Anaïs Bordier always knew she was adopted. Her birth certificate said she was born in Busan, South Korea; an only child to a young, unmarried woman. Anaïs grew up in France in a loving home with loving parents. In February 2013 her whole life would change.
Now 25 years old, Anaïs was studying fashion in London when she stumbled upon a YouTube video featuring an actress in Los Angeles named Samantha Futerman. The resemblance was uncanny. Not only did they look nearly identical but they had similar mannerisms and idiosyncrasies; the only difference was their accent.
The YouTube video was a trailer which meant the actress (and doppelgänger) would likely have an IMDB profile. Anaïs was right, and when she brought up her profile it said Samantha was born on November 19, 1987 in South Korea. The date matched Anaïs’ birth certificate.
Could they actually be twins? The idea consumed her. Anaïs spent a long time composing a message to Samantha, telling her to compare their Facebook profiles and pictures. Samantha quickly replied, sending a picture of her birth certificate that said they were born in the same clinic on the same day.
The two quickly started chatting online; sharing pics, skyping and marvelling at how similar they were. The connection was instant and powerful. Samantha realized immediately that the story was special and began to document all of their correspondences.
Samantha decided to launch a Kickstarter campaign to see if anyone wanted to hear their story. People did and Twinsters was born. The documentary, which debuted at the SXSW Film Festival earlier this year, follows the two on their journey of discovery as they meet in-person and nurture their growing bond.
To confirm they were indeed ‘identical’, Dr Nancy Segal, a specialist in twin studies at California State University, offered to do a DNA test. After swabbing their cheeks together on Skype, they sent the results to Dr Segal who confirmed the results: Anaïs and Samantha were identical twins.
