Drama Queens
From St Mary’s in Naas to stardom in LA. That’s the plan for Christine and Elizabeth, Kildare’s bombshell twins...
THEY are self-proclaimed ‘bombshells’ who model themselves on Hollywood icons such as Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield.
But Kildare twins Christine and Elizabeth Mulhern are about to make a name for themselves after starring in a James Bond spoof to hit our screens next summer.
Shot on location in London, Southampton and Venice, Spy-fail is a comedy take on the guns and glamour storylines of the 007 series.
Elizabeth said: ‘It’s a spoof, so it’s comedy, it’s completely up our alley. We met the producer and director in Cannes at the film festival this year. He said we were perfect for the part. He said he was looking for glamorous kind of bombshell girls.’
At first glance the twins could be mistaken for American pin-ups with their big lips, slim bodies and piercing eyes. But the actors point out that they are Irish girls at heart. They attended St Mary’s College in Naas before studying in the Gaiety School of Acting. After getting a firm grounding in their trade that they headed off for LA seven years ago to further their studies.
Elizabeth said: ‘Ever since we were kids acting was all we ever wanted to do. We did speech and drama lessons and then our dad bought us a video camera when we were 10 and then we started making videos. We did courses here at the
‘The director wanted glamorous girls’
Gaiety School of Acting.
‘But we always had a bee in our bonnet, we really wanted to go to LA. We studied for four years over there. Then we started getting acting work.’
And while the 27-year-olds are often the subject of risqué comments from admiring men, they quickly brush it off.
Christine said: ‘We do get the odd smart comment from guys because we’re twins, but we just brush it off. We use our wits to work around that.
‘The glamour wasn’t intentional. We have always been into that Fifities-Sixties old Hollywood glamour and the bombshell look. We love Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield – they are our idols.
But despite their stunning looks, Christine admitted they have faced a lot of rejection in Hollywood.
She said: ‘Being Irish is definitely an advantage without question – they love the Irish in LA. But there is a lot of competition over there. It comes hand and hand with this industry. It’s part of the territory. It takes getting used to.
‘We’re constantly going from audition to audition and you win some and lose some. But it’s great to have each other. We’re not just twins, we’re best friends, so we are always there for each other, which is good in this business.’
Not content with landing acting roles, the twins have also been working hard on side projects.
Elizabeth said: ‘ We have a production company as well. We have filmed our own pilot, which is a comedy as well. It’s along the lines of Absolutely Fabulous, The Simple Life with Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie. It’s a parody of a few different shows.
‘It’s off-the-wall kind of humour. We are going to reproduce that next year when we go back to LA. In the next year we will definitely do something with that.’
Although back in Ireland for much of the last year, the twins will return to LA after Christmas, where they hope their recent Spyfail roles will open more doors in the industry.