Only weeks after Millie Smith and Lewis Cann learned they were having twin baby girls, they learned that only one would survive.
On April 30, after 30 weeks of a high-risk pregnancy, Smith delivered identical twins, Callie and Skye, the latter who lived only three hours.
Later in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), Callie slept without her sister in the incubator, with her loving and grieving parents watching over her. In the unit with other babies, an overwhelmed mom of healthy newborn twins innocently told Smith that she was “so lucky” to not have two babies.
Crushed by the words, the new mom couldn’t find the words to explain her loss. Then, she realized that Skye’s legacy was to help other families who lose a child, and it came in the form of a purple butterfly.
In November 2015 Millie Smith and partner Lewis Cann found out they were having their first Child. Smith, who has twins in the family, said she had a “gut feeling” about having a duo and 10 weeks later, doctors confirmed she was expecting identical twin girls.
Less than two weeks after the excitement of knowing they would double the children in their home, the British couple were devastated to learn that one of their babies had a fatal condition and wouldn’t survive after birth.
“During the scan, the doctor didn’t say anything. I was very excited and loved seeing the little babies, but she was silent. Both Lewis and I immediately knew there must be a problem,” Smith said.
Doctors shared the news that one of the babies had anencephaly, which according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) affects about one in 4,600 babies across the U.S. It’s a serious birth defect where a baby is born without parts of the brain and skull, and “almost all babies born with anencephaly will die shortly after birth.”
Knowing that one baby would die soon after birth, and that there were risks involved for their other baby, the couple decided to move forward with the extremely high-risk pregnancy.
Over the next several months, Smith and Cann named their twins Skye and Callie. “We knew that Skye needed to have a name before she was born,” Smith said. “Knowing she would only survive for seconds or minutes, I wanted her to be named during that time.”
The meaning behind “Skye,” she explained “was somewhere we knew she would always be, that we could look up at the sky and remember our baby.”
When Smith went into labor after only 30 weeks on April 30, she needed an emergency C-section. To help navigate the loss, the couple had a “bereavement midwife” during the birth, and they were put I a special room the called the “Daisy Room,” where families can spend time with a baby before and after she/he passes.
“When the girls were born, they both cried. This was a huge moment, as we were told that Skye would not make a noise or move,” said Smith, who was thankful to have three hours with Skye before she died. “We were cuddling Skye when she passed away. This was the worst moment in our lives. I have never ever felt heartbreak like that before. But I am proud that she fought for so long to spend time with us.”
Born premature, Callie had to stay in NICU while she gained some strength and also in the unit were three other sets of twin.
“Most of the nurses were aware of what had happened, but as time passed, people stopped talking about Skye. After about four weeks, everyone acted as though nothing had happened, meaning the families around me had no idea about our situation,” Smith recalled.
One morning, a stressed mother whose twins were also in NICU, harmlessly said to Smith that she was “so lucky” to not have twins.
“None of the other parents knew what had happened or anything about Skye. The comment was completely innocent and more out of humor…They weren’t to know that I did at one point have two.” Smith continued, “But the comment nearly broke me. I ran out [of] the room in tears and they had no idea why. I didn’t have the heart to tell them what had happened. A simple sticker would have avoided that entire situation.”
It was in that moment Smith realized she had to create something that would speak for parents who had just lost a baby, ensuring the misunderstanding never happens again.
She designed a poster for the NICU explaining both hospital personnel and visitors that any incubator with a purple butterfly on it means that one or more babies, in a set of multiples were lost.
“I chose butterflies, as I felt it was fitting to remember the babies that flew away, the color purple because it is suitable for both boys or girls,” said Smith.
The purple butterfly concept–now under the Skye High Foundation–has spread to hospitals in several countries around the world.
Callie is now a lively, happy seven-year-old, and twin’s memory lives in purple butterfly cards along with other initiatives to help families with babies like Skye all over the world. The purple butterflies now come in numerous forms, like ornaments, cards, blankets, stuffed animals and more.
“Ultimately I will never be able to stop this from happening but the more support groups we can set up and put things in place like the stickers the better it will be. It’s the hardest thing anyone has to deal with,” Smith said.
Jacqueline Bisset, 78, continues to wow audiences with her natural beauty
Jacqueline Bisset is magnificent – in so many ways.
