THEN AND NOW: Former child stars you didn't realize had a twin
Talia Lakritz
- Scarlett Johansson, who started acting at age 9, has a twin brother named Hunter.
- Giovanni Ribisi got his start on '80s sitcoms and has a twin sister, Marissa.
Some child star twins, like "Sister, Sister" stars Tia and Tamera Mowry or "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody" stars Dylan and Cole Sprouse, rose to fame alongside each other playing twins onscreen. But some former child stars who grew up to become major Hollywood names have lesser-known twins.
Here are six sets of twins that you may not have known about.
As a child actor, Giovanni Ribisi starred in various sitcoms in the 1980s before becoming a movie star.
Ribisi made his television debut at 10 years old on "Highway to Heaven" in 1985, according to IMDb. Ribisi is pictured with costar Staci Keanan from "My Two Dads," which aired from 1987 to 1990. He also appeared in "Sidekicks" and "Blossom."
As an adult, he's starred in blockbuster films such as "Saving Private Ryan" and "Avatar," and TV shows, including "Sneaky Pete" and "Friends," in which he played Phoebe's brother, Frank Jr.
Ribisi's twin sister, Marissa Ribisi, is also an actor, best known for her role in "Dazed and Confused."
Marissa Ribisi took a break from acting and founded skincare brand LeSpot with her and Gionvanni's sister Gina, a professional makeup artist. In 2021, she appeared in "On the Verge," her first role since 2003, according to IMDb.
In 2020, she wished her twin brother a happy birthday on Instagram.
"Giovanni my twin, the man I have always looked up to," she wrote. "Who won't hear ill of me, who cried when I got my first role in many years, and who most importantly will always tell me if it's 'too much' or 'not enough.' Happy Birthday my sweet brother."
Scarlett Johansson booked her first acting job at 9 years old, and she went on to become one of Hollywood's biggest names.
In 1994, she played Laura Nelson in "North" alongside Elijah Wood, according to IMDb.
She has since joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the superhero Black Widow in the "Avengers" series. At the 2020 Oscars, she was nominated for best actress in "Marriage Story" and best supporting actress in "JoJo Rabbit," becoming only the 12th actor ever to be nominated twice in the same year, although she did not win either award.
You may not know that she has a twin brother named Hunter Johansson.
According to E! News, the "Avengers" star is three minutes older than her brother. Hunter earned a master's of public administration in nonprofit management from New York University and is the founder of Solar Responders, an organization that installs solar panels after natural disasters to aid first responders.
"If there is a truly altruistic person I know in my life, it's my brother," Johansson told People magazine in 2020. "He reminds me to be a better person all the time. I'm incredibly proud of him."
Noah Schnapp was 11 when he rose to fame as Will Byers on Netflix's "Stranger Things."
Before "Stranger Things," Schnapp voiced Charlie Brown in "The Peanuts Movie" and played Tom Hanks' son in "Bridge of Spies," according to IMDb.
Schnapp's twin sister, Chloe, is studying business administration at Northeastern University.
According to her LinkedIn page, Chloe Schnapp is also a social-media ambassador and the founder of Chloebelle jewelry. She has a large social-media following, with almost 1 million followers on Instagram.
Noah Schnapp, now 18, told Variety his twin sister was "ecstatic" when he came out to her as gay. He came out publicly in January.
"She said that she would've hated the idea of me marrying another girl and having to compete with that girl for my attention," he said. "The fact that now it'll be a guy, she was like, 'Oh, he'll be my best friend.'"
Willow Shields is best known for portraying Primrose Everdeen in "The Hunger Games" movies.
Shields began acting at 7 years old, appearing in the TV series "In Plain Sight" and the TV movie "Beyond the Blackboard" before landing her breakout role, according to IMDb. She was 11 when "The Hunger Games" was released in 2012, Entertainment Weekly reported.
She most recently starred in "Detective Knight: Independence" alongside Bruce Willis.
Shields, now 23, has a twin sister, Autumn, who once acted alongside her but mostly remains out of the public eye.
The character of Carrie Ingalls on "Little House on the Prairie" was played by twins Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush, but credited as one actor named Lindsay Sidney Greenbush.
The twins alternated playing the role of Carrie from 1974 to 1982, according to IMDb.
The twins retired from acting, but they continue to participate in "Little House on the Prairie" cast reunions.
After the show and a few commercials, the twins largely left show business and graduated from Santa Monica High School.
They most recently appeared together at a virtual cast reunion in March 2021 on the YouTube channel Stars in the House to raise money for charity.
Lindsay, who now goes by Rachel Lindsay (pictured center), performed in a production of "The Vagina Monologues" in 2016 with former "Little House" castmate Alison Arngrim. Her sister is pictured left.
Cali and Noelle Sheldon also shared a role as child actors, playing Ross and Rachel's baby, Emma, on "Friends."
One twin would appear on camera while the other napped.
"All of the cast were super nice to us, they treated us all like little princesses and when we had holidays and stuff, they'd give us little Christmas gifts," Cali Sheldon told Insider in 2019.
They most recently played twins named Becca and Lindsey in Jordan Peele's movie "Us."
They have had a handful of small roles since "Friends," their IMDb profiles show, and they appeared together in "Us" in 2019.
"'Us' was an awesome experience for us because we go to meet all really influential people and obviously you can actually really remember that, so it was cool to be on the set of a real movie," Cali Sheldon told Insider.
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