Famous Sisters

Since The Summer of Firsts and Lasts is a book not just about summer camp but also about sisters, I have had sisterhood a lot on my mind. Mainly, I have been thinking about FAMOUS pairs of sisters, and what that must be like–being a sister with someone who is famous while you are, yourself, also famous. (Because sometimes just being non-famous sisters can be its own special handful.)

The first two to jump to mind, of course, are Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen. They not only have the sister thing to deal with, or the fame thing, but the TWIN thing as well. But –at least in public– they really seem to get along, have a good business partnership, are able to work together as a pair but also be individuals, have a relatively functional relationship, especially considering that they are billionaires who, combined, weigh probably 132 pounds. As The Summer of Firsts and Lasts proves, however, sometimes there’s a lot more going on in a sister relationship than either of them even know, let alone let on, so who knows about these two.

Another set of famous sisters I thought of were Jessica and Ashlee Simpson. It took me awhile to remember them, though, because you really don’t see them together that often.  I just thought it was a little odd that, even at their height of fame, they weren’t constantly mooshed together as a unit, and I wonder how that was for them–if it was a good thing or a bad one.

My very favorite pair of famous sisters are Crystal Gale and Loretta Lynn. I don’t know if it was the Crisco commercials or the Hee Haw episodes or the Coal Miner’s Daughter accents or the long swinging hair and wide skirts or what, but I was just entranced by them as a kid, and always have been since. The only thing I don’t like about “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” in fact –the movie with Sissy Spacek that I could watch a million times in a row– is that I don’t think there’s enough Crystal Gale in it.

I’m sure that there are plenty of other famous sisters that I’m not thinking of today. Who are YOUR favorite famous sisters??

And since I didn’t post last week, here are two weeks’ worth of Songs in my Head Upon Waking:

“Can’t Get No Satisfaction,” by the Rolling Stones; “Feelin’ It,” by Blink 182; “Here Comes Your Man,” by the Pixies; “Animal,” by Neon Trees; “California Dreamin’,” by the Mamas and the Papas; “Dancing in the Streets,” by Martha and the Vandellas; “Pillow Lips,” by Modern English

“Every Little Counts,” by New Order; “God & Suicide,” by Blitzen Trapper; “1999,” by Prince; “Teenage Dream,” by Katy Perry; “Love Shack,” by the B-52s; “Mandinka,” by Sinead O’Connor; “When I’m Kissing My Love,” by Bill Withers