11 A-list sisters proving the best things come in twos

You’ve all heard of the iconic Hollywood duos whose names are often mentioned in the same breath. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, George Clooney and Brad Pitt, Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, to name a few. But there’s an extra sprinkle of Tinseltown magic when it comes to famous stars who are related – their talent runs in the family.

From Beyoncé and Solange in the 90s, to the Olsen twins in the early 00s and the Kylie and Kendal Jenner sisters in the last decade, sisters have long been ruling the screen and music scene in Hollywood.

Read on to discover more about the best A-List sister duos teams, including how Kate and Rooney Mara bonded over terrible auditions and Gigi and Bella Hadid’s shared experience of 6.30am starts at their horse barn before finding fame.

In their journey from child stars to fashion moguls, Mary-Kate and Ashley are synonymous with Noughties culture and are among the most famous of Hollywood’s sisters. The duo pair started their acting careers at just nine months old, in the 90s sitcom Full House.

When the comedy show ended in 1995, the twins went on to star in several films together, using their sister status and acting talent to secure more roles.

Their parents founded a production company, Dualstar, which they became co-presidents of on their 18th birthday in 2004, the same year they starred in their last film together, New York Minute.

While Ashley retired from acting that year, Mary-Kate stayed in the industry a few years longer, retiring in 2012.

While their acting era may have been over Leaving the world of the silver screen behind, the twins turned towards their shared love of fashion, founding the luxury clothing line The Row in 2006. It’s a brand that has since been worn by stars like Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber.

These acting powerhouses had their first role together in the 2001 film I Am Sam, where Elle played a younger version of Dakota’s character.

Choosing separate roles, Elle is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Catherine the Great in the Hulu series The Great, as well as playing an enchanting Aurora opposite Angelina Jolie’s Maleficent in the live-action retelling of Sleeping Beauty.

Dakota, meanwhile, has acted in well-known franchises like The Twilight Saga and Netflix’s The Perfect Couple.

While their careers have taken Dakota and Elle on separate paths since then, the sisters have shared that they are working on a film together, their first in over two decades.

Elle told Entertainment Tonight: “It was so exciting and special to finally find a script. We’ve been looking for something for so long, and this story is completely a sister story. That’s the heart of it. What more could we ask for?”

In 2021, they also set up a production company together, called Lewellen Pictures.

In a surprising royal twist, the sisters are distantly related to Princess Kate!

The tennis-playing legends were born in the early 80s and were taught to play the sport by their father, Richard, becoming professional players when they both turned 14.

In 1999, Serena – the younger of the two sisters – made history when she claimed victory in the US Open. At just 17 years old she became the first African American woman to win a grand slam tournament since the 1950s

Across the pond the following year, 20-year-old Venus emerged victorious from Wimbledon, and from there, the sisters continued to dominate on the tennis world stage, often competing against each other for titles.

The duo also combined their skills to win three gold medals at the Olympics in women’s doubles.

Venus and Serena have a combined net worth of $400 million (£312m), made up in part of their joint investments in several companies. They are also both minority owners of the Miami Dolphins NFL team.

Margaret and Rainey were born during the 13-year marriage of Four Weddings and a Funeral actress Andie Macdowell and model and rancher Paul Qualley.

Rainey, 35, is multi-talented: she is both an actress and a model, having worked for brands like Gucci and Louis Vuitton. She is also a singer-songwriter, releasing several tracks under the name Rainsford – with music videos starring the likes of Cara Delevingne.

Her 29-year-old sister Margaret is also an actress – and while she tried her hand at modelling like her older sister, she has expressed a preference for acting. Margaret is married to producer Jack Antonoff, who has famously co-written many songs with Taylor Swift.

Rainey supported her younger sister at her wedding, and the two have stayed close.

While recent reports have focused on the alleged feud between the two sisters, Miley and Noah Cyrus are forever known as the singing sisters who have grown up in the spotlight as part of a very famous Hollywood family.

The two singers have performed onstage together and publicly supported each other’s work on many occasions.

However, their relationship hasn’t always been smooth. During an Instagram live, Noah spoke about the realities of living with a famous sister – a topic she touched on in her track The End of Everything. She said: “I think just the message in the second verse, Being born in the family I was in, everyone gave me such a hard time for having a hard time being Miley’s little sister. ” she explained. “But you know, I always felt like I was that person that no one gave a sh*t about due to what people said to me online. It was absolutely unbearable.” 

And that’s why I write, ‘My sister’s like sunshine, bringing good light wherever she’ll go/and I was born to rain clouds, blessed in her shadows.’ Because, that’s why 

She added: “Everybody always says to me, that no matter what, I was going to be in that shadow.”

Despite what she was told, Noah has struck out on her own and made a name for herself in the music industry. apart from her big sister, For her part, Miley has revealed that she passes advice onto Noah about making life in the spotlight easier, like staying offline and not reading social media comments.

The daughters of two major NFL families, Kate and Rooney took up acting at a young age. In fact, Kate has spoken about doing her first “really horrible play” aged nine.

