Before beginning my new book, The Pretty One, a novel about sisters published this week, I decided to research fictional sisters in literature and film, as well as real-life sisters of note.
My conclusion: there are few relationships more intimate, or more enduring, than those between close-in-age sisters. When sisters fight, the attacks are often vicious. If anyone knows your sore points, it's her.
Alternately, when sisters stick together, they're a human force-field, capable of accruing vast quantities of fame, capital, and, in some cases (see the Gabor sisters) men. Whether on account of rivalry, inspiration, or extra hand-holding, sisters also have a way of motivating each other to achieve.
No matter that some of those achievements are dubious. In the slideshow below of famous "sisters acts" of the English speaking world, the power of sisters is on robust display!
16 Famous Sister Acts
1) Kourtney, Khloe, and Kim Kardashian(01 of16)
At some point during the second half of the oughts, the big-haired, half-Armenian Kardashian trio, spawn of O J Simpson lawyer Robert Kardashian and Kris Jenner (ne Houghton), took over the title, formerly held by Paris and Nicky Hilton, of Reality TV’s most famous “sister act.” But whereas the Hiltons came from a long line of socialites—great grandfather Conrad Hilton founded the Hilton hotel chain—the Kardashians brought a nouveau riche, quasi-ethnic flavor to the proceedings. It was Kim who first broke onto the scene in 2007—like Paris before her, with an “illegally” distributed sex tape. In 2011, Kim got in trouble again-- for possibly staging a wedding to a NBA-er, Kris Humphries, for the purpose of maintaining ratings for the family’s hit show, Keeping up with the Kardashians. (Younger sister, Khloe, 28, also married an NBA-er, Lamar Odon.) More recently, it was oldest sister, Kourtney, 33, who came under attack for shamelessness in allowing the birth of her second child with husband Scott Disick to be filmed in graphic detail. The sisters also own a clothing boutique chain and lend their names to various low-end product lines involving plus-size jeans, sunless tanners, weight loss supplements, jewelry, fragrances, and, yes, “literature.” Kim made news again in January when her new boyfriend, music impresario Kanye West, announced on stage that the two (aka Kimye) are expecting. Ready yourself for another reality show, people! (Photo by Ki Price/Invision/AP) (credit:AP)
2) Pippa and Kate Middleton(02 of16)
Every little girl dreams of becoming a princess. The fairytale came true for pretty brunette Catherine Middleton, 31, when—after being dubbed “Waity Katie” for the number of years she had to feign an occupation while awaiting a ring—her college boyfriend, who happened to be Prince William, heir to the English throne, finally proposed marriage. But it was hot sister Pippa, who nearly stole the limelight during the royal wedding of 2011 when she appeared in a cowl-neck, tight fitting Alexander McQueen sheath. Since then, she’s been spotted gallivanting around London with various eligibly posh suitors and has published a widely panned book on entertaining. Meanwhile, the Duchess of Cambridge, as Catherine is now known, is pregnant with the third in line and not having an easy time of it. (In early December, she was hospitalized for a severe form of morning sickness.) As for the sisters’ relationship, they’re clearly tight. Though a note of bitterness can be detected in the introduction to Pippa’s party book when she writes, “It’s a bit startling to achieve global recognition (if that’s the right word) before the age of thirty, on account of your sister, your brother-in-law, and your bottom.”(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) (credit:AP)
3) Sasha and Malia Obama(03 of16)
Thanks to Mom and Dad’s commitment to providing their daughters with as normal an upbringing as possible (while still living in the White House), the public knows little about the progeny of Michelle Obama and the Leader of the Free World. But the sight of Sasha, now 11, and Malia, 14, standing on the podium with their famous dad and mom last month at the inaugural, suggests a level of poise and cuteness—and lack of bratty-ness--that few families of teens (or tweens) can hope to achieve. What’s more, Malia suddenly appears to be nearly the same height as her six foot one inch dad. For the moment, both girls are students at the Sidwell Friends School in D.C. But how cool would it have been if the Obamas had sent their daughters to public school instead? (Incredibly cool, but also unimaginable.) (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (credit:AP)
4) Mary-Kate, Ashley, and Elizabeth Olsen(04 of16)
For every child star who ends up a washed-up junkie, or at least appears to be one (see McCauley Culkin) fair-haired Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen, fraternal twins from Sherman Oaks California, are the counter example. On camera at 9 months, where they jointly played Michelle Tanner on Full House, they went on to become a two-woman tween entertainment and merchandising juggernaut with an estimated worth of $100 million. Now in their twenties, they’ve reinvented themselves as fashionistas with a social conscience, selling low-end designs at Walmart and high-end ones under the luxury label, The Row—all in keeping with the boho/rich hippie look that some credit Mary-Kate with having invented. Meanwhile, in 2011, younger sister Elizabeth, 23, electrified the film world with her performance in the critically acclaimed Martha, Marcy May Marlene, playing a sexually-abused cult member.(Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
