A poster for the movie "Chained for Life"

Two of the most scandalous and dramatic conjoined twins in modern history were undoubtedly Violet and Daisy Hilton, pygopagus twins born in Brighton, England on February 5, 1908. According to the official biography written as part of their stage act, their mother was unmarried so the babies were quickly and quietly sold to a local midwife. Their guardian, Mrs. Mary Hilton, was a tyrant who held the twins against their will for nearly twenty years. She forced them into a life in show business where they sang, danced, and played the saxophone and violin. After a dramatic escape and court case, Violet and Daisy finally gained their independence. The Hilton sisters' career, now under their own control, blossomed. They performed in the 1932 film Freaks and several years later starred in Chained for Life, a lurid tale in which one sister stands accused of murder, but questions are raised as to the fairness of sending her to jail if her inncoent sister must go as well. Both sisters eventually married, but neither of their marriages were successful (Daisy's to performer Buddy Sawyer, lasted ten days.) By the 1960s, their careers had ended. Violet and Daisy lived for several years in North Carolina, where they worked in a local grocery store as check-out clerks. In January, 1969, Violet and Daisy died of complication of influenza.