History Main / TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry

* Mirabel and Isabela from ''WesternAnimation/Encanto'' are this for most of the film with Isabela playing the pretty one. [[spoiler: they become closer towards the end of the film when Isabela confesses her unhappiness and lack of desire to marry Mariano and Mirabel realizes they are NotSoDifferent.]]

* In ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' fic ''Strandpiel'', by Creator/AAPessimal, graduate Assassin, Ruth N'Kweze, is recalled Home by her father, an autocratic King, to take up her duties as Paramount Crown Princess. After having established her credentials as a Princess (by raising her own loyal Army and fighting a winning war), she then starts to steer the future course of the Empire. Ruth has lots of half-sisters -- and half-brothers -- through her father's many wives. Her sisters are jealous of the way she has risen to prominence and several ineffectual assassination attempts are mounted from her loving siblings. But unlike Ruth, most of her half-sisters were not trained by the Guild of Assassins. Several jealous sisters find out the hard way.
** Elsewhere only daughters are born to two Grand Ducal families in what is left of the Discworld's UsefulNotes/{{Russia}} after its version of TheGreatPoliticsMessUp. Olga Romanoff and Natasha Romanoff are cousins. If they agree on one thing, it is that as only children they were deprived of a chance to slug it out with an actual sibling. Being cousins, however, is the same thing at one level removed.

* Series/{{Arrow}}: The Lance sisters, Sara and Laurel. On top of sharing FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling dynamics, Sara and Laurel have competed for Ollie's affections, with Laurel sabotaging Sara's chance to start dating Oliver and Sara sleeping with him after he starts dating Laurel. By the present, the rivalry has largely disappeared with Laurel being a CoolBigSis to Sara, [[spoiler:shame they keep dying on one another]].

* In ''LightNovel/DateALive'' the Yamai twins first appear locked in a struggle with one another, with the winner absorbing the loser to become the true Yamai. They are very close in appearance but with wildly different personalities. [[spoiler:The two love each other deeply and have secretly been throwing their fights to avoid killing one another; when they discover this their trash talk changes to convincing the other sister they should be the winner until Shidou seals their powers]].
* ''Manga/DetectiveConan'':

** [[BreakTheCutie Both of them are horribly broken upon their being separated]]. Despite their previous hostility, they [[AwwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther actively start missing/ mourning each other greatly]] (neither know that the other is alive).

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': [[LovableAlphaBitch Sansa]] and [[AnnoyingYoungerSibling Arya]] Stark have this going on, with added FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling vibes. According to [[SternNun Septa Mordane]], Sansa is "the responsible one" and Arya is "the difficult one", and they are each treated accordingly, which doesn't help either interact with the other civilly. Sansa is seen as being significantly more beautiful, is popular and is accomplished in the airs and graces of high society and she's the more [[{{Bookworm}} indoorsily bookish]] of the two, if ''very'' [[ThinksLikeARomanceNovel naïve]] and fairly sweet with it (despite a tendency to find high horses from which to look down on Arya). Her sister's bluntness, lack of standard graces, manners, polish and outright preference for the Heartswood, however, constantly embarrasses her, and she always feels the need to call Arya out on any faux pas she makes. Arya is more practically minded and StreetSmart with a rebellious streak. Having said that, however, Arya doesn't ''hate'' all romantic storybooks, but quite likes mathematics and selected, action-heavy histories a bit more. She has a comparatively homely appearance and is highly uninterested in learning the social games of court. Arya is ''very'' critical of Sansa's perceived shallowness and unwillingness to get out to smell the wider reality in return for the put-downs Sansa (and her small girl posse) regularly dishes out. Their relationship seems to straddle the line between truly loving each other and CainAndAbel: you cannot leave them alone in the same room for ten minutes without each finding novel ways to hurt the other. [[BreakTheCutie Both of them are horribly broken upon their being separated]], and actively start missing/ mourning each other greatly (neither know that the other is alive).

