Jean Hanlon and her sister Joan are believed to be identical twins, although they have never been tested. They look a lot alike. They have the same brown eyes and fine brown hair. There is a clear echo in the line of their jaws. But there are also physical differences that seem to underscore their inner lives. Jean is stocky and self-contained. Joan is petite, and seems more childlike which draws people to her.

"Where Joan will get very excited, Jean lays back a bit," said their father, Bob Hanlon. "Myself, I see them as two girls. Two young girls. But of course they're not."