Hollywood is no stranger to famous siblings. We have the Hemsworth Brothers, the Olsen sisters, the Gyllenhaal siblings, the Hudson duo, the Deschanel sisters, and so much more. However, the famous sisters Vera and Taissa Farmiga bring a different twist to being siblings in Hollywood.
Despite a heavy 21-year age gap between the pair, Vera and Taissa, who entered the industry 13 years apart, have so much in common. The sisters have an affinity for the horror genre and are certified scream queens, thanks to the numerous acting credits ― The Conjuring, The Nun, America Horror Story ―under their belt. But unknown to many, their unique upbringing had a huge role to play in their similar interests. Keep reading to find out what growing up was like for the Farmiga sisters.
10 They Are Children Of Immigrants
Vera and Taissa are the daughters of immigrants parents. Their parents, Mykhailo and Lubomyra Farmiga ― a system analyst and school teacher, respectively ― relocated from Ukraine to Irvington, New Jersey, searching for a better life before Vera was even born. Her maternal grandparents were affected during World War II and fell in love while in a displaced person camp in Karlsfeld, Germany.
9 They Were Slow To Learn English
Despite being born in the United States, precisely New Jersey, the girls didn't know how to speak English until much later in their lives. Their parents were keen on keeping them rooted in their Ukrainian culture and raised them in a tight Ukrainian American circle where they spoke Ukrainian as their first language. For Vera, it wasn't until she began attending kindergarten at six years old that she said her first word of English.
8 A Super Large Family
The girls come from a large family consisting of three sons and four daughters. Their five other siblings are ― Alexander, Laryssa, Nadia, Stephan, and Victor. Vera is the second child of the clan, with Victor as her older brother while Taissa is the youngest. Their sister Laryssa was born with Spina bifida, a congenital disability resulting from the incomplete closing of the spine, and Vera was in charge of taking care of her. Although Vonly era and Taissa are acting, the rest of the clan are successful in their rights.
7 They Were Raised As Catholics
Vera and Taissa were raised in a Ukrainian Catholic home, but they converted to American Pentecostalism when Vera was nine years old. While speaking about her experience when filming and directing Higher Ground, Vera spoke about how faith was a central core of their growing up, saying:
"I grew up in a Catholic home, and my dad is a believer. I yearn to attain what he has, and I'm jealous of it, and I covet it because he is someone who feels the breath of God on his face."
6 They Enjoyed Farm Life
The girls moved around a lot while growing up. After their family lived in Irvington, they moved to Newark before finally settling down on a large farmland in Wilmington. The girls got acquainted with nature and traditional communal living and developed a love for animals. Vera, who starred in the 2012 film Goats ― and is a proud mother to some Angora and Nubian goats ― once recalled in an interview how their parents got them intimated with farm life. She explained:
"Each child got to choose a pet, and mine was a sheep. We got one from a local farm, and I bottle-fed it, and it ran around our backyard. I think maybe I was a shepherdess in a past life."
5 Their Family Helped Hone Their Talent
It is no coincidence that two out of the seven Farminga children branched out into Hollywood and are thriving. According to The Conjuring star, her upbringing played a massive role in honing their passion for the arts. She explained in an interview that during holidays, her family always gathered together to serenade themselves in music and dance. She played the piano and sang while her family members danced and told stories.
4 A "Too Perfect" Upbringing
Vera and Taissa have a 13-year-gap in between the starts of their career in Hollywood, but they have both followed similar paths, evident in their love for the Horror genre. Vera has The Conjuring, Bates Motel, and Orphan to her name, while Taissa was featured in America Horror Story, The Nun, and Mindscape. While it might seem as though Taissa is just following in her older sister's steps, Vera explained that there is a deeper reason for their interest in horror and it stems from their upbringing. She revealed:
"Honestly, friends and family will attest to it. We grew up in a gentle and loving family. There's no deep or twisted secrets. Maybe it was too perfect of an existence that we kind of needed to explore the other side. I like to think of it, though, that we are maybe into dark subject matter."
3 Vera Was A Trained Folk Dancer
Before Vera ventured into the world of acting, dancing was her first love. Due to her Ukrainian roots, the actress fell in love with the traditional folk dance, which she described as "a hybrid of Irish step dancing and Russian Cossack." Her passion for dancing pushed her to become a member of a folk-dancing group called Syzokryli, and they toured the country in 1991. She once confessed that dancing was going to be her fallback option if acting didn't work out.
2 Taissa Was Homeschooled
As the last of seven children, Taissa had a markedly different experience than her older sister. Although she attended public school like the rest of her siblings, things soon changed course when her parents decided to homeschool her. She has a higher English proficiency and even spent four years learning the American Sign Language. However, she's not as fluent as Vera in the Ukrainian language.
1 They Are Mistaken As Mother And Daughter
Taissa made her acting debut in the 2011 drama film Higher Ground, but she got her role thanks to "blatant nepotism." After Vera found out she would double as lead actress and director, she asked her sister to play her character's younger self. The striking resemblance between them confused fans and got them labeled as mother and daughter. However, it was later confirmed that they are siblings. Nevertheless, Vera considers her baby sister like a daughter, given the 21-year age gap between them. She often refers to the 26-year-old as her "surrogate child."