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* ''Literature/PrettyThings'' by VirginieDespentes is based on this trope, applied to twins. The book plays a lot with the trope, [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructing it]] by showing one of them as nearly autistic and the other as totally depressed by the shallowness of her many social relationships. It also goes to great length to [[JustifiedTrope justify]] it by exposing the girls' [[FreudianExcuse childhood and relationships]] with an abusive father and submissive mother as the root of the situation. However, [[spoiler: one of the sisters dies early in the story, prompting the other to assume her identity and finally understand [[NotSoDifferent her dead sister]], ending with her personality balanced between the two extremes and some measure of peace]].

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* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' plays around with this trope. Nabiki is not so much "smart" as she is "cunning" and enormously popular with the guys even when ''everyone'' knows she only dates them in order to fleece them for all they're worth. Also, it's "Beautiful" Akane who criticizes Nabiki for her shallowness and materialistic attitude.
* Momo and Nana Deviluke from ''Manga/ToLoveRu'', even more so in the sequel ''Darkness''. Momo, the younger one, is more extroverted, devious, scheming, sexually active, comfortable herself and quite popular, while Nana, far from bookish or unpopular, is far more straightforward, cynical, sheltered and a {{Tsundere}}.
* Karala (the popular younger sister) and Harulu (the smart older one) from ''Anime/SpaceRunawayIdeon'' go for the CainAndAbel route.
* Poor Misty from ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' has to deal with Popular ''Triplet'' Sisters! It doesn't help that while not bad people, Daisy, Violet, and Lily are completely irresponsible Gym Leaders as well, causing Misty to leave Ash and Brock at the end of Johto.
* ''Manga/MinamiKe'' spreads the trope over three sisters instead of two, though it's largely borne by Kana (the Popular Sister, minus the actual popularity) and Chiaki (mostly the Smart Sister). Eldest Haruka picks up the "popularity" aspect of Popular Sister and "responsibility" fragments of the Smart Sister role. The warring is entirely between Kana and Chiaki as well and is mostly over Kana wanting Chiaki to participate in her shenanigans, and Chiaki calling Kana an idiot and preferring her '''own''' shenanigans.
* Hinagiku and Yukiji Katsura of ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler'' could qualify. Popularity isn't quite as significant though. Hinagiku is the school idol and Yukiji is a teacher but noticeably less popular. Yukiji likes to drink and is constantly wasting money, while Hina is the student council president, president of the kendo club and seems to be good with money, at least to the effect of lending large amounts to her sister.
** The two also apparently have the rivalry of their foster parents' affections. Yukiji is favored by their father while Hinagiku is for their mother.
** It seems while it isn't a point of contention to cause the two to argue, Yukiji does have a grudge over her sister's popularity. And Hinagiku doesn't seem to have any reluctance to harm her sister, particularly when Yukiji barges in on her changing. OTOH, though, Hina is shown to have quite a bit of respect for her older sister, using 'onee-san' even while berating.

* Narumi (beautiful) and Kurumi (smart) in ''Manga/ThePrinceOfTennis''. They adore each other, yes, but Kurumi also feels very awkward as she feels Narumi is overshadowing her.

* Slightly subverted in ''Manga/BlackButler'' as beautiful Rachel Durless apparently never feels threatened by smart Angelina, while Angelina feels deeply envious of Rachel but still loves her dearly and the main reason she wants to be a doctor is to help her older sister who is asthmatic. [[spoiler: Not helped by how Earl Vincent Phantomhive, the love of Angelina's life, marries Rachel, has Ciel with her... and they're both murdered a few years later.]]

