Aundrea Rose Gadsby and Gia Lynn Gadsby of West Windsor appear in the movie “Joy” set for release on Christmas Day. The identical twins, 7, are in second grade at Dutch Neck Elementary School.
“Joy” is the true story of Joy Mangano, the inventor of the Miracle Mop, and her struggle to become a business matriarch. A focus is on her four-generation Italian-American family with drama and comedy along the way. Actors include Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper, Edgar Ramirez, Isabella Rossellini, Diane Ladd, and Virginia Madsen. Both Gadsby girls play Jennifer Lawrence’s daughter, Christie, in the film.
“It’s really, really, really, really, really fun,” Gia said. “Sometimes when we’re on the set and we’re taking a break, Jennifer will play with me. She does really nice things for me.”
Born in Trenton, the twins live with their mother, Nicole Ortolano. They recently moved from Hamilton, where they attended Langtree Elementary during their first two years of school. Their father, Brian Gadsby, lives in Bordentown.
Their mother learned that twins are in high demand for films and entered them in a photography contest. It resulted in being represented by an agent and she began taking the girls on auditions when they were close to one year old. They obtained print modeling jobs in “Parents Magazine” and in publications for Babies R Us and Toys R Us. They were soon seen in national commercials for Viacord, Gerber Life, Sprout, and Aquafresh. The girls also did runway modeling for Belle Parish at New York Fashion Week and were shoe fit models for The Children’s Place.
The twins were seen in the third season of “Royal Pains” and took part in a fashion segment on the Fox & Friends pre-show. “It was a lot of running back and forth to New York City, and eventually I told our agent that I only wanted to focus on TV and movies with the girls,” Ortolano said.
They were cast as the twin daughters in the film “People, Places, Things,” a movie about a New York City novelist who struggles to be a good father to his twin daughters while dealing with the infidelity and eventual departure of his wife. The film was shot in Brooklyn in August, 2014, and was shown at the Sundance Film Festival, where it was nominated for the grand jury prize. It is available on Amazon.com for rent ($4.99) or purchase ($12.99)
“It’s a lot of hustle and bustle, a lot of rotating,” says their father, who watched 10 days of shooting during “Joy.” “It’s a crazy schedule. They’re working around the weather and everything else that’s going on. You have to be readily available. They cancel a lot, so it’s erratic. David O. Russell really put them to work, filming late hours. We had to sign some waivers to allow them to film past 10:30. They worked their tails off.”
Asked how she could remember all her lines, Aundrea said “It’s easy. I practice them with my mom at night and when my sister was on the set and I was doing my homework, I practiced them, and when we were driving there, I practiced them with my mommy.”
“They are acting because they love to act and for no other reason,” says Ortolano. “It is very important to me to keep them grounded. They are just normal second grade girls who just happen to love acting. They live a very normal life and are not treated any differently because of their acting.”
Visit www.gadsbygirls.com for more information. The film may be seen Friday, December 25, at AMC Marketfair at 10:15 a.m., and 1:15, 4:15, 7:15, and 10:15 p.m. It may also be seen at AMC Hamilton at 9:45 a.m., and 12:30, 3:15, and 6 p.m.
