Twins when they're winning

Jenna (left) and Barbara, with dad George W Bush. OK, so they may only be famous for underage drinking and their talent for giving the US secret service the run around while their father was commander-in-chief – but don't they look cute? Photograph: Matt Campbell/EPA FILES

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olson. TV and film stars, owners of their own succesful clothing range and filthy rich at the ridiculously young age of 23 they may well be, but ask them to put their own eye-liner on properly and they're screwed Photograph: Paul Miller/EPA

MP Lembit Opik poses with the Cheeky Girls, twins Monica (left) and Gabriela Irimia (the meteor-fearing Lib-Dem's ex-girlfriend). Just goes to show that while two's company, three can sometimes be an eye-ball scarring, vomit-inducing car crash Photograph: Rebecca Reid/PA

Ronnie and Reggie Kray in London in 1966. Depending on your view, the infamous Kray twins were either simply misunderstood, loveable East End rogues who loved their mum, or murderous, celebrity-obsessed psychopaths who instilled fear in their community and ruined the lives of countless families. Did I mention they loved their mum? Photograph: Hulton-Deutsch/Corbis

Cricketing legend Shane Warne (centre) celebrates winning some trophy or other with the not-quite-as-legendary Waugh twins, Steve (left) and Mark (but they're very good all the same) Photograph: Neal Simpson/Empics

The Bee Gees, made up of twins Robin (left) and Maurice (right) and elder brother Barry, pictured in the 1970s. Sure, the Gibb brothers' insanely successful group may have sold more than 200 million records worldwide, but surely more impressive is that Robin once made an appearance on the Sesame Street Fever album (for which he wrote a song for Oscar the Grouch called Trash), while Maurice once appeared in a short-lived West End musical written by Ned Sherrin. Talented, talented chaps Photograph: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty

Bros, made up of twin brothers Matt and Luke Goss, and Craig Logan (or 'Ken' as Viz used to call him) The 80s boyband were undoubtedly huge in their day, achieving 11 top 40 singles and three top 20 albums, but it is surely Matt's appearance on Gordon Ramsay's Hells Kitchen, and Luke's turn in Wesley Snipe's ridicufest Blade II that the brothers will want to be remembered for Photograph: Dave Hogan/Getty

Playboy Playmates Kristina (left) and Karissa Shannon. The Shannons are the sixth identical twins to pose as Playboy Playmates, but the only twins to each have their own month in the magazine; plus, they are both Hugh Hefner's girlfriends. Proof that sometimes it really is possible have everything you've ever wanted – if everything you've ever wanted includes making a career out of public nudity and being involved in a love triangle alongside your sister, with a be-wigged octogenarian porn-peddler Photograph: David Livingston/Getty

WTF? Heather Graham and Johnny Depp are twins? No, of course not - but the 2001 film From Hell was directed by Allen and Albert Hughes. Who are twins. And Graham and Depp starred in it. Couldn't find a picture of the Hughes twins? Correct. So decided to use a gratuitous picture of two Hollywood stars instead? Erm, yeah. (Sound of slow, sarcastic clapping.) Photograph: 20th Century Fox/AP

John and Edward from X Factor. Coming on like Fido Dido's infinitely less talented brothers, the sartorially challenged twins should, according to many, have been voted off already – but at least one publication is backing them Photograph: Ken McKay/PR

Craig and Charlie Reid of everyone's favourite Scottish, middle of the road folk-pop band the Proclaimers. Is it just me or do the ill-advised terminator shades make them look weirdly like the Pet Shop Boys in this picture? Photograph: Murdo Macleod

Sir Alec (left) and Eric Bedser. English cricketing royalty, Sir Alec played 51 Tests and is regarded as one of the greatest English cricketers of the 20th century, while Eric was a very useful first-class all-rounder. Born on 4 July 1918 the identical twins were regarded as 'inseparable' throughout their lives, often dressing identically Photograph: Michael Stephens

Kelley (left) and Kim Deal of the Breeders. The Deal sisters are, if I'm honest, my favourite twins in the gallery (with the Cheeky Girls a close second, obviously). Pod is one of my favourite albums ever and, although Kelley didn't feature on it, she did play on their most successful album, Last Splash. Kim is also in the seminal Pixies. Both of them are so talented it hurts Photograph: David Sillitoe

The Shangri-Las in 1965. The US group, made up of identical twins Mary Ann Ganser (left) and Margie Ganser (second right), and sisters Betty (second left) and Mary Weiss (right), are undoubtedly one of the most influential girl groups of all time, responsible for pop classics such as the almighty Leader of the Pack Photograph: Frank Driggs Collection/Getty

Norris and Ross McWhirter. The London-born identical twins were best known internationally for the Guinness Book of Records – which they wrote and annually updated together between 1955 and 1975 – and famed for their photographic memory Photograph: David Graves/Rex

Polish president Lech Kaczynski (left) with his twin, the Polish prime minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski. Relatively interesting fact: As children both starred in the 1962 Polish film The Two Who Stole the Moon Photograph: Katarina Stoltz/Reuters