* Parodied in ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''. In the early chapters, there is a running gag where Rukia is often seen reading a shojo manga, which, according to supplemental materials from the tankoban, is about two sisters having a private war over a box left to them by their dead mother.
** In-series, this is averted by the Kotetsu sisters. Older sister Isane is the "Beautiful" one since she's a kind and softspoken healer, while younger sister Kiyone is the "smart" one thanks to being a FieryRedhead, but they get along pretty well as we can see.
* ''Manga/DetectiveConan'':
** Mina (beautiful) and Masayo (smart) Aoshima. [[spoiler: Taken to horrible levels when Masayo ''kills'' Mina over a huge misunderstanding.]]
** Also, in Detective Conan Special, the Matsumoto sisters. Kiwako (beautiful) and Chieko (smart), complete with very harsh rivalry. [[spoiler:Subverted when it's revealed that all of the rivalry was an act in order to kill the victim who stole the music school and forced their father to commit suicide. In truth, they really love each other]].
** Again with the Kataoka sisters, Sayuri (beautiful) and Saki (smart). [[spoiler:Saki has always been jealous that her sister was the favorite child since the old days, became a famous idol and married (later divorced) her boyfriend Keiichi,]] but her last straw broke when [[spoiler:Sayuri came to star in Saki's plays and performed even BETTER than her. It got worse, needless to say, and Saki ended up ''beating Sayuri to death'''.]]
* [[spoiler:Hilda and Yolda]] from ''Manga/{{Beelzebub}}'' absolutely despise each other, so much so that they would gladly kill if needed, as demons are encouraged to dispose of their rivals. While both are beautiful and powerful, the former was always favoured -- however, both have also shown willingness to help the other when she needs it.
** It even gets lampshaded after an arc where both go through a lot to save one another, that if it wasn't for the fact that they serve demon lord rivals, they would probably be completely loving sisters. After the arc, they act a bit nicer to one another.
* Lady Jaguara and her younger twin sister Hamona from ''Anime/WolfsRain''. In this case, [[SiblingTriangle there was also a man involved]].
* In ''Manga/BattleAngelAlita'' Alita's [[SendInTheClones TUNED clones]] had a ''literal'' War (or, more precisely, Hunt) Of Sisterly Rivalry, where [[YouAreNumberSix GR-6]] sought to destroy every other clone and then the original [[MiddleChildSyndrome to prove herself]]. The only survivors of which, GR-6 and the twins GR-11 and GR-12 later started to call themselves [[BilingualBonus Sechs, Elf and Zwoelf]] respectively, and retroactively kinda ''became'' [[AnnoyingYoungerSibling her siblings]], pushing the trope further. Though [[BloodKnight Sechs]] actually dropped out of it, due to [[RunningGag now]] [[GenderBender him]] switching to the DumbassTeenageSon role.
* In ''Manga/MagiLabyrinthOfMagic'', we have Princess Hakuei and her cousin Princess Kougyoku, who become step-sisters after Hakuei's mother marries Kougyoku's father. Both girls are very beautiful as well as powerful fighters, but Hakuei is a [[ProperLady Proper]] LadyOfWar loved by pretty much everyone, while Kougyoku is low-born and [[IJustWantToHaveFriends VERY socially awkward with next to no friends]]...so Kougyoku envies Hakuei a LOT, both for [[KissingCousins having a good relationship]] with Prince Kouen (whom Kougyoku might admire...[[BigBrotherAttraction a bit too much]]) and for her popularity and skill.

* In the second season of ''Anime/AldnoahZero'', [[spoiler: Princess Lemrina Vers Envers]] is the Smart Sister and she heavily resents her Pretty Sister [[spoiler: Princess Asseylum Vers Allusia]] since [[spoiler: she is an IllGirl ''and'' an illegitimate child while Asseylum is the "official" Martian Princess]], and seeks to replace her as she [[spoiler: works with Saazbaum and Slaine as Asseylum's BodyDouble.]]
* In ''LightNovel/DateALive'' the Yamai twins first appear locked in a struggle with one another, with the winner absorbing the loser to become the true Yamai. They are very close in appearance but with wildly different personalities. [[spoiler:The two love each other deeply and have secretly been throwing their fights to avoid killing one another; when they discover this their trash talk changes to convincing the other sister they should be the winner until Shidou seals their powers]].
* Downplayed in ''Anime/SpiritedAway'' with the witch sisters Yubaba and Zeniba. The two lead vastly different lives--Yubaba is a wealthy businesswoman who runs a famous bathhouse for tired spirits, which technically makes her the Smart One (as she has a head for numbers and industry), while Zeniba lives alone in a small cottage in the woods; the [[TrueCompanions heroes]] of the film come to like her more than Yubaba, so she could be considered the Popular One. The two sisters aren't fond of each other, but they don't seem all that interested in pursuing their rivalry; it's more a case of leaving one another alone unless provoked.
* Erina and Alice Nakiri in ''Manga/FoodWars'' are a cousin variation of this, although they zigzag a bit on the "smart" and "beautiful" roles. Erina was mean to Alice when they were growing up and still looks down on her, preferring to stand as the superior chef. In exchange, Alice teases Erina where she knows her cousin is less experienced — social life and behaving like a normal teenager. Despite this, as the story advances it's revealed that the two love each other very much.
* Subverted in ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers'', when Ginga Nakajima, Subaru's beautiful and more accomplished older sister is first introduced. While we are first led to believe by Subaru's subdued reaction to Ginga's transfer that there is some unresolved tension between the two, it is soon revealed to be just Subaru struggling to express her joy properly -- for her relationship with Ginga is actually very close and trusting [[spoiler:and is rooted in a ''lot'' of trauma they've endured together]].

