The mother of a pair of biracial twins, born in England in April 2020, has to constantly explain to strangers that her sons are brothers. Jade Ball said that her boys, Cole and Klay, raise many curious looks because they look so much different from each other.
The twins' distinct appearances didn't stand out until they were a few months old. Cole's brown hair and eyes and his light brown skin look so much like his father, Kade, a half-Jamaican. On the other hand, Klay has blonde hair, blue eyes, and pale skin, just like his mother.
Ball said people usually think she's joking when she reveals her sons are twins, but after strangers realize that the mother is telling the truth, their disbelief turns to fascination. The parents themselves were surprised by Cole and Klay's different looks since they have an older son, Cruz, two years old, who has mixed features.
"I never expected them to be born the total opposite of each other," Ball said.
Incredibly Close to Each Other
Though Cole and Klay's physical appearance differs, Ball said that the twins are incredibly close to each other. She said that her sons have such a beautiful bond, and if people see them more together, they could quickly tell that they are related.
She described Klay as the leader and the more confident twin who likes to try everything. On the other hand, Cole is reserved and loves to cuddle with his mom. The twins are also very close to their older brother.
The boys have recently gained some followers on Instagram, where their mother likes to share their photos. Ball has also been fielding interest from agencies who want to sign up the brothers as models.
According to Dr. Bryce Mendelsohn, a geneticist from the University of California, a person's physical appearance is a small representation of his genetic diversity. In some cases, these distinct markers may manifest all at once, while for most people, the markers appear through "randomly shuffling" of their biological makeup. There's a 1 in 500 chance for the kids to be born with different skin colors in a mixed-race family for twins.
More Biracial Twins
In 2017, Illinois twins Kalani and Jarani also got some media attention because of their appearance. Kalani looks like her Caucasian mother with white skin and blue eyes, while Jarani has her father's complexion and brown eyes as he's Black. Mom Whitney Meyer said she heard of biracial twins and thought it was quite rare until she gave birth to her daughters.
In 1997, another pair of biracial twins in the U.K. turned heads because of their skin color. Maria and Lucy look so different from each other that people thought they were just friends and not sisters. The twins' mother, Donna Douglas, said that she did a double-take when she saw her babies for the first time. Her daughters also have different personalities and preferences.
With her fair skin and red hair, Lucy loves art and design and attended Gloucester College, while Maria has brown hair and a caramel brown complexion. She took law and psychology at Cheltenham College.
Lucy said that there's some advantage to looking different because she and Maria have never been regarded as "two peas in a pod." People don't have trouble telling them apart as well.
