Things You Might Not Know About Sister, Sister

Sister, Sister was one of those ever-so-popular and beloved family sitcoms from the ’90s. The ABC show told the story of two identical twins who were separated at birth and adopted into different families, but later reunited as preteens. The show ran for six seasons from 1994 to 1999 first on ABC and later on the WB network. It’s been a long time since the show was on the air and both girls have since moved on to new careers, but there have been talks of a potential Sister, Sister reunion so let’s take a look back at 8 things you didn’t know about the beloved show!

8. Story Behind Developing Sister, Sister

Tia and Tamera Mowry convinced their mother to up and move their family to California at the age of 12 so they could pursue a career in acting. The twin’s career started by appearing in a few commercials and taking on small roles on television. Their big break came when a producer saw the twins on the set of Full House which in turn led to them developing the series Sister, Sister!

2

7. Theme Song

The theme song for Sister, Sister was so unbelievably catchy and what many people don’t realize is that it’s actually sung by the two sisters, Tia and Tamera! “A lot of people don’t know that,” said Tamera in an interview with Hollywood Life. “In the beginning we’re lip syncing and dancing to the theme song, but we actually are singing it.” The first four seasons had a theme song with crying babies where the girls reunite under one roof — this wasn’t the one performed by the twins, but in the fifth season the song is remixed with Tia and Tamera’s actual voices!

3

6. Beauty Mark

The best way to differentiate between Tia and Tamera Mowry is to remember that Tamera has a beauty mark under her left eye. When Sister, Sister first started the producers wanted them to alike as much as possible, so they would draw a beauty mark on Tia’s cheek to match the one on her sister.

4

5. Diet Pills

The pressures of Hollywood can be daunting as a young actress, and Tia Mowry definitely felt the burden. Now that she is a healthy adult who promotes clean eating and a healthy lifestyle, she’s come forward to admit that she took diet pills while working on the set of Sister, Sister. “I didn’t feel fat, but the pressure of being on television and wanting to look sexy and beautiful took over. I’m not proud of it. I got skinny, true, but the pills caused my heart to race, and I knew in my gut that I was hurting myself,” said Mowry.

5

4. No Sibling Rivalry On-Set

In an interview with Life & Style, director Art Dielhenn said that Tia and Tamera Mowry weren’t just average teenagers or sisters who would squabble over this and that — they were actually best friends who had amazing chemistry. They never fought on set and stayed true to themselves and their characters, who reflected their real-life personas. “They finished each others sentences. They knew what each other thought and they could answer questions for one another. Tamera was a little more of a clown, and Tia was a bit more serious,” said show creator Kim Bass. They each picked their roles by deciding which one they would have more fun playing.

6

3. Snacks on Set

In an interview with Tia Mowry, she reflected on what it was like being on set as a kid. One of her favorite things that she took advantage of was the never ending supply of junk food! “TV sets are always catered, so I was surrounded by junk food 24/7. To my teenage self, it was like living in a Willy Wonka chocolate factory. Everything I wanted was at my fingertips: Twizzlers, M&M’s, Starbursts, potato chips, you name it. And if something I craved wasn’t there, all I had to do was ask: ‘Chocolate chip cookies, please?’ And they simply appeared. It was heaven,” said Mowry.

7

2. Gum Wall

Tamera Mowry shared one of her best kept behind the scenes secrets with People magazine and it involves gum and a peace sign! Mowry recounted the story and said: “We used to love to chew gum, as any teenager loves to do. We made a peace sign out of our gum on the back of our kitchen wall set, so whenever you see Tia and I walking down the stairs into our kitchen set, they used to always get mad at us cause we always had gum in our mouths, so Tia and I were like, OK, lets just make a gum wall. So we would take the gum out and stick it. We eventually made this huge entire peace sign. And then years later, around year 5 the health inspection people came in and they were like ‘This is absolutely disgusting!’ And they had to get rid of it.”

8

1. Favorite Flashback Moment

When the twins look back on their time working on the show, there’s definitely a lot of really special moments, but the one that stands out the most to Tamera is from their first day on set. “My favorite flashback moment from Sister, Sister I would have to say, would be our first day of working. We were at our table read and I remember looking at my sister, just asking ourselves, ‘I cannot believe,’ we wanted to pinch ourselves. ‘Are we really doing our own show? Are we really doing our own show together?’ I will never ever forget that moment. It was awesome,” said Mowry.