* Literature/InHerShoes plays this trope in a serious manner, as both sisters struggle with their own insecurities and with the 20 plus year death of their mother.
%%* The Creator/SteveCarell film ''Film/DanInRealLife'' is another GenderFlip version, with Dan (Carell) as the Smart One who falls in love with his flaky brother's girlfriend.
%%* Another GenderFlip example is Marvel's Film/{{Thor}} and Loki, Thor being the elder son, heir to the throne, golden, popular and HotBlooded warrior-prince, contrasted by his younger brother Loki's clever, magic-wielding [[TheTrickster Trickster]] nature making him TheUnfavorite BlackSheep prince and heightening their rivalry to CainAndAbel proportions. Although Thor seems to genuinely love and trust his younger brother, at least initially.

* This is the basis of the Creator/{{Disney}} film ''Film/WishUponAStar'', where Alexia and Hayley switch places. The differences are accentuated by using their favourite styles of music (rock and classical, respectively) in the background of their scenes.
* ''[[Film/AMaSoeur Fat Girl]]''. An overweight 13-year-old girl is jealous of her beautiful 15-year-old sister because she gets to have sex (she longs to have sex herself); and has an affair with a boy right in front of her, no less.

* ''Film/WhatEverHappenedToBabyJane'' takes this to an extreme. As children, Jane was a child star while her sister Blanche was plain and often overlooked. Blanche grew up to be beautiful and her acting talent overshadowed Jane's, but despite this, Blanche still saw Jane as a rival and felt threatened by her, to the point where [[spoiler:she eventually tried to kill Jane]].

* ''Film/MenWithBrooms'' features a variation: Both sisters are The Smart Sister; one happens to be the Prodigal Daughter (went to college, joined [[{{Expy}} The American Space Agency]], became an astronaut) while the other is [[TheDutifulSon The Dutiful Daughter]], who stayed home with the family and cared for their father. Also, [[TriangRelations both are romantic interests]] for the main character of the film, Chris Cutter.

* ''Film/ThePhiladelphiaStory'' and the musical version ''Film/HighSociety'' has the Lord sisters: Tracy, the older, beautiful, popular socialite sister; and Caroline, the teenage, unrefined, [[TheSnarkKnight sarcastic]] tomboy. A variation, as neither sister is really smarter than the other; however Tracy is ''acting'' stupidly, marrying the wrong man, while her sister [[ShipperOnDeck knows who she should really be with]]

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': [[LovableAlphaBitch Sansa]] and [[AnnoyingYoungerSibling Arya]] Stark have this going on, with added FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling vibes. According to [[SternNun Septa Mordane]], Sansa is "the responsible one" and Arya is "the difficult one", and they are each treated accordingly, which doesn't help either interact with the other civilly. Sansa is seen as being significantly more beautiful, is popular and is accomplished in the airs and graces of high society and she's the more [[{{Bookworm}} indoorsily bookish]] of the two, if ''very'' [[ThinksLikeARomanceNovel naïve]] and fairly sweet with it (despite a tendency to find high horses from which to look down on Arya). Her sister's bluntness, lack of standard graces, manners, polish and outright preference for the Heartswood, however, constantly embarrasses her, and she always feels the need to call Arya out on any faux pas she makes. Arya is more practically minded and StreetSmart with a rebellious streak. Having said that, however, Arya doesn't ''hate'' all romantic storybooks, but quite likes mathematics and selected, action-heavy histories a bit more. She has a comparatively homely appearance and is highly uninterested in learning the social games of court. Arya is ''very'' critical of Sansa's perceived shallowness and unwillingness to get out to smell the wider reality in return for the put-downs Sansa (and her small girl posse) regularly dishes out. Their relationship seems to straddle the line between truly loving each other and CainAndAbel: you cannot leave them alone in the same room for ten minutes without each finding novel ways to hurt the other. [[BreakTheCutie Both of them are horribly broken upon their being separated]], and actively start missing/ mourning each other greatly (neither know that the other is alive).

%% * Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield from the ''Literature/SweetValleyHigh'' books.

* ''Literature/LittleWomen'' has four sisters; among them, Jo and Amy fit the trope. Jo is a brash, bookish, outspoken tomboy, while Amy is an aspiring ProperLady who loves beauty and refined society. Their differences, combined with the fact that they're not that different in their fiery tempers, leads them to clash with each other much more often than they do with their other sisters, although they [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther really do love each other]] and learn to disagree more respectfully as they grow up.
** Jo (Smart) and Meg (Beautiful) fit in technically speaking, but end up subverting the trope. Aside from Meg chiding Jo once in a while for being tactless and too outspoken, they get along pretty well and Jo considers Meg her best friend. [[spoiler: Jo even shows jealousy towards John Brooke when he's revealed to have feelings for Meg, as she's afraid that she'll lose Meg's emotional support.]]
* Meg Cabot's ''Literature/AllAmericanGirl'' has a set of three sisters where the protagonist has an inferiority complex because her older sister is the Popular One and her younger sister is the Smart One. She herself is Artistic. The main rivalry is between the protagonist and her older, popular sister as they are closer in age and the youngest is so smart she considers rivalries petty.
* Laura and Mary [[Literature/LittleHouseOnThePrairie Ingalls]] have elements of this. Mary is very pretty and perfectly well-behaved, while Laura is active, energetic, and brave. Some subversion in that they're both pretty smart, though. They laugh about it when they're older. (They also have two younger sisters, Carrie and Grace, but Carrie avoids conflict with Laura and Mary due to them being focused on each other, and the age gap between her and Grace (almost seven years), plus the fact that their personalities don't really lend themselves to a conflict, avert a rivalry there as well.)
* [[SubvertedTrope Subversion]]: In the first book of the ''Literature/{{War of the Spider Queen}}'' hexad, Pharaun's sisters Sabal and Greyanna have one of these... except that they're said to be identical in both looks and personality [[InformedAbility (not that Sabal gets much personality given to her)]]. We see the whole thing from Pharaun's perspective, in a flashback.
* [[spoiler: Lisbeth and her sister Camilla Salander]] in ''Literature/TheMillenniumTrilogy'' are so at odds with each other they have been in separate classes their entire life and haven't spoken to each other or even seen each other since they were sixteen when their meeting resulted in a DesignatedGirlFight.
* The entire point of Philippa Gregory's ''Literature/TheOtherBoleynGirl'' is the rivalry between Anne Boleyn and her younger, less famous sister Mary. Interestingly enough, neither of them fit completely into the stereotypes listed. Anne would be the "Popular Sister," yet she is far more intelligent than Mary. Accordingly, Mary would be the "Smart Sister," except she's not as smart as Anne, and is generally considered more beautiful. What it really comes down to is Anne knows how to work the court and has heaping piles of ambition, while Mary just wants to raise her children in the country. The true fit in the types comes in that Anne is far more shallow than Mary.
* ''Literature/{{Deenie}}'': Their mother frequently tells people (including complete strangers) that "Deenie's the beauty, Helen's the brain." At one point Helen tells Deenie she doesn't have to fall into the role their mother has chosen for her.

