San Francisco Twins
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Marian and Vivian Brown are identical twins known as the famous San Francisco Twins. They are sometimes called the San Francisco Brown Twins. The twins are a beloved icon in San Francisco, California. The twins won second place as "Best Local Character" for San Francisco, behind Mayor Willie Brown and ahead of actor Robin Williams in the 2000 poll on the "Best of the Bay Area" conducted by the San Francisco Chronicle (Chronicle, 2000).
The twins are known for their signature identical snappy outfits. The twins have appeared in a movie (cameo role in Nine to Five) and television commercials for Reebok, Mustang Jeans, IBM, Macy's, Joe Boxer, MJB coffee (aired only in Germany), Taster's Choice coffee, Virgin Atlantic Airways, San Francisco Chronicle, Sterling Bank & Trust. They have been described by many to have these qualities, "they walk alike, they talk alike, but most of all, they look and dress exactly alike, and would not have it any other way." They have won awards as being the most identical at international twin conventions. They do have some differences between them. Vivian's feet are half a size larger than her sister's. One is said to always feel hot and the other always feels cold. They have only been apart for three weeks in their entire lives when they took separate vacations at Marian's suggestion. They have dressed alike from the moment of their birth and have only taken a break once in their 20s when they tried an experiment to be independent at Marian's suggestion.
They alternate daily the responsibility of choosing what to eat and what to wear. They eat all of their meals together. They once fell in love when they met a pair of twins at a twin convention.
They reside in an apartment in San Francisco's Nob Hill neighborhood. They walk the San Francisco Nob Hill, Union Square downtown neighborhood daily. They are said to have recently converted to the Pentecostal faith.
[edit] Birth and growing up
The twins were born on January 25, 1927, in Kalamazoo, Michigan; Vivian is 8 minutes older than Marian. They grew up in Mattawan, Michigan, where they graduated as co-valedictorians from Mattawan High School. They earned matching business education degrees from Western Michigan University at Kalamazoo.
They moved to San Francisco from Michigan in 1970 in the hope that the location change would give Vivian's chronic bronchitis some relief and found work as secretaries at a pair of downtown businesses.
[edit] Podcast
[edit] References
- San Francisco Chronicle. (2000). And the Winners Are...Readers pick the Best of the Bay Area—from bookstores to bagels. Retrieved January 23, 2006, from http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/05/07/PK46215.DTL.
