The world’s oldest conjoined twins have died at the age of 62.
Lori and George Schappell passed away at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Despite having fused skills, and sharing part of their brain and vital blood vessels, the siblings defied predictions they would not live past 30.
Born as twin girls, they also became the first same-sex conjoined twins to identify as different genders when George announced he was transgender in 2007.
The cause of their deaths has not been made public, but they passed away on 7 April. As of 2022, they became the oldest living conjoined twins in the world.
Having lived independently from the age of 24, the twins travelled widely and found a way to pursue separate interests, with George forging a career as a country singer and Lori a trophy-winning tenpin bowler, according to their obituaries, published by Pennsylvania-based Leibensperger Funeral Homes.
Lori also worked in a laundry, working around George’s gig schedule, which included tours in Germany and Japan. Lori was able-bodied, and helped her brother, who had spina bifida, get around in a wheelchair.
Over the years, they have appeared in many documentaries and talk shows, as well as appearing in an episode of Nip/Tuck, their obituaries stated.
The pair frequently asserted their desire not to be separated. George told a documentary in 1997: “Would we be separated? Absolutely not. My theory is: why fix what is not broken?”
The siblings are survived by their father, six siblings, several nieces and nephews, and many friends.