They say everyone has a twin somewhere in the world, a doppelganger that looks strikingly like us. Seeing celebrities with their famous doubles gives eerie credence to this claim. Here’s a look at three pairs of celebrities who could pass off as twins.
Margot Robbie and Jaime Pressly
They don’t just look alike, they sound alike too, with a deep drawl but with different accents. Margot Robbie hails from Australian shores and at 26, she is a good 13 years younger than Jaime Pressly. Before landing in Hollywood, Robbie made a name for herself back home in long-running soap opera Neighbours, the Launchpad of many Australian actors, including the Hemsworth brothers. She started off humbly on US shores in the short-lived TV series Pam Am, before switching to movies with a bit part in time travel romance About Time. Her third role, playing Naomi Lapaglia in Wolf of Wall Street earned her praises (especially for her accurate grasp of Lapaglia’s Brooklyn accent) and catapulted her into the A list. She’s now best known for portraying Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad. Pressly, on the other hand, spent most of her acting career on the small screen. A former model, her foray into Tinseltown yielded little success. Her biggest role so far was playing the wife of Jason Lee’s character Earl in My Name is Earl. These days, she’s only known for being a part of Taylor Swift’s squad.
It’s a resemblance that Tilda Swinton saw when she was just 13. A gangly awkward teen often bullied back in the 70s, the English-born actress found salvation in rock legend David Bowie. Bowie had just released his record, Aladdin Sane, in 1973 and the cover was a colourful zig-zag design across his face. Swinton bought it despite not owning a record player, drawn to his unusual look. In her own words, she felt he “looked like someone from the same planet as I did”. Swinton was comforted that someone looking as unusual as her is brave enough to stick his face on an album cover. Decades later, Bowie called her up for a collaboration for the music video for The Stars (Are Out Tonight), where they played a middle-aged couple, much to her delight. Swinton is of course, an acclaimed actress who won an Academy Award for her role as an ambitious lawyer in Michael Clayton. She’s known for her androgynous looks, and often looks different for her roles, like in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Snowpiercer and the Grand Budapest Hotel. Bowie himself was a master of androgyny, fascinating fans worldwide with not only his music, but his personal style as well. His death at only 69 devastated fans, including Swinton, who paid a moving tribute to him at the CFDA Awards in 2016.
Daisy Ridley and Keira Knightley
They are both English and have Star Wars in common. Keira Knightley’s breakout role was in Bend It Like Beckham, where she played a teenage soccer player yearning to turn professional. She followed its success Stateside as Elizabeth Swann in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Thereafter, she starred in a string of period dramas, like Pride and Prejudice (where she was nominated for an Academy Award), Atonement and Anna Karenina. Before she became a much sought-after leading lady, Knightley had a tiny role in Star Wars: A Phantom Menace. She played handmaiden to Natalie Portman’s Queen Amidala, and was cast as Amidala’s decoy. Daisy Ridley began her journey to stardom with bit parts in TV series, music videos and short films. She was a relatively unknown when cast as Rey, the main protagonist in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Ridley’s performance earned rave reviews from both critics and fans. She will reprise her role as Rey in the episode 8 of the Star Wars saga.
