She was half of one of the most popular vaudeville acts of her day - but a conjoined twin was horrifically forced to lie next to her dead sister for days on end.
Born to a barmaid in Brighton, The Hilton Sisters became huge global stars in the 1920s and embraced a life of celebrity, being spotted at swanky parties and taking to the stage on both sides of the Atlantic.
Violet and Daisy Hilton lived their own lives as independently as they could while being joined at the hip, and took a number of romantic partners in their heyday as entertainers. But tragedy would strike years later when Daisy passed away - leaving a shocking scene only discovered by police days later.
Violet and Daisy were born in Brighton in 1908, and were sold to a midwife named Mary Hilton when they were just three weeks old. Mary toured them around pubs in the city from when they were toddlers, charging people a fee of two pennies to have a look at them.
They were aged 15 when Mary died, and were left in her will to daughter Edith and her new husband, Meyer Meyers. The couple took them to Germany, then Australia and finally the US, where they eventually settled.
Myers set them up as a Broadway act in 1925, and a gruelling work schedule to make him money saw them star in four shows a day. An on-stage dance partner would come in the form of legendary entertainer Bob Hope, who was hired to perform the foxtrot and Charleston with the girls, and they also formed a friendship with superstar escapologist Harry Houdini.
After winning their freedom from Myers as 23-year-olds in a hard-fought legal case, they became US citizens and wasted no time in leaping into the lively New York party scene of the 1920s. Asked how she coped when Daisy was with a lover, Violet said: "I just turn over and read a book and eat an apple." But they always seemed to think of each other during the ups and down, and Daisy is said to have turned down her first marriage proposal because "it wouldn't be fair on Violet". Maurice and Violet were refused a marriage license in New York and in 20 other states as well.
Hard times saw them become strippers during the Second World War, before they starred in the widely panned 1952 film Chained For Life, where Violet's character stood trial accused of killing Daisy's character's husband. They then took up touring again as musical performers, but sad reflection of the twins' downturn in fortunes came in their final show, when they were left stranded by their promoter with no money or means of getting home.
Their eventful lives came to a tragic end during the Hong Kong flu epidemic in the US, and the pair were found dead by police at the age of 60 on January 6, 1969. An inquest heard that Violet lived with her sister's dead body attached to her for as long as four days.
Having scaled the heights of Broadway and endured terrible hardship and exploitation along the way, the remarkable life of the Violet Sisters has inspired later generations of storytellers. Alongside a host of written biographies, a 2012 documentary called Bound by Flesh is able to view on a number of streaming services, and there was also a 1999 Broadway musical named Side Show, which received four Tony Nominations.