Daisy and Violet Hilton were English-born entertainers, who were conjoined twins. They were exhibited in Europe as children, and toured the United States sideshow, vaudeville and American burlesque circuits in the 1920s and 1930s. They were best known for their film appearances in Freaks and the biographic Chained for Life (1951).
Hilton twins c. 1927
Daisy and Violet as children
The Hilton sisters, aged four
Aged eight
Freaks is a 1932 American pre-Code drama horror film produced and directed by Tod Browning, starring Wallace Ford, Leila Hyams, Olga Baclanova, Roscoe Ates and Harry Earles.
1932 theatrical release poster
Critic Jon Towlson notes that the everyday interaction between the able-bodied and disabled circus performers serves to uphold an anti-eugenics sentiment.
Johnny Eck as Half-Boy and Angelo Rossitto as Angeleno
Freaks lobby card