SEEING DOUBLE
Remember Sweet Valley High? Here’s what the twins look like now 25 years after the show hit screens
EVER wondered what the twins who starred in Sweet Valley High are up to now?
From 1994 until 1997, twin sisters Brittany and Cynthia Daniel starred in the TV version of Sweet Valley High.
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The 90s series, which was loosely based on the wildly popular books by Francine Pascal, ran for four seasons - and arguably, had one of the best TV theme tunes ever.
The show was pretty simple, it was about two beautiful twin sisters who moved to the fictional Sweet Valley High in California.
Real life twins Brittany and Cynthia, from Florida, rose to fame playing Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield.
One of them was warm and friendly and the other played an irresponsible and mischievous character.
The show may have started over TWO decades ago, but time has definitely been kind to the real life sisters.
Now the twins are 45. Let’s take a trip down memory lane and see how the sisters are doing since the end of their on-screen Cali high school days…
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LIFE AFTER SWEET VALLEY HIGH
Brittany and Cynthia generally moved away from the spotlight when Sweet Valley High first ended in 1997.
But it didn’t mean they hadn’t had success; in fact, the popularity of the show earned both sisters a Young Artist Award in 1995.
Following the show’s end, the cast went their separate ways but there were some exceptions.
Castmates Manley Pope and Amy Danles got married in real life in 1999 and the twins were still the best of friends.
The sisters were 18 when the show began airing in 1994 but after three seasons mostly on Fox stations, the show moved to UPN for its fourth and final season in September 1997.
Then it was axed in October, due to low ratings.
The first of the Sweet Valley High book series was released in 1983 and the books continued to be published for the next 20 years.
Cynthia appeared to hang up her acting shoes after Sweet Valley High, but Brittany kept going in the spotlight.
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BRITTANY
Brittany played the wilder of the Wakefield twins, and she began working with her twin sister from an early age.
During Sweet Valley High, both sisters appeared in The Basketball Diaries alongside Leonardo DiCaprio.
Two years after the series came to an end, Brittany starred in her next role as Eve Whitman for four episodes in Season 3 of Dawson's Creek.
She went on to star in 2004's White Chicks, Joe Dirt, Joe Dirt 2 and US comedy shows The Game and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
In BET’s The Game, Brittany started as recurring character Kelly Pitts in Season 7, but by season 9, she was a series regular.
In 2005, Brittany’s role in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia saw her play a transgender woman and she starred in four episodes over the next five years.
In 2007, Brittney won Best Actress at the New York International Independent Film and Video Awards for her role in Last of the Romantics.
Her most recent role was in 2016, appearing on ABC show Black-ish.
However, Brittany’s life was hit by tragedy in 2011 when she battled blood cancer.
The star had stage IV non-Hodgkin's lymphoma - but she is currently cancer-free.
Speaking out about her fight to People in 2014, Brittany said: “I really wasn't afraid of dying. But I fought so hard to live because I could not leave [Cynthia] behind.'
“There is no way I would have ever gotten through this without my family. My family is everything to me and I feel like they saw me through this.”
The actress decided to break her silence to inspire others through their own cancer battles.
Brittany also married her boyfriend, California-based broker and attorney, Adam Touni, in a gorgeous wedding in 2017.
“We are overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and affection shared by our friends and family on this special day,” the newlyweds said to People.
“We are so grateful to have this kind of support as we start this journey together.”
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CYNTHIA
Cynthia, who played the sensible Wakefield twin Elizabeth in Sweet Valley High, appeared to give up her acting career once the popular show ended.
The twin, now 45, pursued a career in photography while her sister Brittany remained in the spotlight.
However, she did appear in one episode of That '80s Show in 2002 alongside her sister.
But other than her brief return to fame, Cynthia has switched her career and focused on her professional photography work and her studio, Five Arrows Photography.
In her personal life, Cynthia settled down with American film and television actor Cole Kenneth Hauser - you may remember Cole as the baddie in 2 Fast 2 Furious!
The couple, who have been married for 15 years, have three children together - two sons, Ryland and Colt, and a daughter, Steely Rose.
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THE SISTERS’ LIFE NOW
Over two decades on and the 45-year-old twins are still living fabulous lives and travelling the world together.
The sisters are super close and have been continuing to build their ‘twin’ empire - but now it’s taken a turn into the lifestyle genre.
In 2016, the sisters documented their enviable adventures on Instagram, with the hashtag #thetwintravelers.
They also launched an Instagram account, @, which featured shots of their enviable excursions.
Fans were left swooning over their travels in Mexico and watching in awe as they enjoyed wine tasting in Tuscany.
The duo then launched their own lifestyle blog called ‘The Sweet Life’ in 2017.
The lifestyle brand for women covers everything from fashion and beauty to clean eating, fitness, personal growth and wellness to travel, home décor and parenting.
They regularly post about the benefits of using crystals, crafting with feathers, and other DIY projects.
The twins rebranded their lifestyle brands to Sweet Collection XO and it’s clear they are just as close as they ever were.
They are constantly sharing pictures on social media of the two of them having fun!
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SWEET VALLEY HIGH REBOOT
Taking a look at their blonde bombshells' updates on their social media, life is still full of adventures - and they said their California-inspired blog was a long-time coming.
From celebrating the birth of Cynthia’s three children to navigating through Brittany’s cancer journey, the Daniels have been through plenty of highs and lows together.
They continue to thrive as twins and promote self-love as well as a healthy, balanced lifestyle.
But we might not have to be too sad at the thought we may never see Sweet Valley High again.
As in 2015, Brittany told Entertainment Weekly that she and her sister were interested to have a conversation with the book's creator.
She said: "We have a conversation with Francine Pascal in the next couple of weeks so, yeah, we're definitely interested in doing a reboot."
Francine published 2011's Sweet Valley Confidential, which took place when Jessica and Elizabeth were in their 30s - meaning a reboot could potentially see the Wakefield girls return as adults! We’re crossing our fingers.
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Plus, remember posh girl Cheska Hull from Made in Chelsea? She looks nothing like she did on the show now.
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