5) Serena and Venus Williams(05 of16)
Coached by their parents on the public courts of Compton California, African-American tennis superstars, Serena and Venus Williams, now 31 and 32, have headlined the women’s tour for more than a decade. It was younger sister, Serena, only 17, who began their incredible run with her 1999 victory at the U.S. Open. Her sister, Venus, won Wimbledon the following summer. To date, Venus has nabbed 7 Grand Slam titles in singles, while Serena holds 15. Although Serena is best known for her powerhouse serve, it’s six foot one inch Venus who holds the record for the fastest serve ever recorded at a major tournament. (130 mph.) Over the years, Serena has also raised eyebrows on account of her outfits (she famously wore a black Lycra cat suit to the U.S. Open in 2002) and her bad temper on court, for which she has received fines. In recent years, both sisters have branched out—Serena with a fashion line and Venus with her own interior design firm. Despite having met in 8 Grand Slam singles finals, the sisters remain close, playing doubles together and watching each other’s single’s events. Immense wealth and success has not inoculated Serena and Venus from tragedy, however. In 2003, their older half-sister, Yetunde Price, then 31, was shot dead. Just recently, Polish tennis star Carolina Wozniacki came under fire for stuffing her bra and shorts in imitation of Serena’s full-figured physique. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) (credit:AP)
6) Emily, Charlotte, and Anne Bronte(06 of16)
It’s unlikely that the world will ever again encounter a set of literary siblings as awe-inspiring as the Brontes. Raised in a polluted town in the Yorkshire moors by their widowed father, Patrick, the painfully shy sisters reputedly wrote by candlelight long into the night. The result was at least three classics of English literature (“Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte; “Wuthering Heights” by Emily Bronte; and “The Tenant of Wildfell” by Anne Bronte), written under the respective pseudonyms: Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell. But brilliance was no match for tuberculosis, which wiped out the entire family in their relative youth. Ann Bronte died at 29 (in 1849), the same year as her brother, Branwell, an artistic wastrel and gambling addict upon whom the sisters had always doted. Emily was dead a year later, at 30. Charlotte made it to 38 when, newly married and pregnant, she too succumbed. But their Gothic accounts of lonely girls, cruel headmasters, and tortured romantics (see Healthcliff and Mr. Rochester) live on. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
7) Natalie Khawam and Jill Kelley(07 of16)
If the Real Housewives franchise had ever touched down in Tampa, it’s not hard to imagine that the Lebanese-American Khawam sisters, identical twins who became famous this past fall for their involvement in the David Patreus/CIA scandal, would have been headliners. Unpaid social “liaison” to the local air force base, Jill was the one who contacted the FBI about threatening emails she’d received from Petraeus mistress, Paula Broadwell—in the process revealing that she’d been carrying on a flirtateous email relationship with General John R Allen. Meanwhile, bankrupt sister Natalie, once married to a Bush administration official, came under scrutiny when it was revealed that both Petraeus and Allen had written affidavits on her behalf in a custody case involving her 4-year-old son. “My sister Jill and I aren’t just twins, we’re best friends,” Natalie sniffled at a recent press conference, backed up by ubiquitous celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred. “We love to cook together. I usually bake and she sautés.” Is it crazy to suggest that there’s a slight resemblance between the sisters and late-period Michael Jackson?(AP Photo/Cliff Owen, Chris O'Meara) (credit:AP)
8) Zsa Zsa, Magda, and Eva Gabor(08 of16)
Famous for their accents, their cleavage, their bouffants, and the frequency with which they married, the Hungarian-Jewish bombshells otherwise known as the Gabor Sisters escaped Budapest during World War II and appear never to have looked back. A former Miss Hungry, Zsa Zsa had her big moment in 1952 when she starred in John Huston’s original Moulin Rouge. She went on to marry 9 times and is still married to the 9th, the 26-years younger Frédéric Prinz von Anhalt, whose dubious credentials include an extra-marital affair with Anna Nicole Smith. (Zsa Zsa, the only living Gabor sister, is now 95, though reputed to be on a feeding tube.) Eva, who married five times, was best known for her role on the TV show, Green Acres, where, foreshadowing MTV reality show The Simple Life, she played a socialite forced to live on a farm. Magda, the eldest and a red-head, was married six times. The Gabor era might be over but the Gabor Wigs line continues to thrive. (AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
