Австралийские близнецы Гейл и Джиллиан Блейкни

Australian identical twins

Gayle and Gillian Blakeney are Australian identical twins who performed together as actresses and as a dance/pop duo in the 1990s, releasing music under the monikers The Twins and Gayle and Gillian. Born in Brisbane on 9 July 1966, Gayle is older by nine minutes. They are most widely known for their stint in the soap opera Neighbours, as twins Caroline and Christina Alessi.

The girls knew from a young age that they wanted to be on television. After begging their mother to take them to singing lessons, she finally agreed and this led them to various talent quests around South East Queensland. As first prize at one event on the Gold Coast the girls won entry into a televised talent show on the Nine Network. Gayle and Gillian then starred in numerous television commercials around Australia – including a series of Kelloggs' Corn Flakes commercials. In 1979 they decided to take the next step and auditioned for a lead role in a children's telemovie pilot called "Earth Patrol" starring Spike Milligan. Gillian won the lead children's role of Cassie. However, the producers were delighted with both twins' auditions and planned to write Gayle into the series as her twin sister if the pilot was successful. The pilot was not accepted. The sisters continued their career in 1980 when they appeared in a video clip for the Australian group The Monitors’ track "Singin' In The '80s", wearing make up in the style of rock band Kiss. They also appeared in other music videos by The Monitors between 1980 and 1982, most notably "Nobody Told Me" (dressed as schoolgirls in a jail) and "Having You Around Me" (dressed as 'beach babes'). The sisters also presented "Take Your Pick" with Des O'Connor. The sisters have contrasting personalities. When sharing a flat together, Gillian did the man about the house DIY work, while Gayle did the cooking and housework.

In 1983 they joined the team on the successful national children's programme Wombat, along with the puppet Agro. They enjoyed their roles as reporters for the next seven years. The program also included an ongoing mock soap opera segment. Another advertising appearance took place in the mid 1980s, in a series of futuristic commercials for Coca Cola, featuring Max Headroom. The duo signed a recording contract with Mushroom Records in 1990, before taking up roles in soap opera Neighbours as Caroline Alessi (played by Gillian) and Christina Alessi (played by Gayle). The record label put their deal on hold until the duo could build up an international profile with their TV roles. and #45 on the Scottish chart). Afterwards the two made a brief return to television, this time as assistants on the Thames Television revived game show Take Your Pick replacing Jodie Wilson. While working in the UK, they also acted on stage. In 1994, the sisters moved to the United States (where they still reside today, as both call Los Angeles home) to pursue acting roles, landing guest spots on various film and TV projects, such as playing ballerinas in Silk Stalkings. The sisters are married and have children (Gayle has three, while Gillian has one daughter). As of 2015, the Blakeneys have moved on to launching companies and building brands, with Gillian running a scarf line. In June 2019, it was announced that both sisters would be reprising their roles on Neighbours in September, which would be for a three episode stint.