When Daisy and Violet Hilton came into the world conjoined, doctors predicted they would live only weeks. The sisters, born in Brighton, England, rose to fame as sideshow attractions across the United States, but their lives were dominated by exploitation and prejudice. Poked and prodded, they never enjoyed true companionship and lived a life devoid of love.
The twins’ biological mother, Kate Skinner, sold them as babies to Mary Hilton, who saw a way to make money from their unique physiology. She put the girls on display in her pub, where she charged a nickel for admission to see the “monsters.” When they grew up, Hilton took the twins on tour of Britain and later across Europe and Australia. She enlisted the help of her daughter Edith and her husband, Myer Myers, who were their official guardians.
A new book explores the sisters’ lives and the struggle to free themselves from the control of their guardians. The Charlotte Observer reports that they fought for a better life but never achieved financial independence. The sisters had a handful of failed marriages, and they were often in need of cash.
They once tried to run their own hot dog stand but were forced out of business after their competitors complained they weren’t treating the sisters fairly. Violet reportedly married the musician Maurice Lambert, and Daisy married the gay actor James Moore (better known as Buddy Sawyer). Both marriages ended in divorce.
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