10 Most Dramatic Sister Rivalries in History

Family estrangement is not something new in this world. Usually, when a family has a problem, people living in that family tend to deal with it within the home. That is, of course, only when the family isn't well-known. For those in the public eye, every trouble can be broadcast to the world.
To be fair, people just do human things. And it's just the way some family members are programmed. And famous people are no exception. Below are the 10 most dramatic sister rivalries of all time. Let's scroll down and check them out!

#1 Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland

Source: medium

Joan and Olivia were both successful in their careers and were fiercely competitive in the world of Hollywood. Olivia was born in 1916 and Joan in 1917 and the pair were famous movie stars.
But their sibling rivalry began when they were children, seemingly because Olivia resented Joan since birth, and lasted throughout their lives. Their battles also turned physical sometimes and Joan said that Olivia broke her collarbone in a fight in 1933.
The rivalry survived their whole lives. Joan passed away in 2013 and Olivia passed away 7 years later.

#2 Dear Abby and Ann Landers

Source: bookriot

Pauline and Esther Friedman are known as two sisters who each had their own syndicated advice column. Pauline’s Dear Abby column is iconic, but Esther’s Ask Ann Landers column already debuted first, in 1955. And it set the stage for an epic sibling rivalry…
The pair evidently had a very volatile relationship that lasted their whole lives and had a rivalry for the ages of their competing advice columns. Esther passed away in 2002 and Pauline passed away in 2013 but their feuding legacy lives on through their families who are still opposing each other.

#3 The Brontë sisters

Source: historyextra

Many literary fans will be familiar with the works of Charlotte Brontë (Jane Eyre) and Emily (Wuthering Heights) but are often amazed to know there were actually three sisters in the family.
The third sister was Anne and some say she might have been the best storyteller of the bunch…but there're also rumors that her sister Charlotte was responsible for derailing her career.
Still, we should point out that Anne criticized the work of both of her sisters in her book The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, so it’s pretty obvious that there was no love lost in this family.

#4 Jessica and Ashlee Simpson

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These singer sisters are indeed close, but they’ve also maintained a professional rivalry over the years. At the height of their singing careers in the early 2000s, Jessica and Ashlee Simpson competed for record sales and both did so well at the end of the day.

#5 Beyoncé and Solange Knowles

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While Beyoncé is more famous, she and her younger sister Solange have engaged in a bit of a rivalry throughout their years under the limelight.
Beyoncé is actually 5 years older than Solange and was well on her way to turning famous at a very young age and this led to some friction. Their mother Tina Knowles stated, “She [Beyoncé] couldn’t stand her for a minute. You know, they were little, [Solange] was all in her stuff, trying to hang around her and her friends and Beyoncé was really irritated…” Their mother made them go to therapy to work things out and to make Beyoncé know what it was like for her little sister to have to live in her shadow.
These days, the two are each other’s biggest supporters. Awwwww!

#6 Venus and Serena Williams

Source: Wikimedia

No one can deny that the Williams sisters are globally known as tennis legends.
And, since they’ve both been at the top of their matches for so numerous years, the two have faced each other on the court in 31 professional games since 1998, with Serena winning 19 of those contests.
Despite the fierce history of competition with each other, the two leave it all on the court. That’s a great thing!

#7 Catherine and Pippa Middleton

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Here’s another instance of two rich sisters who compete with each other but also have a caring relationship.
As we all know, Catherine Middleton tied the knot with Prince William and is now part of the British royal family. Her sister Pippa is a socialite who obtained a whole lot of attention from the press when she showed up at her sister’s royal wedding in 2011 looking stunning and turning heads.

#8 Anne and Mary Boleyn

Source: Wikimedia

Here’s one of the most scandalous sister rivalries in history! Anne and Mary both had relationships with King Henry VIII…but it was Anne who ended up marrying the King and Mary eventually married one of the King’s friends in 1521.
That likely made family gatherings a whole lot of fun! But Anne got a raw deal out of the situation because the King grew tired of her, had her imprisoned, and finally had her beheaded in 1536. Yikes…

#9 Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth

Source: historyextra

King Henry VIII sure got around, huh? Okay, try to keep up: prior to he married Anne, the King was married to Catherine of Aragon, the mother of their daughter, Mary. After Henry wedded Anne, she gave birth to their daughter, Elizabeth.
Mary turned into Queen in 1553, but she was always paranoid about her younger sister’s popularity. She even had Elizabeth exiled and imprisoned. Still, Mary passed away in 1558 without an heir. All in all, this meant Elizabeth became Queen.

#10 Lee Radziwill and Jackie Kennedy

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Anyone familiar with American history has undoubtedly heard of Jackie Kennedy, wife of President John F. Kennedy.
Jackie O had a sister called Lee and the two had a legendary rivalry that lasted decades. The sisters were gorgeous and rich and competed fiercely with each other when it came to rich and powerful men.
Lee tied the knot with a Polish prince in 1959, but Jackie finally prevailed after her husband became President of the United States.Take that, sis!