More than mirror images: Bornia twins at White Plains High School chart their own paths

At White Plains High School, Maria Clara Bornia and Maria Helena Bornia are easy to mix up at first glance, but spend more than a few minutes with the identical twin seniors and the differences begin to emerge. And that’s exactly how they like it.

“Our parents always made it very important to treat us like individuals and not force us to dress in the same clothes. By doing that, we really did branch out into liking different things,” Maria Clara said, adding that their identities are not defined by their shared DNA.

That philosophy has shaped not just two distinct personalities, but an entire family dynamic that is, by any measure, rare. But the Bornia household doesn’t just have one set of identical twins — it has two.

You read that right!

Maria Clara and Maria Helena, both 18, are the older pair. Their younger sisters, Laura and Marina — sophomores at WPHS — also are identical twins.

Having two sets of identical (monozygotic) twins in the same family is extraordinarily uncommon, with estimates suggesting odds of around 1 in about 80,000 births or even lower. While one set of identical twins occurs in about 4 in 1,000 births, the chances of an embryo splitting in two pregnancies in one family is a true rarity. 

The Bornia sisters are therefore something of a walking statistical anomaly — or, as Maria Clara put it with a smile, “A little team everywhere we go.”

Growing up in White Plains after their parents emigrated from Brazil in 2006, the sisters have shared nearly everything: schools, friends, classes — and even a bedroom.

“Her bed’s right next to mine,” Maria Clara said. “There’s really nothing we don’t know about each other.”

That closeness shows up in ways both uncanny and comical. They finish each other’s sentences. They say the same words at the same time — sometimes even in the same tone. Once, Maria Helena recalled, she was thinking of a song when her sister suddenly started singing it out loud.

“It surprises us too,” she said, discounting telepathy as the trigger. “I think it’s just… same DNA, same environment.”

Still, for all their similarities, the twins have never leaned into the twins clichés. No switching places in class. No matching outfits. No attempts to confuse teachers — though their younger sisters have tried that gimmick a few times.

“We avoided that on purpose,” Maria Helena said. “We wanted to be seen as individuals.”

Both are members of the National Honor Society but their differences abound.

Maria Clara, the more introspective of the two, is drawn to sports and medicine. She plays club soccer, serves as co-vice president of the Medicine Club and secretary of the French Club, and hopes to study kinesiology on track to a doctorate in physical therapy.

Maria Helena, by contrast, leans into business and communication. She is secretary of the Finance Club, PR manager for the French Club and serves as a statistician for the varsity lacrosse team. She also works at a store in The Westchester mall.

“I’ll usually speak for both of us if people are talking to us as a unit,” Maria Helena said. “That’s kind of how it’s always been.”

That dynamic — one more outgoing, one more reserved — is part of what makes their bond work.

“We’re really similar in humor and friends,” Maria Clara said. “But she’s more extroverted.”

Even their shared bedroom reflects their differences.

“She’s definitely neater,” Maria Helena admitted, laughing. “I’ll say I’ll clean up… and I will. It just takes a while.”

Add their younger twin sisters into the mix, and the household dynamic becomes even more fascinating.

There are, at times, alliances.

“She sides with me, and they side with each other,” Maria Clara said. “It’s always kind of been like that.”

But there’s also mentorship. As the older twins prepare to leave for college, they’ve found themselves guiding Laura and Marina through the unique challenges of growing up as twins.

“At some point, you’re going to have your own lives,” Maria Clara said. “You have to learn how to branch out.”

One place where Maria Clara’s individuality shines most clearly is on the soccer field, a passion she traces directly to her family roots.

“I’m pretty sure it’s because of my mom,” she said. “My mom is like in love with soccer –  she’s always trying to get the game on.”

That connection has stayed with her, even as her sisters – including Maria Helena – never quite caught the soccer bug.

“They just don’t like it,” Maria Clara said. “I don’t know, it’s just … natural to me.”

And as the global soccer spotlight turns toward the upcoming World Cup, her loyalties are clear – though not without a nod to both sides of her identity.

“I cheer more for Brazil, but I’m happy to see that the U.S. is in the World Cup and I hope they go far!” she said.

Both sisters have been accepted to multiple universities, including Clemson, LSU and the University of Tennessee, with Clemson emerging as a favorite — a choice that might be influenced, at least a little, by their shared identity as Tigers and the color orange.

“We liked Clemson since middle school,” Maria Helena said. “And the orange — I mean, it just fits.”

They hope to attend the same university. But when it comes to dorm life, they’re ready for something new.

“We’ve shared a room our whole lives,” Maria Helena said. “It would be nice to have our own space.”

“And meet new people,” Maria Clara added. “If you’re always together, you stay in your bubble.”

It’s a careful balance staying connected while carving out independence. And it’s one they’ve been practicing their entire lives.

In the end, what makes the Bornia twins remarkable isn’t just that they look alike — or even that there are four of them.

It’s that, in a world that often sees twins as a single unit, they’ve learned how to be both inseparable and independent. They are, in every sense, two of a kind. Just not the same kind.