Taylor Alexis Muhl (born November 5, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter, model, dancer, and awareness advocate. Muhl is the only surviving child of Eric and Sandra (Alex) Muhl, though she was conceived with a fraternal twin sister. Since birth, Muhl's body has been distinguished by the fact that the left and right sides of her torso are two conspicuously different colors, with the interface running right down the midline of her torso, both front and back. For many years Muhl, her family, and doctors believed the darker coloration on the left side of her torso was simply a very large birthmark. When Muhl was a young adult, it was finally discovered that she was a rare example of human

chimerism A genetic chimerism or chimera ( ) is a single organism composed of cells with more than one distinct genotype. In animals, this means an individual derived from two or more zygotes, which can include possessing blood cells of different blood ty ...

Early life

Muhl's mother was unaware she was initially pregnant with fraternal twin sisters. At an early stage of the pregnancy the two eggs fused, which left Muhl carrying her twin sister's

genes In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...

in her own body. This caused Muhl to be born with a genetic condition called human

. Not all cases of chimerism can be seen or detected from outside the body, but in Muhl's case it can be observed from an unusual physical trait. The coloration of Muhl's torso is split down the center by two clearly different colors of skin

pigment A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compo ...

ation, the darker color being Muhl's twin sister's DNA/

cells Cell most often refers to: * Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life Cell may also refer to: Locations * Monastic cell, a small room, hut, or cave in which a religious recluse lives, alternatively the small precursor of a monastery w ...

. Muhl and publicists describe this as making Muhl "her own twin." As a teen and young adult, Muhl faced

autoimmune In immunology, autoimmunity is the system of immune responses of an organism against its own healthy cells, tissues and other normal body constituents. Any disease resulting from this type of immune response is termed an "autoimmune disease". P ...

challenges and continued to go undiagnosed by every doctor she saw. She was told by doctors that the physical trait on her torso was just a

birthmark A birthmark is a congenital, benign irregularity on the skin which is present at birth or appears shortly after birth—usually in the first month. They can occur anywhere on the skin. Birthmarks are caused by overgrowth of blood vessels, melanocy ...

. Chimerism in humans is rare, with only 30–100 cases documented worldwide today. Muhl was only diagnosed in 2009, after being seen by a doctor who had previous experiences in

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...

and medical rarities.

Career

Muhl was originally trained as a dancer, and has since become a singer, songwriter, and model as well. A music video of her work was released in 2015. Muhl is the granddaughter of Hollywood mogul

Edward Muhl Edward Ellsworth Muhl (February 17, 1907 - April 22, 2001) was an American businessman and executive best known for being head of production for Universal Pictures from 1953 until his retirement in 1973. According to one writer, he played key ...

who was VP in charge of production at

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

from the 1950s–1970s. The elder Muhl oversaw movies such as '' Psycho'', '' The Birds'', ''

To Kill A Mockingbird ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a novel by the American author Harper Lee. It was published in 1960 and was instantly successful. In the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' has become ...

'', ''

Pillow Talk Pillow talk is the relaxed, intimate conversation that often occurs between two sexual partners, sometimes after sexual activity, usually accompanied by cuddling, caresses, kissing, and other physical intimacy. It is associated with honesty, sex ...

'', ''

Spartacus Spartacus ( el, Σπάρτακος '; la, Spartacus; c. 103–71 BC) was a Thracian gladiator who, along with Crixus, Gannicus, Castus, and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising ...

'', and others. Given the high visibility and need for publicity in these lines of work, Muhl was initially scared that her chimerism could have a negative impact on her career opportunities; thus, she kept it a secret outside of friends and family upon being diagnosed. Muhl had a change of heart in 2016 and decided to go public, making her the first person in the entertainment business to go public with this condition. Muhl has said that she hopes to inform, help, and inspire anyone experiencing differences or health challenges.

Spreading awareness of human chimerism

Muhl's first public appearance in spreading awareness of chimerism was in 2017 on the talk show '' The Doctors''. After appearing on the show, Muhl's segment went viral, resulting in millions of views on YouTube and hundreds of shares online. That happening is what made Muhl a public awareness advocate for chimerism,

body positivity Body positivity is a social movement focused on the acceptance of all bodies, regardless of size, shape, skin tone, gender, and physical abilities, while challenging present-day beauty standards as an undesirable social construct. Proponents fo ...

, and

deficiencies. Muhl has now appeared in more interviews, TV appearances, and documentaries. She's been reported on by

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

and many others. In 2018, Muhl was a featured guest on ''

Megyn Kelly Today ''Megyn Kelly Today'' is an American daytime talk show that was broadcast by NBC. Premiering on September 25, 2017, it replaced ''Today's Take'' as the third hour of NBC's national morning show ''Today''. The program was hosted by Megyn Kelly, wh ...

,'' where she shared with the audience how her particular case of chimerism is linked to

deficiencies, as her two sets of

gene In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...

s are not fully compatible with one another.

Other examples of chimerism

Lydia Fairchild Lydia Fairchild (born 1976) is an American woman who exhibits chimera (genetics), chimerism, having two distinct populations of DNA among the cells of her body. She was pregnant with her third child when she and the father of her children, Jamie ...

* Karen Keegan

References

External links

TaylorMuhl.com

Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muhl, Taylor 1983 births Living people American women singer-songwriters Female models from California American singer-songwriters 21st-century American women