Lori and George Schappell

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Lori and George Schappell (born as Lori and Dori Schappell; September 18, 1961) are conjoined twins. George has performed as a country singer. In 2007, George, who was at that time known as Reba Schappell, stated that although he was born female, he identifies as male and changed his name to George.^{[citation needed]}

Careers[]

George has designed support equipment for people with physical disabilities, including a specialized wheelchair and a mobility aid for dogs.

As country singer Reba, George has performed widely in the United States and visited Germany and Japan and in 1997, won an L.A. Music Award for Best New Country Artist. He sang "Fear of Being Alone" over the credits of Stuck on You, a comedy film about a pair of fictitious conjoined twins.^[1]

Lori acts as George's facilitator. She works in a laundry, arranging her workload around his singing commitments. She says that, as a fan of his, she pays to attend concerts, just like all the other fans, simply making herself quiet and "invisible" while he is performing.^[2]

As conjoined twins, Lori and George have appeared in a number of television documentaries and talk shows. They have also acted in an episode of the television series Nip/Tuck, in which they played conjoined twins Rose and Raven Rosenberg.

On June 21, 2007, Lori and George took part in the grand opening of "Ripley's Believe It Or Not ! Odditorium" in Times Square in New York City. This is the first time they were billed as Lori and George Schappell.^[3]

Personal lives[]

Born as Lori and Dori Schappell, they are craniopagus conjoined twins joined at the head, but having very different personalities and living—insofar as possible—individual lives. As a mark of individuality, and disliking the fact that their names rhymed, George first chose to go by the name Reba, after his favorite singer Reba McEntire. By 2007 he preferred to be publicly known as George.

Lori and George spent the first 24 years of their lives living in an institution in Hamburg, Pennsylvania, in which the majority of patients were suffering from severe intellectual disabilities. Although neither is intellectually disabled, George's physical condition required special care. A court decision was made that their parents would be unable to care for them properly and they were removed and institutionalized. In the 1960s there were few hospital institutions for people who had special needs that were particularly unusual. In order that they might be placed in the institution, they were diagnosed as suffering from intellectual disability. When they reached adulthood, George, with the help of Ginny Thornburgh, wife of former Pennsylvania Governor Richard Thornburgh, fought to have this diagnosis overturned and they were able to go to college.^[4]

While Lori is able-bodied, George has spina bifida, which has caused growth restriction of his lower body and severe mobility impairment. They are therefore of very different heights, she being 5' 1" and he 4'4". There was no wheelchair that suited his unique condition, because to move around he must be raised to her height, to avoid undue strain upon his neck and back. The only thing on wheels that was the right height was a bar stool. Using this as the foundation, he designed the wheelchair that he currently uses.^{[citation needed]}

Lori and George live in a two-bedroom apartment, each maintaining their own private space. He has several pets. She is a trophy-winning bowler. They respect each other's privacy in terms of work time, recreation and relationships. She has had several boyfriends and was engaged, but lost her fiancé in a motor-vehicle accident. They celebrated their 50th birthday with a trip to London. ^[5]

In 2006, George was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in Reading, Pennsylvania. Lori did not join his faith, but has been supportive of his decision. In 2007, he decided to openly acknowledge that he was transgender, having self-identified as male from a young age.

Media[]

Lori and George have appeared in the following programs or articles:

• 1993: The Maury Povich Show
• September 11, 1997: The Unexplained :"The Twin Connection", as Lori and Dori
• September 12, 1998: The Howard Stern Radio Show
• October 7, 1998: Howard Stern
• 1998: A&E documentary
• 2000: The Learning Channel documentary Separate Lives
• May 15, 2002: The Jerry Springer Show; George was billed as Reba Schappell ^[6]
• August 17, 2004: American TV show Nip/Tuck, in the episode "Rose and Raven Rosenberg"; Raven was played by George (billed as Reba) Schappell; Rose was played by Lori Schappell
• May 31, 2002: Howard Stern
• 2005 TV Documentary: . A documentary on Discovery Health Channel.
• 2005 TV documentary: ; George was billed as Dori Schappell
• September 24, 2007: The Greek reality show (Worth Seeing – Αξιζει να το δεις)
• 2007: The romantic comedy film
• 2007: TV documentary

References[]

External links[]

• George Schapell at IMDb
• Lori Schappel at IMDb
• Story about the twins from the New York Times
• BBC – Sisters' Hope: Conjoined Twins
• New York, Best Doctors, Separation Anxiety