In the winding streets of Amsterdam’s historic Wallen district, where red neon reflections ripple across canal water and centuries-old buildings, few figures are as deeply woven into the area’s identity as Louise and Martine Fokkens. Now both 83 years old, the identical twins have stepped fully into retirement, bringing an end to careers that lasted more than half a century and placed them among the most recognized figures in the history of the city’s legalized sex trade.
Known globally as the world’s oldest sex-working twins, the Fokkens sisters lived and worked through decades of social change, legal evolution, and shifting attitudes toward sex work in the Netherlands. Their lives, marked by resilience and contradiction, have become part of the cultural record of Amsterdam itself. Over the span of their working years, the sisters estimate they collectively saw approximately 355,000 clients, an astonishing number that underscores both the scale of their careers and the longevity of their presence in the Red Light District.
