Lori and George Schappell, world's oldest conjoined twins, die aged 62 after defying doctors' odds

Publish date: 2024-05-29

Lori and George died on April

The world's oldest conjoined twins, Lori and George Schappel, died aged 62 on April 7. 

According to their online obituaries, the twins passed away at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Their cause of death remains undisclosed. 

Lori and George were craniopagus twins, meaning they were joined at the head and shared 30 per cent of their brains, and defied all medical professionals who predicted they wouldn't live past the age of 30. 

Despite being conjoined, they lived independent lives. George was a successful country singer, while Lori was a trophy-winning ten-pin bowler. 

She also worked at a hospital laundry for several years during the ‘90s, arranging her schedule around George’s gigs, which took them around the world to countries including Germany and Japan, according to the Guinness World Records. 

Lori was able-bodied but George, who had spina bifida, was confined to a wheelchair which his sister pushed around. 

In 2007, they became the first same-sex conjoined twins to identify as different genders after George, formerly named Dori, came out as a transgender man. 

You may also like

They lived independently in a two-bedroom apartment in Pennsylvania and had a room each, alternating whose room they slept in each night. 

The twins showered separately, using the shower curtain as a barrier while one showered and the other stood outside the bath. 

They took turns practicing their separate hobbies; they said they effectively "zoned out" when in each other's room.

 As well as appearing in documentaries and on numerous talk shows including and T, they had cameos in an episode of Ryan Murphy's , according to their obituary. 

Despite trying to maintain separate lives, Lori and George never wished to be separated. 

"Would we be separated? Absolutely not. My theory is: why fix what is not broken?" George said in a 1997 documentary. 

The Conjoined Twins Who Live Separate Lives | Our Life

Lori added: "Just because we cannot get up and walk away from each other doesn't mean that we cannot have solitude from other people or ourselves. People who are conjoined can have a very private life." 

Lori and George are survived by their father, six siblings, several nieces and nephews, and an extended family of friends.

Sign up to HELLO Daily! for the best royal, celebrity and lifestyle coverage

By entering your details, you are agreeing to HELLO! Magazine User Data Protection Policy. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information, please click here.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qbHLpaammZeWx6q6xGeaqKVfmLKtscGroK2hlah8dn2WbW1sZ6ekv62w0mampZyVqMFur86noaihnpqxbsDWoqWsZZykv6p5xp6mq5%2BVYsCktMCpp56knGKxpq3DZpignZRig3N7