Rooney, 39, is married to Joaquin Phoenix and is best known for starring opposite Daniel Craig in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. She has also had major roles in Lion, The Social Network and Carol, among others.

Meanwhile, Kate, 41, has starred in House of Cards, Fantastic Four, and Brokeback Mountain. The 41-year-old is also married to an actor, having tied the knot with Billie Elliot star Jamie Bell in 2017.

Being the older of the two, Kate had been acting for years before Rooney followed in her footsteps. She told ABC news says she didn’t have any acting friends before her sister came along, so there was never any competition between the pair. 

“So from the time I was 14 ‘til, I think, my sister started acting when I was 20, 21, I didn’t have someone to share this craziness with,” Kate told the publication. “So when she became an actor, we actually lived together in my apartment for the first year or two.

“We would both go on auditions and come home and talk about the terror of certain auditions and funny stories and so it just became something super special that you can actually bond with a sibling with which is very rare.”

Kate previously shared how important it was to her to have a sister in the same industry, so that they could relate to each other over similar experiences.

The superstar singing sisters were born five years apart in Texas, to business professionals Mathew Knowles and Tina Knowles-Lawson. As youngsters, Beyoncé and Solange both attended acting and singing classes.

At just 10 years old, Beyoncé formed the group Girl’s Tyme, which – under her father’s guidance – was renamed Destiny’s Child.

He wrote via Instagram: “When Beyoncé and Solange showed an interest in music at a very young age, Tina and I (who were already corporate professionals and entrepreneurs) didn’t attempt to downplay their passions.

“Rather, we encouraged them, we guided them, we supported them. As long as they took it seriously and strived to be the best they could, we were happy with whatever career path they chose.”

While Solange filled in for the group as a backup dancer in 2002 aged 15, but went on to forge her own solo career. In 2003, Beyoncé also began releasing music as a solo artist, and the two sisters have been supporting each other’s careers ever since.

The pair have worked together on their family clothing brand, the House of Deréon, and Solange has co-written several of Beyoncé’s songs. The duo even performed at Coachella together.

With both sisters regularly walking the runway for major fashion brands, supermodel duo Gigi and Bella could just as easily have been professional rivals. But instead, they make sure to support each other at every opportunity.

Speaking to Glamour, Bella said: “We’ve always been close. As kids, especially on weekends, our mum would drive us to the barn at 6.30am, and we would spend the day together riding our horses, and washing and cleaning them.”

Bella has also referred to Gigi as her “built-in best friend”.

Joey King is an established figure on our screens, having shot to prominence acting opposite then-boyfriend Jacob Elordi in the Kissing Booth films, and has since acted opposite many Hollywood stars in films like Bullet Train, and A Family Affair. She was also commended for her chilling performance as Gypsy-Rose Blanchard in The Act.

Joey’s older sister, Hunter, 30, is better known for her acting on the Hallmark Channel, featuring in four films to date. She is set to star opposite Tyler Hynes in Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story Christmas 2024.

The acting duo have a close relationship. Joey told Howard Stern in an interview: “My sister is the single-handed most supportive person I’ve ever met. Her and I, we’ve been best friends since we were little. Her and I just vibe. I love her so much.”

Speaking to Us Weekly, Hunter shared her thoughts on working with her sister: “It would be a dream. We have talked about teaming up for something and trying to figure out what the perfect project is for the two of us.

“We want to actually play sisters. Because the one time that we worked together, we did not play sisters. We played enemies.”

No roundup of famous sisters would be complete without a mention of the Kardashian-Jenner clan. Kendall and Kylie had their start as reality stars on Keeping Up with the Kardashians, where their sisterly bond grew as they did.

Kendall told Vogue: “Even with my little sister — The biggest thing we would fight over was the TV remote. There was never that who’s-better-dressed, who’s-prettier thing. It was always: You’re you, I’m me.”

The supermodel and businesswoman sisters her entrepreneur sister have gone into business together, having launched various makeup and clothing lines.

Via her website, Kendall wrote: “We’ve always remained close, but over the years the two of us have just matured. We’ve really kind of found our own identities, which I think was important to us both. For years we were really stuck as a duo and now we’ve truly become our own people.”

The twins rose to fame when they starred in the sitcom Sister, Sister, the first of many films they would act in together, including Twitches. They also had their own reality TV series: Tia & Tamera, which ran for two years. Both sisters have continued to have acting careers, albeit separately.

Tia told Us Weekly that while their bond is still strong, the physical distance between them has been challenging as she lives in Los Angeles while Tamera lives in Napa.

She said: “I feel like as we grow up, we all start our own families and their children need to lean on them. We begin to take on new roles and responsibilities within our lives. That is what that was all about.

“In these transitions in life, sometimes you just want a hug and you just want someone to be as accessible as they used to be, and that is not the case. It’s called life.”

She added: “I love my sister very much. She loves me very much. We have a closeness and a beautiful connection… But that’s what that was all about. It’s just how life unfolds, and it happens with many families.”