Dionne Quintuplets

The Dionne Quintuplets were the first quintuplets (five babies born at the same time from the same mother) to survive after being born. They were born in Ontario, Canada on May 28, 1934 to Elzire and Oliva Dionne. They were:

• Annette
• Cecile
• Emilie (died on August 6, 1954 from an epilepsy seizure)
• Marie (died on February 27, 1970 from a blood clot in the brain)
• Yvonne (died on June 23, 2001 from cancer)

The babies were delivered by Dr. Allan Roy Dafoe, who later was given custody of the girls by the Canadian government and the Ontario government housed them in a special theme park-like area, just across the street from the house their parents and 6 other siblings lived in. At one time 6,000 people visited Quintland each day to see the sisters, they also had dolls made out of them, and appeared in commercials for products like corn syrup and Quaker oats like oatmeal. Then in 1943, the girls' father, Oliva, finally got custody of them again and the girls moved back to live with their real family. Dr. Dafone died soon after that. The girls later claimed their father abused them. In 1998 the surviving sisters sued the government of Ontario for being exploited as kids and were rewarded 4 million Canadian dollars.

Dionne Quintuplets Media

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  Leaving Toronto after presentation to Queen Elizabeth in 1939

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  Souvenir handkerchief depicting the Dionne quintuplets, circa 1942

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  The quintuplets in 1947 with their parents and a priest in the background

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  Yvonne, Cécile and Annette Dionne in 1999

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  Dionne Quintuplets – School Days, painting by Andrew Loomis, 1938