Separated at birth, usually phrased as a question, is a light-hearted media device for pointing out people who are unrelated but bear a notable facial resemblance, implying that they are twins who were separated soon after being born and presumably adopted by separate families.
The title "Separated at Birth?" was a trademark of Spy Publishing Partners, the publishers of the now defunct Spy Magazine, a monthly publication that published satire, humor, and investigative journalism from 1986 to 1998. The magazine would pair two carefully selected photos of two unrelated famous persons and the juxtaposition would highlight their physical similarities to humorous effect.
There were several Separated at Birth? books issued around the same time, with whimsical comparisons such as Mick Jagger vs. Don Knotts as the fictional film character The Incredible Mr. Limpet
Famous quotes containing the words separated and/or birth:
“The new concept of the child as equal and the new integration of children into adult life has helped bring about a gradual but certain erosion of these boundaries that once separated the world of children from the word of adults, boundaries that allowed adults to treat children differently than they treated other adults because they understood that children are different.”
—Marie Winn (20th century)
“Spirit enters flesh
And for all it’s worth
Charges into earth
In birth after birth
Ever fresh and fresh.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)