9) Paris and Nicky Hilton(09 of16)
The original Reality TV era “it girl” sisters, Paris and Nicky Hilton—deemed “celebutantes” for their High Society connections, frivolous lifestyles, and utterly meritless fame--epitomized the aspiring, materialistic noughts that led up to the Financial Crisis of ’08. Thin, blond, privileged, hard-partying (and frequently panty-less), Paris and Nicky Hilton appeared to while away the decade snorting coke in coastal nightclubs and sunbathing on luxury yachts—and the public was happy to come along for the ride and the views. Along with Nicole Richie, Paris starred in The Simple Life, while un-staged drama in the form of DIU busts and probation non-compliance forced Paris to spend time in jail, briefly, in 2007. Regulars in the tabloids and in trash magazines for nearly a decade, the Hilton Sisters’ moment might be over in the U.S. But Paris Hilton Stores, with 42 locations around the globe at present, is rumored to net the star $10 million in profits per year. Modeling, singing, and acting gigs continue to trickle in for both sisters, as well. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP) (credit:AP)
10) Lynn and Vanessa Redgrave(10 of16)
Grand dames of the English theater for close fifty years--and the progeny of veteran actors, Sir Michael Redgrave and Lady Rachel Kempson--the Redgrave sisters Lynn (deceased) and Vanessa, now 75, got their start in the early 1960s, doing Shakespeare. Extensive stage and film roles followed. Lynn was nominated for Academy Awards twice, for her roles in Georgy Girl (1966) and Gods and Monsters (1998), and had three children with actor John Clark, who later admitted to fathering a child with Lynn’s personal assistant, who went on to marry Vanessa’s son. (Yes, you read that right.) Vanessa received the Oscar nod 7 times, for her roles in Morgan, Isadora, Mary Queen of Scots, Julia, the Bostonians, and Howard’s End—winning finally for Julia (1977), in which she played a woman murdered by the Nazis for her anti-fascist activism. Not all were happy. The Jewish Defense League, ticked off by Vanessa’s public denouncement of Zionism and vocal support for the Palestinian cause, took to burning effigies of her. In 2009, Vanessa’s daughter, actress Natasha Richardson, died in a freak skiing accident. Her sister, Lynn, and brother, Corin, with whom Vanessa had founded the Workers Revolutionary Party (UK) died the following year.(Photo by Evan Agostini/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
11) Jessica and Ashlee Simpson(11 of16)
Singers and starlets Jessica, 32, and Ashlee, 28, have sold millions of albums, but it’s their romantic lives, weight struggles, and unusual baby name choices that have enraptured the tabloid-reading public. The co-star of the MTV reality show, Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica (2003), which chronicled her marriage to 98 Degrees singer Nick Lachey, ditzy blond Jessica was famous for remaining a virgin until marriage and appearing confused by whether Chicken of the Sea was tuna or actually chicken. Her biggest acting role after that was playing Daisy in the Dukes of Hazard remake. Meanwhile, little sister, Ashlee, burst onto the music scene in 2004 with a punker look and sound than her sister; she soon had her own reality show, as well. In 2008 Ashlee—who more or less admitted to getting a nose job--married rocker Peter Wentz, a coupling that produced a baby named Bronx. This past May, Jessica had a baby girl named Maxwell with retired NFL-er, Eric Johnson. Her 70 pound weight gain also led to a lucrative contract with Weight Watchers. How WW will use her latest baby bump to promote the brand remains unclear. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images for Wet Republic) (credit:Getty Images)
12) Diana, Unity, Nancy, Pamela, Jessica, and Deborah Mitford(12 of16)
Aristo/literary hotties whose romantic and political antics entertained Britain for decades during the early to mid 20th century, the Mitford sisters, of whom there were six in total, grew up in a grand country house in Oxfordshire, where they reputedly had their own private language called "Boudledidge.” However, the onset of World War II revealed the family’s divisions. Nancy, a political moderate who became a best-selling novelist (“The Pursuit of Love” and “Love in a cold Climate”), went to London to aid with the Blitz, while Jessica, a Communist supporter who emigrated to the U.S., married an RCAF pilot who went down in the North Sea. Meanwhile, Diana, a beautiful fascist sympathizer who married Oswald Mosley, was imprisoned for aiding the enemy. And frumpy Unity, a close personal friend if not girlfriend of Adolf Hitler (she went to Germany and essentially stalked him), became so distraught over England’s declaration of war against Germany that she tried to kill herself with a gun-shot to the head.Meanwhile, Pamela married a millionaire, kept chickens, and attempted to stay above the fray, while youngest sister, Deborah, age 92 and the only surviving Mitford sister, married the Duke of Devonshire, wrote books, and turned her husband’s ancestral seat, Chatsworth House, into one of Britain’s most visited stately home. (credit:Alamy)
