Lori and George Schappell (born as Lori and Dori Schappell; September 18, 1961) are
conjoined twins
Conjoined twins – sometimes popularly referred to as Siamese twins – are twins joined ''Uterus, in utero''. A very rare phenomenon, the occurrence is estimated to range from 1 in 49,000 births to 1 in 189,000 births, with a somewhat higher in ...
. George has performed as a country singer.
Careers
George has designed support equipment for people with physical disabilities, including a specialized wheelchair and a mobility aid for dogs.
As country singer Reba, George has performed widely in the United States and visited
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and
Japan and in 1997, 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.
Lori acts as George's facilitator. She works in a laundry, arranging her workload around his singing commitments. She says that, as a fan of his, she pays to attend concerts, just like all the other fans, simply making herself quiet and "invisible" while he is performing.
As conjoined twins, Lori and George have appeared in a number of
television documentaries
Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries.
Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film.
*Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...
and
talk show
A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Sh ...
s. They have also acted in an episode of the television series ''
Nip/Tuck
''Nip/Tuck'' is an American medical drama television series created by Ryan Murphy that aired on FX in the United States from July 22, 2003, to March 3, 2010. The series, which also incorporates elements of crime drama, black comedy, family dra ...
'', 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
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. This is the first time they were billed as Lori and George Schappell.
Personal lives
Born as Lori and Dori Schappell, they are craniopagus
conjoined twins
Conjoined twins – sometimes popularly referred to as Siamese twins – are twins joined ''Uterus, in utero''. A very rare phenomenon, the occurrence is estimated to range from 1 in 49,000 births to 1 in 189,000 births, with a somewhat higher in ...
joined at the head, but having very different personalities and living—insofar as possible—individual lives. 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 preferred to be publicly known as George.
Lori and George live in a two-bedroom apartment, each maintaining their own private space. He has several pets. She is a trophy-winning bowler. They respect each other's privacy in terms of work time, recreation and relationships. Lori has 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.
Media
Lori and George have appeared in the following programs or articles:
*Unknown year: ''
Jerry Springer
Gerald Norman Springer (born February 13, 1944) is a British-American broadcaster, journalist, actor, producer, former lawyer, and politician. He hosted the tabloid talk show '' Jerry Springer'' between September 30, 1991 and July 26, 2018, an ...
''
* 1993: ''
The Maury Povich Show
''Maury'', originally titled ''The Maury Povich Show'', is an American tabloid talk show hosted by Maury Povich that ran in first-run syndication from 1991 to 2022.
The series premiered in 1991 as ''The Maury Povich Show'' and was produced by M ...
''
* 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''
* 2000: The Learning Channel documentary ''Separate Lives''
* May 15, 2002: ''The Jerry Springer Show''; George was billed as Reba Schappell
Jerry Springer Episode
/ref>
* August 17, 2004: American TV show ''Nip/Tuck
''Nip/Tuck'' is an American medical drama television series created by Ryan Murphy that aired on FX in the United States from July 22, 2003, to March 3, 2010. The series, which also incorporates elements of crime drama, black comedy, family dra ...
'', 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
Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American radio and television personality, comedian, and author. He is best known for his radio show, '' The Howard Stern Show'', which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terr ...
''
* 2005 TV Documentary: '' Medical Incredible''. A documentary on Discovery Health Channel.
* 2005 TV documentary: '' Extraordinary People: Joined at the Head''; George was billed as Dori Schappell
* September 24, 2007: The Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
reality show '' Aksizei na to deis'' (''Worth Seeing'' – ''Αξιζει να το δεις'')
* 2007: The romantic comedy film '' X's & O's''
* 2007: TV documentary '' Inside Extraordinary Humans: Science of Conjoined Twins''
References
External links
*
*
Story about the twins from the New York Times
BBC – ''Sisters' Hope: Conjoined Twins''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schappell, Lori and George
1961 births
American country singer-songwriters
American Latter Day Saints
Conjoined twins
Converts to Mormonism
Living people
Musicians from Reading, Pennsylvania
People with spina bifida
American twins
Transgender men
People from Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania
Transgender singers
Singer-songwriters from Pennsylvania
Country musicians from Pennsylvania