Lori and George Schappell
Lori Schappell George Schappell | |
|---|---|
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| Born | September 18, 1961 |
| Died | April 7, 2024 (aged 62) |
Lori and George Schappell (born as Lori and Dori Schappell; September 18, 1961 – April 7, 2024) were American conjoined twins. George performed as a country singer. As of 2020, they were the oldest living conjoined twins in the world.[1] Guinness World Records noted that George's gender transition made him and Lori the first set of conjoined twins to identify as different genders.[2]
Careers[edit]
George designed support equipment for people with physical disabilities, including a specialized wheelchair and a mobility aid for dogs.
As a country singer, George performed widely in the United States and visited Germany and Japan. In 1997, he won an L.A. Music Award for Best New Country Artist. He sang "Fear of Being Alone" over the credits of Stuck on You, a comedy film about a pair of fictitious conjoined twins.[3]
Lori acted as George's facilitator. She worked in a laundry, arranging her workload around his singing commitments. She said that, as a fan of his, she paid to attend concerts, just like all the other fans, simply making herself quiet and "invisible" while he is performing.[4]
As conjoined twins, Lori and George appeared in a number of television documentaries and talk shows. They also acted in an episode of the television series Nip/Tuck, in which they played conjoined twins Rose and Raven Rosenberg.
On June 21, 2007, Lori and George took part in the grand opening of "Ripley's Believe It Or Not! Odditorium" in Times Square in New York City. This was the first time they were billed as Lori and George Schappell.[5]
Personal lives and death[edit]
Born as Lori and Dori Schappell, they were craniopagus conjoined twins joined at the head, but had very different personalities and lived—insofar as possible—individual lives. George was also unable to walk due to spina bifida.[6] The first 24 years of their life they spent in an institution for the mentally disabled. From 1988 they lived, without assistance, in high-rise apartments for the elderly in Reading, Pennsylvania.[7] As a mark of individuality, and disliking the fact that their names rhymed, George first chose to go by the name Reba, after his favorite singer Reba McEntire. By 2007, he had come out as a trans man and preferred to be publicly known as George. Guinness World Records noted that his gender transition made him and Lori the first set of conjoined twins to identify as different genders.[8]
Lori and George lived in a two-bedroom apartment, with each maintaining a distinct private space. They had several pets. Lori was a trophy-winning bowler. They respected each other's privacy in terms of work time, recreation and relationships. Lori had several boyfriends and was engaged, but lost her fiancé in a motor-vehicle accident. They celebrated their 50th birthday with a trip to London.[9]
Lori and George Schappell died at University of Pennsylvania Hospital on April 7, 2024, at the age of 62.[10]
Media[edit]
Lori and George appeared in the following programs or articles:
- 1993: The Maury Povich Show
- 1996: Jerry Springer
- September 11, 1997: The Unexplained :"The Twin Connection", as Lori and Dori
- September 12, 1998: The Howard Stern Radio Show
- October 7, 1998: Howard Stern
- 1998: A&E documentary Face to Face: The Schappell Twins[11][better source needed]
- 2000: The Learning Channel documentary Separate Lives
- May 15, 2002: The Jerry Springer Show; George was billed as Reba Schappell[12]
- August 17, 2004: American television show Nip/Tuck, in the episode "Rose and Raven Rosenberg"; Raven was played by George (billed as Reba) Schappell; Rose was played by Lori Schappell
- May 31, 2002: Howard Stern
- 2005 Television documentary: Medical Incredible. A documentary on Discovery Health Channel.
- 2005 Television documentary: Extraordinary People: Joined at the Head; George was billed as Dori Schappell
- September 24, 2007: The Greek reality show Aksizei na to deis (Worth Seeing – Αξιζει να το δεις)
- 2007: The romantic comedy film X's & O's
- 2007: Television documentary Inside Extraordinary Humans: Science of Conjoined Twins
References[edit]
- ^ "6 Oldest Living Conjoined Twins in the World". September 5, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
- ^ "First same-sex conjoined twins to identify as different genders". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
- ^ Best Doctors, Separation Anxiety, see below
- ^ BBC – Sisters' Hope.
- ^ USA Weekly News, Ripley's Believe it or Not Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine Direct quote: "Tona Lewis, left, of Brick, N.J., shakes hands with conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell during the grand opening celebration of Ripley's Believe It or Not Odditorium Thursday, June 21, 2007 in New York's Times Square."
- ^ Garrison, Jessica (21 September 2002). "Together, Yet Going It Alone". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
Because [George] is 4 inches shorter and suffers from spina bifida, Lori wheels her [brother] around on a stool wherever they go.
- ^ New York, Best Doctors, Separation Anxiety
- ^ "First same-sex conjoined twins to identify as different genders". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
- ^ "Oldest-Living Conjoined Twins Turn 50". Fox News. September 12, 2011. Archived from the original on September 6, 2021. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
- ^ "Dori Schappell Obituary [Note: George is referred to by his birth name and gender.]". Retrieved 11 April 2024.
- ^ "Face to Face: The Schappell Twins". IMDb. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
- ^ Jerry Springer Episode