13) Jenna and Barbara Bush(13 of16)
The twin daughters of President George W Bush and former librarian Laura, Barbara and Jenna, both 31, made waves when, while in college and following in the tradition of their former “alchie” dad, they were both busted for underage drinking. But as twenty-something’s, both appeared to get serious and then some. In 2007, Jenna, a part-time charter school teacher, wrote a book about her work with Unicef charities in Latin America—and in 2009 was hired as an education correspondent for the Today Show. Meanwhile, Barbara co-founded a public health-focused non-profit following her work with AIDS patients in Africa—and, in 2011, released a video with the Human Rights Campaign, urging New York State to legalize gay marriage. "In 2008, Jenna married Henry Hager, the son of a Republican politico; this past fall, shortly after being named editor at large of Southern Living magazine, she announced that they were expecting their first child. Meanwhile, edgier Barbara lives in Greenwich Village and is reputed to be in a long-term relationship with Miky Fabrega, a Panamanian graffiti artist.(Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)Note: In the original text, Barbara and Jenna's latest exploits were accidentally transposed. This has now been corrected. (credit:Getty Images)
14) Margaret Drabble and A.S. Byatt(14 of16)
Critically acclaimed English novelist, Margaret Drabble, 73, has published 17 novels, many of them concerning female protagonists caught between motherhood and intellectual pursuits. It so happens that her older sister, Antonia Byatt, 76, author of Possession (1990), which won the Booker Prize and was made into a film; and Angels and Insects, also made into an award winning movie, does the same thing for a living. You might conjecture that these two Dames of the British Empire meet for lunch every Tuesday to discuss the craft. In fact, the sisters barely speak; don’t read each other’s works; and, according to Drabble (in a 2011 interview with the Telegraph) began fighting for attention when they were both toddlers. Battles lines were further cemented in 1966 when Antonia published, The Game, a semi-autobiographical novel about sibling rivalry, a copy of which she sent to Margaret with a note that read, “I think I owe you an apology.” More recently, Antonia became enraged when she discovered that Margaret had written about a family tea set she’d been intending to write about herself. According to Drabble, “It’s irresoluble now. It’s sad, but beyond repair, and I don’t think about it much anymore.” (A third sister, Helen Langdon, is an art historian.)(Magaret Drabble photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) (credit:Alamy/Getty Images)
15) Britney and Jamie Lynn Spears(15 of16)
The most searched celebrity since the advent of the internet, peroxide-blond pop star, Britney Spears, who got her start on the Mickey Mouse Club, is also the best selling teen recording artist of all time. (Her 1999 debut album, . . . Baby One More Time, sold 26 million copies alone.) However, by the mid-00s, the tween idol’s erratic off-stage life began to garner more attention than her on-stage one. First, there was the after-midnight Las Vegas wedding (later annulled) to a childhood friend, to which Spears wore a baseball hat and was walked down by the aisle by a bellhop. Then, there was the whirlwind romance with back-up dancer, Kevin Federline, which produced two sons. At another point, she was photographed driving with her toddler son seated in her lap. By 2007, rehab beckoned, followed by the bizarre spectacle of Spears appearing to have a nervous breakdown in public; before cameras, she famous shaved all her hair off, Joan of Arc-style, at a salon in the Valley. Soon after, she lost custody of her children. During Britney’s troubled years, younger sister, Jamie Lynn, one-time star of the Nickelodeon show Zoey 101, appeared to be the Normal One. That was before Jamie, then 16, announced she was pregnant and having a baby with boyfriend, Casey Aldridge. For once, Britney, who had waited until age 23 to procreate, looked like the sane one.(Photo by Frank Micelotta/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
16) Euphrosyne, Aglaia, and Thalia (The Three Graces)(16 of16)
In Ancient Greek Mythology, the daughters of Zeus and the nymph, Eurynome, were known as the Charities or the “Three Graces.” The Youngest, Aglaia, symbolized beauty or splendor; Euphrosyne, mirth or delight; and Thalia, good cheer. When in the divine world, the Graces served as special attendants to Aphrodite and Eros; sang to the Gods on Mount Olympus; and danced in a circle while Apollo played his lyre. While in the human world, they were understood to be envoys of happiness and goodwill. As such, they were the frequent subject of paintings by everyone from Botticelli to Picasso. They were sculpted by many others, mostly famously Antonio Canova, in whose marble masterwork from 1817 the Graces appear to be embracing in the nude. In ancient times, the Three Graces were mostly shown with their clothes on; by the time Raphael got to them in the beginning of the 16th century, more often than not they appeared in the buff. (credit:Alamy)