Extraordinary black and white twins Marcia and Millie Biggs from Birmingham are set to start secondary school.
The eleven-year-olds were born on the same day from the same mother, but look very different with Millie being darker-skinned with black hair, and Marcia being lighter-skinned with blonde hair and blue eyes.
It’s not often one twin takes completely after the mother in both appearance and skin colour, with the other taking after the father, but in this remarkable case, they have.
Marcia inherited her mother’s fair complexion and golden brown hair while Millie takes after her dad Michael who is of Jamaican origin.
Their mother Amanda told the Daily Mail:
Even when they were at primary school, people would get confused. I’d pick them up after school and the other parents would stop me and say: “are they your daughters?”
When I said they were twins, they’d always be stunned. I notice a lot of people doing double-takes.
It does get a bit irritating sometimes, when you have people stopping you in the street all the time, but then I remember how beautiful they are and how lucky I am to have them and the irritation goes away.
There were a few teachers who didn’t believe them at first, but as they got to know them, they saw how similar they were.
Other than the differences in skin tone, they look almost exactly the same. They are both absolutely beautiful and they make me proud everyday.
They do absolutely everything together and they’re always making videos of themselves singing and dancing together.
Amanda continued:
When they were younger, Millie was always quite shy, but as she’s grown up she’s become a real bossy-boots. She’s very organised and in control, and is often telling Marcia what do.
Millie is our little princess, she loves to have clothes related to princesses and lots of dolls.
She’s obsessed with the colour pink as well, just like you’d expect from a little feminine girl. Marcia’s a lot more of a tomboy.
They’re both very outgoing and positive, which is wonderful. They’re great to be around, because they always make you simile.
I’ve devoted my who life to looking after them and I’ve treasured seeing them grow up together – they’re both really excited to be moving up to secondary school because they love to learn.
Millie is very good at maths, and Marcia has a talent for English, so it’s good that they have that bit of competition together.
Millie has become a little bit darker and her hair is curlier and tighter, whereas Marcia’s hair is more of a golden brown.
I’ve explained to the school, despite their differences, they are twins, and hopefully that will help to overcome any awkwardness.
The odds of a mixed race couple having one white and one black twin are a million to one, as skin colour is believed to be determined by up to seven different genes working together.
Amanda had to reassure their new school they’re actually related and I imagine their classmates will take some convincing as well.
