Taissa and Vera Farmiga are scream queen...sisters. Yeah, you heard us right.
They're pretty much experts on the creepy, occult, and damned, even though their relationship with each other is pure and wholesome.
While Vera has been making a name for herself in the horror genre for some time now, starring in Touching Evil, Bates Motel, Orphan, and The Conjuring franchise, her sister, Taissa, has only just started to show us she can handle the genre that's made her older sister famous. She's starred in a couple of seasons of American Horror Story and the spin-off of sorts to The Conjuring films, The Nun.
Back before Taissa debuted in The Nun, we'd never associated them with each other. But when we watched the film, we, like so many other fans, realized that Taissa looked a lot like another Conjuring alum. Judging by their clear age gap, we all thought that they must be mother and daughter. The internet was convinced of this, in a Mandela effect fashion almost. But as we know, this is not the case.
So how did this misconception start?
Vera Got Taissa Into Acting
By 2010, Vera had already had a successful career. She starred in The Departed and earned an Oscar nomination for her role in Up in the Air. Her next big film, which was slated to premiere at Sundance, was Higher Ground, where she was brought in to play Corinne Walker. But after some time, Vera found herself not only the leading actor but also the director.
When she took on the dual role, she asked her sister if she'd come along and star as her character's younger self. Vera called it "blatant nepotism." It worked, though, because they look so much alike. Taissa never even wanted to be an actor like her sister but agreed to help out regardless.
"When I needed her help, she was there," Taissa told Young Hollywood in response to being asked if Vera gave her any tips about acting. "She gave little suggestions."
"I was a typical older sister," Vera interjected. "You bossed me around," Taissa added.
"I said, listen if you do this and if you babysit for me [you'll get my old pickup truck]," Vera said.
However, straight after working on Higher Ground, Taissa's original plans of becoming an accountant went out the window after she got an agent and her first real job on American Horror Story. And how did working with Ryan Murphy compare to working with her own sister? "It was...different," she said.
In 2013, the sisters once again co-starred together in the indie film, At Middleton. In an interview with Parade, Taissa said that she was nervous about her scene with her sister because she didn't want to mess it up. When Vera heard this, she couldn't believe it.
"Is that true? Man, she hides it. It’s so funny. She was so carefree. [Laughs] Really? She must just rise above it because I didn’t sense that at all," Vera told Parade. "And you know what? We’re all nervous. I continually get nervous for all my scenes. It doesn’t get any easier for me. Taissa is such a bright supernova. She’s so beautiful. She’s a stellar explosion of beauty and grace and raw emotion, and I see it growing. She’s so special. I’m really, really proud of her."
Vera also said that she'd totally be open to starring on American Horror Story alongside her kid sister. "I love that show. I know I’m totally biased, but I love it," she said.
When it came time for The Nun, Taissa thought it was "Vera's World," but she decided to take it on anyway. The thing that Tiassa liked better about her role, though, was the fact that she got to research "the pure and the holy" instead of Vera's demonology.
The only advice Vera gave Taissa was to be wary about taking the subject matter of that film home with her. Before the film premiered, Entertainment Weekly and other publications were under the impression that there was a "deeper meaning" to Taissa's character and Vera's since the younger Farmiga had experience playing a younger Vera.
Also, just saying they look like twins when they scream.
They Aren't Mother And Daughter
The biggest reason why many people probably thought the Farmiga sisters were mother and daughter was because of their huge age gap.
There are 21 years between them, so technically, they could be mother and daughter. Vera is one of the oldest of the seven Farmiga children, and Taissa is the youngest.
It also probably didn't help the misconception when Vera told Parade that she considers Taissa her "surrogate chill." She also said, "We’re best friends, but I like to think I’ve parented her in a way, too."
Taissa didn't help it either when she told Teen Vogue, "When I was growing up, people would always confuse me for Vera's daughter."
All of this made people believe they were mother and daughter, but they couldn't believe it when they found out otherwise.
"tag urself 'i was under the impression that vera and taissa farmiga were mother and daughter for years until like two years ago when i found out they were siblings,'" one fan tweeted.
Despite their age difference, the sisters have always remained close, which is the important thing.
"Vera is my stylist, my everything," Taissa said. Vera agrees, "Taissa is the person you take with you to choose your Oscar gown and then take to In-N-Out Burger. As much of an age difference as there is, she is one of my best friends in the world."
We didn't know we could love them any more than we already do. Here's to hoping they find another project they can work together on. But please let it be something outside of horror. The Farmiga sisters are too beautiful to star in such dark films.
