Switched at Birth
Encyclopedia
Switched at Birth is a 1991 television film directed by Waris Hussein
. It is based on the true story of Kimberly Mays and Arlena Twigg, babies switched soon after birth
in a Florida
hospital in 1978.
hospital in November 1978. Kimberly went home with Bob Mays and his wife, who died a few years later. Ernest and Regina Twigg of Sebring, Florida
took home the Mays' biological daughter, whom they named Arlena. The Twiggs learned that Arlena had the wrong blood type to be their biological daughter at age 9. Following Arlena's death, the Twiggs sought information about their biological daughter and located Kimberly Mays, who was later the subject of a custody battle between her biological parents, and Bob Mays, the man who raised her after she was switched at birth. Bob Mays had agreed in 1989 to grant the Twiggs visitation rights to Kimberly, but later cut off the visits. The Twiggs then sued for increased visitation or custody of Kimberly. A Wauchula, Florida
circuit court ruled in 1993 that Kimberly would be allowed to cut off all contacts with her biological family and that Bob Mays was her psychological father. Though Kimberly won the right to stay with Bob Mays, she later ran away and moved in with the Twiggs. Her early adulthood was troubled, as she battled marital woes and lost custody of her own child for a time.
The court battle was also the subject of a book entitled The Baby Swap Conspiracy by Loretta Schwarz-Nobel.
Waris Hussein
Waris Hussein is a British-Indian television director and film director best known for his many productions for British television....
. It is based on the true story of Kimberly Mays and Arlena Twigg, babies switched soon after birth
Babies switched at birth
Babies switched at birth are babies who, because of either error or malfeasance, are interchanged with each other at birth or very soon thereafter, leading to them being unknowingly raised by parents who are not their biological parents...
in a Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
hospital in 1978.
Plot
When Arlena Twigg becomes ill, a blood test reveals that she is not the biological daughter of Regina and Ernest Twigg. When Arlena dies at the age of nine, her parents search for their biological daughter who is being raised as Kimberly Mays.Cast
- Bonnie BedeliaBonnie BedeliaBonnie Bedelia Culkin is an American actress best known for her supporting roles in the action film Die Hard and the courtroom drama Presumed Innocent...
as Regina Twigg - Brian KerwinBrian KerwinBrian Kerwin is an American actor.Born in Chicago, Illinois, Kerwin won the Theatre World Award in 1988 for the off-Broadway play Emily. His Broadway theatre credits include the 1997 revival of The Little Foxes and the Elaine May comedy After the Night and the Music in 2005...
as Robert "Bob" Mays - John M. JacksonJohn M. JacksonJohn Murice Jackson is an American actor, best known for playing Rear Admiral A. J. Chegwidden on the CBS series JAG....
as Ernest Twigg - Eve Gordon as Darlena
- Jacqueline ScottJacqueline ScottJacqueline Scott is an American actress who has appeared in several films and television programs as well as guest starring in over one hundred television shows...
as Ruth Mays - Judith HoagJudith HoagJudith Hoag is an American actress.She is perhaps best known for portraying April O'Neil in the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film, as well as in the 1998 feature film Armageddon...
as Barbara Mays - Caroline McWilliamsCaroline McWilliamsCaroline Margaret McWilliams was an American actress best known for her portrayal of Marcy Hill on the television series Benson and Sally on the television series Soap...
as Lois Morehead - Lois SmithLois SmithLois Smith is an American actress whose career in theater, film, and television has spanned five decades.Smith was born Lois Arlene Humbert in Topeka, Kansas, the daughter of Carrie Davis and William Oren Humbert, who was a telephone company employee...
as Margaret Hill - Kelli WilliamsKelli WilliamsKelli Renee Williams is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Lindsay Dole on the Legal drama The Practice and as psychologist and deception expert Dr. Gillian Foster on Lie to Me....
as Irisa - Ariana RichardsAriana RichardsAriana Clarice Richards is an American actress and professional painter. She is best known for her roles as Mindy Sterngood in Tremors, Lex Murphy in the film Jurassic Park, and as Carol Wetherby in the film Prancer....
as Kimberly Mays, Age 9-11 - Erika FloresErika FloresErika Flores is an American actress and former child actress, known for her role as the first Colleen Cooper in the Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman TV series. Erika left the role in 1995 on account of a salary dispute as well as personal reasons in the middle of the third season...
as Arlena Twigg, Age 9 - Edward Asner as Ted Marx
- Beth GrantBeth GrantBeth Grant is an American actress. She is known for often playing characters who are conservatives, religious zealots or sticklers for rules....
as Sophie - Rance HowardRance HowardRance Howard is an American actor who has starred in film and on television.-Life and career:Howard was born Harold Rance Beckenholdt in Oklahoma, the son of Ethel Cleo and Engel Beckenholdt, a farmer. He changed his name to "Rance Howard" when he became an actor. He married Jean Speegle Howard...
as Frank Hill - Vivian Bonnell as Nurse Ford
- Allison MackAllison MackNot to be confused with Alison MacAllison Mack is an American actress. She is best known for her role of Chloe Sullivan on the Superman-inspired television series Smallville.-Early life:...
as Normia Twigg
Factual basis
Kimberly Mays and Arlena Twigg were born within a few days of each other in a Wauchula, FloridaWauchula, Florida
Wauchula is a city located in Hardee County, Florida, United States, and had a population of 4,368 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2004 estimates, the city had a population of 4,441.It is the county seat of Hardee County...
hospital in November 1978. Kimberly went home with Bob Mays and his wife, who died a few years later. Ernest and Regina Twigg of Sebring, Florida
Sebring, Florida
Sebring is a city in Highlands County, Florida, United States, nicknamed "The City on the Circle", in reference to Circle Drive, the center of the Sebring Downtown Historic District...
took home the Mays' biological daughter, whom they named Arlena. The Twiggs learned that Arlena had the wrong blood type to be their biological daughter at age 9. Following Arlena's death, the Twiggs sought information about their biological daughter and located Kimberly Mays, who was later the subject of a custody battle between her biological parents, and Bob Mays, the man who raised her after she was switched at birth. Bob Mays had agreed in 1989 to grant the Twiggs visitation rights to Kimberly, but later cut off the visits. The Twiggs then sued for increased visitation or custody of Kimberly. A Wauchula, Florida
Wauchula, Florida
Wauchula is a city located in Hardee County, Florida, United States, and had a population of 4,368 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2004 estimates, the city had a population of 4,441.It is the county seat of Hardee County...
circuit court ruled in 1993 that Kimberly would be allowed to cut off all contacts with her biological family and that Bob Mays was her psychological father. Though Kimberly won the right to stay with Bob Mays, she later ran away and moved in with the Twiggs. Her early adulthood was troubled, as she battled marital woes and lost custody of her own child for a time.
The court battle was also the subject of a book entitled The Baby Swap Conspiracy by Loretta Schwarz-Nobel.