The Sad Story Of The Dionne Quintuplets: Identical Babies So Rare That, During The 1930s, They Became A Tourist Attraction While Being Isolated From The Outside World In A “Baby Zoo”

At the age of 18, the Dionne sisters left home and severed almost all ties to their parents. Emilie became a nun and died from a seizure in 1954 at age 20.

Marie had two children and died from a blood clot in her brain in 1970 at age 35. The three remaining sisters, Annette, Cécile, and Yvonne, wrote a book detailing the abuse they suffered during childhood.

In 1998, they won a $4 million settlement from the Canadian government to compensate them for everything they endured. What the Dionne quintuplets experienced during their upbringing was not a life fit for any child. It calls into question the ethics of using babies and children for promotional purposes.