Sam and Anais, In Their Own Words

[music playing]

Narrator: Samantha Futerman and Anais Bordier are twins, but they grew up worlds apart. Adopted at four months old from South Korea, Sam was raised in New Jersey, while Anais was raised in Paris. It would be 25 years before they laid eyes on each other, again.

Anais Bordier: The first time I came across Sam's face, it was on the screenshot of a YouTube video that a friend posted, on my Facebook page.

Narrator: Anais didn't have any way of figuring out who her lookalike was until a few months later, when she discovered the same actress in a film trailer. Searching the mystery girl's IMDb profile, Anais uncovered some startling details.

Anais Bordier: I discovered that she was called Samantha Futerman, that she was born the same day as I was, the same year, on November 19th, 1987.

Narrator: Anais reached out to Sam through Facebook. Sam began recording their interactions, footage that would eventually become part of a documentary she produced, called Twinsters.

Anais Bordier: I can remember it being really awkward, right before Skyping.

Samantha Futerman: Ha ha.

Anais Bordier: (laughs) I'm sorry, my connection's really bad.

Samantha Futerman: Oh my god, you're European!

[laughter]

Samantha Futerman: Yeah, it was so weird. It was like looking in a mirror.

Anais Bordier: But the mirror not reacting the same way as you do.

Samantha Futerman: And then we both laughed and that the most bizarre thing, because it's like an echo.

Anais Bordier: This is a really weird experience.

Samantha Futerman: Yeah, it's so weird. Being in the same physical space for the first time was so awkward. We had to learn to be physically together.

[laughter]

Narrator: The twins soon uncovered a mountain of shared characteristics and preferences.

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[ding]

[buzzer]

[ding]

Samantha Futerman: This is [? soju. ?]

Anais Bordier: Hi.

[laughter]

Samantha Futerman: You're wearing the same shirt.

Boyfriend 1: Is that my shirt, though?

Boyfriend 2: Yeah, it is. Thanks for that, actually.

[laughter]

Narrator: The story of Sam and Anais caught the attention of Dr. Nancy Segal, head of the Twins Study Center, at California State University, Fullerton Dr. Segal's first job was to establish that Sam and Anais were indeed long-lost twins, and not just unrelated lookalikes, as their adoption records suggested.

Nancy Segal: In the event that you are not twins, then it's going to probably be a disappointment and a letdown for the two of you.

Narrator: The twins used critical thinking to weigh the evidence and avoid disappointment.

Samantha Futerman: We knew deep down inside that we were twins. But I feel like maybe we were too afraid to really, fully admit that. Because there was always a possibility that we weren't, and didn't want to be let down.

Narrator: Meanwhile, a DNA test provided the definitive biological evidence.

Nancy Segal: Are you ready for this information?

Anais Bordier: Yeah.

Nancy Segal: I want you to give your identical twin sister a hug and a kiss.

[cheering]

[laughter]

[music playing]

Narrator: For Dr. Segal, the twins' story presented a unique opportunity to conduct a case study, a type of descriptive research that focuses on an individual or small group. At conception identical twins share 100% of their genes. They are identical in nature. And genes may account for their many similarities.

Samantha Futerman: We like to eat.

[laughter]

We love Korean food. We love--

Anais Bordier: Popcorn.

Samantha Futerman: Yeah.

Narrator: But how much of our personality is influenced by our environment, or nurture? To explore the impact of nature and nurture on Sam and Anais, Dr. Segal and her team ran tests with a variety of variables.

SAMANTHA FUTERMAN (voiceover): My memory scores are higher. And I'm an actor, so memorizing lines. Anais is a visual artist. She's a graphic designer. So her spatial awareness is really great.

Narrator: The effects of nature and nurture can be difficult to untangle.

ANAIS BORDIER (voiceover): I would have said that nurture was probably, 90% of everything. And now we've met, I've reconsidered. I would put it almost 50-50, now.

Samantha Futerman: Yeah, I-- I think it's more. I think we're like, 90%, or 98% nature, and 10% nurture.

Narrator: Other aspects of Sam and Anais's relationship defy easy explanation.

Anais Bordier: I think we understand each other more deeply than regular siblings.

Samantha Futerman: There's a level of empathy that we have for each other. I think that makes all the difference.

Narrator: The twins even share a common shorthand language.

Samantha Futerman: When you're talking on WhatsApp, it makes a sound when you send a message.

Anais Bordier: [makes popping sound]

Samantha Futerman: And it-- yeah, it sounds just like that. So I think I was texting Anais, and then just a pop--

[pop]

--because that's what it sounded like. And she said, pop.

[pop]

[? and we decided ?] that was our language.

Anais Bordier: Smart language.

[pop]

Samantha Futerman: It can be anything.

Anais Bordier: But we understand it. We still have a lot of time ahead of us, to spend together.

Samantha Futerman: It's exciting to know that we have the rest of our lives to unfold, and hopefully more exciting things will pop up. [makes popping sound]

Anais Bordier: [makes popping sound]

[laughter]