about the bizarre encounter at the butcher shop. Jorge reveals that he already has a twin brother.

Interestingly, William, the butcher, also has a twin brother.

To top it off: The butcher's twin brother and Jorge's twin brother look exactly alike.

This is the classic tale of a hospital mix-up, brought to life in an almost unbelievable way. Two sets of identical twins were born in late December 1988, one set in Bogotá and the other in rural Santander, north of the city. When one of the Santander twins fell ill — all four were born prematurely — he and his twin were transferred to a hospital in Bogotá.

Here’s how things unfolded: Instead of sending the boys back to their correct families — let’s label them as Twins 1-2 and Twins 3-4 — the hospital mistakenly paired them as 1-3 and 2-4. As a result, one set of twins ended up in Bogotá, while the other remained in Santander.

The mix-up was finally revealed when William and Jorge, urged by their friends, met in a Bogotá square one evening. The resemblance was undeniable. It was clear they were identical twins meeting for the first time at the age of 25.

The story is detailed in The New York Times Magazine article, "The Mixed-Up Brothers of Bogotá," and a new book co-authored by psychologist Nancy Segal, titled "Accidental Brothers: The Story of Twins Exchanged at Birth and the Power of Nature and Nurture."

William Cañas Velasco, the butcher, grew up believing Wilber was his fraternal twin in a small Santander town.

Jorge Enrique Bernal Castro grew up believing Carlos Bernal Castro was his fraternal twin in Bogotá.

However, William and Jorge are the actual identical twins, just as Wilber and Carlos are.

"I was terrified because there were two people who looked exactly like my brother and me, yet I had no idea who they were," Jorge told the BBC in 2016, recalling their first encounter.

The revelation was a treasure trove for Segal, but it hasn’t resolved the nature vs. nurture debate.

"In many ways," Segal writes in the book’s preface, "the true identical twins in Colombia — Jorge and William, and Carlos and Wilber — aligned genetically. Yet, while their similarities were remarkable, the parallels diverged in certain areas, intersecting like streets on a Google map."

1: Just Two Weird

The tale of Jim Springer and Jim Lewis will strongly sway you toward the nature side of the nature vs. nurture debate.

The two Jims — born together, adopted, raised, and settled in Ohio — were separated at four weeks old and didn’t reunite until 1979, when they were 39. Over those nearly four decades, the identical twins lived lives that were astonishingly alike, as Edwin Chen highlights in his New York Times article:

"If someone presented this information to me and said, 'This is what I found,' I wouldn’t believe it," psychologist Thomas J. Bouchard Jr. told The New York Times in 1979. Bouchard, who led the Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart Project, a precursor to the MTFS, added, "The chance of two people independently having the same name isn’t that rare. But when you stack up the coincidences, they become incredibly improbable. Some of these similarities leave me utterly astonished."

For many, the Jim Twins’ story offers a definitive answer to the nature vs. nurture debate. Here’s the perspective from the Minnesota Center for Twin & Family Research:

Ultimately, understanding why twins separated at birth are so alike—and yet so different—isn’t a simple either-or question. This complexity is precisely what makes their stories so captivating.