‘Your siblings don’t define you’: These twins took their own singular directions

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Twins Gemma and Claudia Hollingsworth, 20, spent their entire lives together until two years ago when their careers took off: Gemma performing on stages and Claudia – an 800-metre champion – competing around the world.

“Whenever I’m unsure of something I’m performing, or a new song I’ve written, I always sing it for Claudy first,” Gemma says.

Claudia: I shared a room with Gem forever, so we’d always talk until late in our bunk beds. If something was going on, you could always ask, “Are you awake?”, knowing what you said wouldn’t go anywhere.

We’re not identical. Gem has curly hair and mine is straight. I was always “Speed up” and she was always “Calm down”. We’re different.

Gem has always been kind, caring and soft, whereas I’m the tough one. Our family went to France for a year when we were seven. We went to school but didn’t speak French. Gem was getting bullied – pushed up against the wall – and she wanted to mediate the situation – “It’s OK” – but I was like, “It’s not OK.”

In high school, we did different things. She’s always been the performer, singing her way around the house, but we could always text and say, “I had a bad day. Wanna go for a walk around the oval?” We knew immediately if the other was struggling or getting caught up in some drama.

I cared about school, but sport was demanding. Gem was better at putting her head down, staying up late to study and accepting leadership roles: she was school captain. She played the lead in the school musical, Sophie in Mamma Mia!, and made me cry.

When I was in the 800-metre heat at last year’s Paris Olympics, I was on the starting line in this huge stadium, feeling overwhelmed and scared. Looking up and seeing her – I knew exactly where she was sitting – made me feel so grounded. Giving her that hug afterwards, I just lost it.

We do feel disconnected now. We spent nearly every minute together until we were 18 and now we’re off chasing our own dreams. Even when we’re both at home, I’m up early for training while she’s sleeping in, then she’s staying up late in rehearsals [Gemma is performing in Legally Blonde, which is coming to the end of its run at The National Theatre in St Kilda], while I’m recovering. We’re ships in the night.

When I’m overseas, I call her once or twice every day and at home we still have sleepovers; just jumping in with each other for a chat until late into the night. Debriefing with someone who knows you so well just makes you feel better. We go for a walk whenever we can, too, but Gem’s got a terrible sense of direction, which annoys me. The other day, we walked to the coffee shop we’ve been going to for 20 years, then we went to leave and she walked the wrong way. How is that even possible?

Everyone used to just see us as “the twins”, which invites comparisons, and I think Gem found that hard. As teenagers, our older sister, Sunday, was a world-class trampolinist, and I was a national-level runner, and I remember people at family events going: “Sunday, that’s amazing!” and “Claudia, how cool!” and “Gem, what are you up to?” That’s why any time she’s on stage, I’m so proud because I know how nerve-wracking it is to put yourself in front of people and perform. Whenever Gem gets up and sings, I always cry because now everyone else is seeing what I’ve seen for so long.

Gemma: When Claudy found her love for running in primary school, we were both competitive. I’d win one race, then she would, then I would. It was always this thing – “Which twin’s gonna win?” – but I don’t like running, so I dropped it while she took it to another level. When it came to choosing between studying and training, Claudy always chose training. She used to muck around and say, “Chill out! It’s just school.” She was never overly stressed, and such a socialite. Everyone loved her.

Claudy can tell you her running schedule a week ahead, down to the hour, but with anything else, she’s so disorganised. She loses things constantly – Airpods, make-up, shoes – and don’t give her anything because you’ll never get it back. She’s messy, too. She won’t clean until it’s just a pile, like a bomb’s gone off.

“When I’m overseas, I call her once or twice every day and at home we still have sleepovers”

We’ve probably only had one big fight. We used to skate to school and, one day, Claudy didn’t bring her skateboard. I was excited to go down this big hill and she took my skateboard and went down it! I was filthy. I screamed at her, and she jumped off and hid for the rest of the walk home. I was so worried, crying, and she jumped out of the bushes to scare me and saw my tears, and she started bawling, too. It was ridiculous and over in five minutes.

We both did club footy, playing Interleague, and then for the Sandringham Dragons [an AFLW feeder team], but she knew she wanted to run. I didn’t get to choose. When I was 17, I snapped my ACL and MCL and couldn’t walk. I remember standing outside our home in my knee brace, crying, and Claudy hugging me.

Claudy is an amazing athlete, but the pressure she puts on herself can be overwhelming, and so for her to have someone who’s separate from that – not a teammate, coach or parent – is probably special; it’s someone she can vent and unload with. Every time she races, I’m super-nervous. It’s almost like I’m ready to run.

I was so proud of her at the 2024 National Championships in Adelaide. That moment had been building for so long and to come flying through and cross the line first – the best 800-metre runner in Australia – I just died.

There were moments, being in that box with high-achieving sisters, where you feel like you have to match these people performing on the world stage. That’s why I tried so many things – I had this need to put my fingers in every pie – but your siblings don’t define you. You can find your own way.

When we shared a room, I used to run “Gemma’s singing school”, where Claudy was my student and I’d get her to follow me, so she’s always been my No. 1 supporter. Whenever I’m unsure of something I’m performing, or a new song I’ve written, I always sing it for Claudy first. I love the way it makes her smile.

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