The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
84-year-old identical twins still dress alike
Whenever one goes shopping, they always buy two of everything.
Identical twin sisters Anne Mcqueen and Susan Briggs are alike in pretty much every way: They have the same interests, the same hobbies and — since they were infants — they have dressed the same.
It started with their mother dressing them alike, and once they could dress themselves, they decided to painstakingly continue the practice.
“We just have always been very identical,” said Mcqueen, 84. “All through our childhood and adulthood, we have dressed alike.”
“We’ve always worn exactly the same thing,” echoed Briggs.
Whenever one goes shopping for new clothes, they always buy two of everything.
The sisters — both of whom live in Salt Lake City, where they were born and raised — are often recognized when they walk around town together. Strangers sometimes do doubletakes.
“They really react, and it just cheers people up when they see two people alike,” said Mcqueen, who was born one minute before Briggs.
The sisters said that whenever they are going somewhere together, they have a phone call to coordinate their outfits.
“It isn’t to attract attention, we just like the same clothes,” said Mcqueen.
But there is definitely an element of devilish fun.
“When we get together, we just laugh and laugh and laugh,” said Briggs.
They’ve been celebrated for their sameness since they were born, but they’ve recently stepped into a new spotlight on social media. Mcqueen’s
grandson-in-law, Mikey Metcalfe, started sharing videos of them on Tiktok earlier this year, and the first post has more than 17 million views. He calls them “The Grandmas.”
In Mcqueen’s home, there is a painting of the twin sisters as children, and they look eerily similar to the terrifying Grady sisters featured in the 1980 horror film, “The Shining.” The Grandmas decided to order costumes online and dress up as the Shining sisters last Halloween, even saying the iconic line from the movie, “Come and play with us.”
“We love Halloween,” said Mcqueen, who lives with her husband.
The Grandmas — who have been featured on several news sites, including SWNS, a British news agency — ham it up and lean into the creepiness of it.
“I don’t think a lot of people have seen older twins that are best friends,” said Metcalfe, 22.
“We’re always doing fun things,” said Briggs, who lives on her own. “It keeps us young.”
Few people can tell the twins apart. Their own father, they said, could hardly distinguish between his daughters. The only notable physical difference, they said, is that Mcqueen has a little brown speck in her eye, while Briggs does not.
The sisters have had fun with their twin identity since the beginning. They like to confuse people — and dressing the same is one way they do that.
“We were camp counselors at one time and none of the campers could ever tell who their counselors were,” said Mcqueen.
The sisters are both retired health and physical education teachers; Mcqueen taught high school and Briggs taught junior high. Every year on April Fools’ Day, they would pull a prank on their students.
“Susan would walk in and start teaching with me in the class,” said Mcqueen. “We’d be in the same outfits. The students would just scream. They couldn’t believe it.”
The twins — who have another sister nine years younger — talk on the phone a minimum of five times a day, and they get together several times a week. They are both cat lovers, avid hikers and they watch all the same television shows, including “Survivor” and “The Voice.”
“We always call each other during the TV programs,” said Briggs.
The sisters said they seldom disagree, but when they do, “10 minutes later, we’re good friends again,” said Briggs. “We never go anywhere without telling the other where we are. It was always that way.”
Mcqueen has four children, 16 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Briggs has four children and six grandchildren, all of whom live out of state. Having her sister’s family around, she said, has been “wonderful.”
“We’re very good companions,” said Mcqueen.
The twins’ recent social media stardom has been another thing for them to bond over. While it has been a fun experience for them, they said, their main goal is to be a source of joy for others.
“The world is in such a terrible situation, and this has been bringing a little happiness,” said Mcqueen. “We hope we make a difference, just cheering some people up.”