In a career spanning 58 years and a portfolio that includes about 50 films, the 78-year-old actress shows no signs of slowing down.
Jacqueline Bisset has been one of my role models since I was a very little girl, my parents just loved her. To me, she really is one of the few actresses that represent the glamour that Hollywood once had.
I admire her aging naturally and always thought she had a very natural beauty and sex appeal. She never wore tons of makeup.
Throughout her storied career, the brown-haired beauty, known for her high cheekbones and striking green eyes, has demonstrated her versatility by playing a range of characters including the sultry seductress Miss Goodthighs in the spy parody Casino Royale (1967), a devoted mother in Sleepy Time Gal (2001), First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in America’s Prince: The John F. Kennedy Jr. Story (2003) and Anna Karenina (1985) in the sweeping love story of the same name, where she starred opposite Christopher Reeves.
Bisset made her first on-screen appearance in Roman Polanski’s Cul-de-Sac (1966) and gained notoriety in 1968 when she starred in back-to-back films in one single year: Detective with crooner Frank Sinatra, Bullitt with Steven McQueen, and her Golden Globe-nominated performance in The Sweet Ride with Tony Franciosa and Bob Denver, who’s famously known as Gilligan on Gilligan’s Island.
You’ll also recognize her from her performances in Day for Night (1973), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), The Deep (1977), Wild Orchid (1990), her Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated role in Joan of Arc (1999), her Golden Globe-winning role in the miniseries Dancing on the Edge (2013), Miss You Already (2015) and Birds of Paradise (2021).
In 2010, the multilingual actor–she speaks English, French and Italian–was awarded the Legion of Honor, the highest state order in France, and in 2023, Sedona International Film Festival recognized Bisset with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Despite filming with some of Hollywood’s hottest men, Bisset has never been married. The stunning woman was pursued by Frank Sinatra, and rumors swirled that she was involved with Bullitt co-star, Hollywood bad boy, Steve McQueen. But Bisset, a proper English lady, said they were too different.
Referring to McQueen, she said in an interview with the Daily Mail, “He was attractive, but a little scary. I was very English and he was a hip American. The way he talked would have driven me mad–I didn’t know what a dude or a soul chick was!”
She’s had long-term relationships with Canadian actor Michael Sarrazin, the ballet dancer Alexander Godunov and actor Vincent Pérez, but she admits she’s too independent for anything permanent.
In an interview with the Independent, Bisset said, “I’ve had some very interesting men in my life. They have been a handful. I don’t choose easy men, I’m told.” She continued, “Sometimes you get too much information when you spend time with people. You start to see things–bad habits. You start to discover them and then you have to marry bad habits and I’m not sure I can cope with them. I don’t ever have bad relationships. I haven’t broken up angry. I’ve just moved out of situations that have been overwhelming.”
Though Bisset–Godmother to Angelina Jolie–hasn’t made headlines for having outrageous relationships, she was trending after she won the Golden Globe for her portrayal as Lady Cremone in the BBC series Dancing on the Edge.
Her acceptance speech, with the background music playing to signal her off the stage, was mostly filled with ramblings but demonstrated genuine gratitude from the then 69-year-old, who had been waiting 47 years to win, since her first nomination for best newcomer.
Since then, she starred as a sassy femme fatale in the French thriller The Lodger (2020), and most recently, she appeared in the film Loren & Rose (2022). Bisset plays the lead character Rose, a legendary actor trying to re-establish her career, who’s bound by a reputation that casts her as being a “little zany and a bit unreliable.”
According to the film’s director Russell Brown, the character of Rose is the opposite of Bisset in real life. Brown said, “Viewers often assume that Jacqueline is ‘like she is in the movie.’ But this really isn’t the case–as an actress and a woman, I think she is quite different from Rose, and it’s a testament to her skill that the transformation feels so seamless.”
Bisset is a timeless beauty who embraces aging with grace. In her infamous Golden Globes speech, she said: ‘I believe, if you want to look good, you’ve got to forgive everybody. It’s the best beauty treatment.’
She’s also said that though in her youth she had “lots of complexes” she was never tempted by plastic surgery. “I don’t think it makes you look younger. It makes you different,” said Bisset.
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