• November 26, 2001
• Vol. 56
• No. 22

Tiki & Ronde Barber: Sexiest Athletes

• 

From PEOPLE Magazine

More than 20 years after their mother wrote their names on the bottoms of their shoes to help the babysitter tell them apart, identical twins Tiki (above, left) and Ronde Barber, 26, still keep people guessing. Both are 5'10", both are NFL stars with multimillion-dollar contracts, and both double as football commentators. Born 4V? weeks prematurely in Blacksburg, Va., to Geraldine, now 48 (she and James Barber divorced in 1980), the two were inseparable for their first 22 years. "We're close," admits Ronde, the elder by seven minutes, "but we lead such different lives now."

These days Ronde, a Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback, is the one who relaxes by playing golf near the Tampa house he shares with wife Claudia, an event planner. He threw her an elaborate surprise 30th-birthday party in August, racing home early to cover their bed in rose petals. "He is the perfect man," she says. Or nearly. He's also a neat freak who "a couple of times has made the bed before I was ready to get up." Tiki, a running back with the New York Giants, is the one who likes to hit Manhattan's hot spots in designer suits with fashion-publicist wife Ginny, 25. The more sharply dressed Barber cheerfully admits that his wife "wears and picks out the pants. I know what my role is." Mom still sees their similarities. "They're wonderful athletes, and they're very intelligent," says Geraldine. "And they're content to just be at home alone with the women they love."