The Collinson Twins

The Collison Twins are so eerily similar in practically every way that even Playboy fans are having trouble telling them apart. Madeline and Mary not only look alike, but have the same voice, same likes and dislikes, same hopes and dream and often say the same thing at the same time—double trouble. “Talking to one of us is like talking to the other,” laughs Madeline. “There's really little difference in the way we think and in the things we like to do.” “Twins run in our family,” adds Mary. “My mother had two sets of twins and almost everybody in our family had twins at one time or another.” The Collinson Twins were born in Sliema, Malta and were raised speaking their native tongue—a blend of Arabic and Italian—along with English since the European island formerly belonged to Britain. “Sometimes people treat us differently from other kids just because we're twins,” says Madeline, one of the two all-natural brunettes. “They think we're special, but we don't like the distinction. This is one of the reasons we left home,” adds Mary. “It's too backward and parochial,” says Madeline of her homeland. “The ideas, freedoms and even the fashions of young people aren't readily accepted. Each generation is the same and the Maltese want to keep it that way. Once you've traveled, you feel trapped there, and we're too free-thinking to conform to its customs and traditions.” The busty beauties knew early on their dreams of modeling would never happen in Malta, a country known for its insular and strict, conservative ways. The twins made their way to London where their main objective was modeling together. “At first it was a difficult adjustment since we had no close friends or relatives to help us. We didn't know how to manage a career and we had to learn the hard way,” explains Mary. “Some people tried to take advantage of us because of our inexperience and often promised us jobs we never got.” “We were capable of taking care of ourselves and we did,” adds Madeline. The girls landed modeling jobs in Austria, Germany, Italy, and Belgium and in the United States where they were made our Playmate of the Month—our first Playmate twins ever. “We love being Playmates because we think Playboy is the best magazine ever,” says both of our Miss October 1970. “Modeling is a holiday—wearing pretty clothes and getting paid,” says Madeline who also enjoys posing for the camera with her pretty clothes off. “The competition is tremendous. There's always going to be someone who's better or prettier than you are, so you have to be in tiptop shape all the time, and it's very tiring, but I have to be doing something. I couldn't stay home for very long. Modeling keeps me busy and the pay is good.” While the girls have been incredibly busy since becoming working models and Playmates, they say they will eventually slow down. “When we have to break dates because of an assignment, men just don't understand. But, if we have to choose between our social life and a job, our work is more important. We just don't want to be involved with anyone—at least for now,” says Madeline. “We’d like to earn enough money to be independent, even after marriage,” adds Mary. The Collison Twins did eventually get married when Mary fell in love with her Italian husband whom she lives in Milan with and Madeline quickly followed suit when she moved back to Malta with her British Royal Air Force officer husband.