Annette Dionne, the last of the famous “Dionne quintuplets,” died in a Montreal suburb on Wednesday at age 91.
Dionne's death was first reported by the New York Times. A family representative told the publication that she died due to complications related to Alzheimer's disease.
The Dionne Quints House Museum in North Bay, Ont., said on social media that Annette died on Christmas Eve, but did not provide further details.
“She felt it was important to preserve the Dionne Quints Museum and the history it represents for the future of all children,” the museum said in a statement Friday.
“Annette was the only surviving Quint and the last surviving sibling of the 14 children of the Dionne family… Rest in peace Annette.”
On May 28, 1934, Annette, Emily, Yvonne, Cecile and Marie Dionne were born prematurely near Callander, Ontario. They would go on to be known throughout the world as the Dionne quintuplets.
They became famous for being the first confirmed quintuplets to survive infancy. All five of them survived to adulthood.
After four months of family care, their care was transferred to the Red Cross, which paid for their care and oversaw the construction of a hospital built especially for them.
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In September 1934, the girls were moved from the family farmhouse to Defoe Hospital and Nursery, where they were cared for by Dr. Allan Roy Defoe, the same man who helped give birth to them.
The kindergarten was equipped with public observation areas, barbed wire around the perimeter and full-time police officers to guard them as the five children's new home became a popular tourist attraction.
He was known to the general public as “Quintland”.
The sisters were taken out to the playground to be observed by visitors who came from all over, two or three times a week.
Among the visitors were King George VI of England and his wife. Amelia Earhart also visited Callander just six weeks before her ill-fated flight in 1937.
They lived in kindergarten until they were nine years old, and during their stay there, the Dionne sisters were constantly checked, studied and examined.
Oliva Edouard Dionne, their father, owned a gift shop and a wool store opposite the nursery. Eventually, Olivia Edward began to regain custody of her children through the courts.
Visits continued in Quintland while the girls' father was in court. It is estimated that 3 million girls attended kindergarten between 1934 and 1943, when they left.
The quintuplets later became television sensations, appearing in a number of commercials. Their life story has been recreated in Hollywood films three times.
Emily was the first of the sisters to die. She was 20 years old at the time of her death in 1954.
Marie died in 1970 at the age of 35.
Over the years, the sisters have published several stories and made documentaries about their experiences, detailing the dark and uncomfortable lives in which they were constantly exposed.
In 1997, Annette, Cecile and Yvonne said in a book that their father sexually abused them. Family secrets: the Dionne quintuplets' own story.
The other three sisters have been in contact with the Ontario government, claiming money was stolen from their trust fund.
After lengthy negotiations, in March 1998 the Ontario government announced it would pay the three surviving quints $4 million in compensation for the nine years they spent on display at the tourist theme park.
Three years later, Yvonne died of cancer.
Cecile will live until July 2025; she was 91 years old at the time of her death on July 28.
— With files from The Canadian Press.
