Actress Elizabeth Taylor is known for her beautiful violet eyes, but what most people don’t know is that she also had an extra set of eyelashes. While a second row of eyelashes forming a full fringe around those captivating purple peepers may sound like a girl's best friend and a make-up artist's dream come true, that's not always the case. Taylor's twin set of lashes are thought to be the result of a genetic mutation known as the FOXC2 gene. It’s ironic that most men would have described Taylor as “foxy.” Medically, an extra row of eyelashes is known as distichiasis and it’s a rare disorder. It's hard to know whether Taylor had any eye problems from her lush lashes, but the hair on the accessory row is typically sparser and less robust than normal eyelashes. Distichiasis can occur in men and women alike — even those who aren't movie stars. Sometimes it occurs at birth as it did for Taylor, but it can also happen in older age.