* In both ''Literature/TippingTheVelvet'' and ''Literature/{{Affinity}}'' by Sarah Waters, the protagonist is the Smart One (and very gay), their sister the better looking, popular one. Both relationships are problematic- Nan's sister Alice never comes to term with her sister being gay, Margaret's jealous of Pris for being so normal (though will never own up to this).
* Creator/StephenColbert references this trope in ''Literature/IAmAmericaAndSoCanYou'', in the chapter about family (which is appropriately [[DysfunctionalFamily fraught with]] [[StepfordSuburbia distressing subtext about the nuclear American family]]). Discussing non-immediate relatives, it tells you to find out more about your aunt by determining whether your mother was "the one who 'got the looks' or the one who 'got the brains.' Either way, she resents your aunt for getting the other one!"
* Creator/TamoraPierce's ''Literature/TrickstersDuet'' has the Balitang sisters: Sarai, the older, beautiful social butterfly, who's by no means stupid (or even BookDumb) but headstrong and somewhat careless; and Dove, the quiet, observant, bookish, oft-overlooked little sister. A prophecy dictates that one of them will end up queen of their country. [[spoiler:Sarai ends up getting well out of the whole plot by running off with a lover, and Dove takes the throne.]]
* This trope is the reason Literature/HarryPotter grew up with MuggleFosterParents who [[AbusiveParents hated him]] (well, and that whole Voldemort thing). Harry's treatment by his Aunt Petunia was essentially revenge against his mother/her younger sister Lily for being the better sister (it seems Lily got the looks ''and'' the brains ''and'' was a witch to boot -- no wonder Petunia was so jealous). That's not the reason Vernon abused him, of course, but that's a moot point since Petunia wouldn't be married to someone like Vernon if she hadn't chosen to be like that, not to mention that the rivalry is likely the reason Petunia was content to let Vernon mistreat Harry.
* Spencer and Melissa in ''Literature/PrettyLittleLiars''. Melissa is the smart one and Spencer is the pretty one, though both of them are smart.
** Reversed in the television version: Spencer is the smarter one, while Melissa is the favorite one (and ostensibly the prettier, although YMMV on that), although they are both smart and driven.
* Pearl and May in ''Literature/ShanghaiGirls''. Pearl is the smart one and May is the pretty one, and Pearl feels like she is TheUnfavorite.

* Echo and Zoë in ''Literature/SavingZoe'', though it really only starts after Zoë's death. Echo is the smart one and Zoë is the pretty one.
* In ''Literature/ICaptureTheCastle'', Rose is the beautiful sister and Cassandra is the smart sister.
* ''Literature/TheTillermanFamilySeries'' installment ''Sons from Afar'' has a male example in insecure genius James and popular athlete Sammy, which serves as a major plot point for most of the book. Oddly enough, Dicey and Maybeth have the makings of this (the former being a tough tomboy and the latter being sweet and girly), but subvert this as each sister finds the other's opposite trait from hers to be comforting.
* ''Literature/PrettyThings'' by VirginieDespentes is based on this trope, applied to twins. The book plays a lot with the trope, [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructing it]] by showing one of them as nearly autistic and the other as totally depressed by the shallowness of her many social relationships. It also goes to great length to [[JustifiedTrope justify]] it by exposing the girls' [[FreudianExcuse childhood and relationships]] with an abusive father and submissive mother as the root of the situation. However, [[spoiler: one of the sisters dies early in the story, prompting the other to assume her identity and finally understand [[NotSoDifferent her dead sister]], ending with her personality balanced between the two extremes and some measure of peace]].

* Michelle Magorian's ''A Little Love Song[=/=]Not a Swan'' is about Rose (the smart one) and her big sister Diana (the beautiful one). At first, we only get Rose's side of the story, since she's the main character, which is that everyone likes Diana better because she's prettier, including their [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII recently deceased father]]. When they finally talk about it, it turns out that Diana herself is convinced that their father liked Rose best because of her intelligence and that he never took anything Diana said seriously. Diana also feels lonely because girls generally don't like her and boys are so mesmerized by her looks that they can't talk to her.
* ''Literature/SorceryAndCecelia'': Georgy is the pretty one. Kate is the smart one (not that [[MaidenAunt Aunt Charlotte]] acknowledges this). Of course, Kate is perfectly pretty herself, it's only that Georgy is so beautiful as to be the talk of the Ton.
* ''Literature/ShadesOfMilkAndHoney'': Jane is plain, but accomplished. She wishes she were as beautiful as her sister Melody. Melody is beautiful. She wishes she were anywhere near as talented in anything as her sister Jane. This causes more than a little conflict between them as they try to settle which one of them is better or worse off in the game of getting a husband.

* ''Literature/SouthernSistersMysteries'': Patricia Anne is the quiet, smart one (and a retired schoolteacher!) while Mary Alice is the pretty, popular one. It's made very clear that they actually do care about each other, despite all their differences.
* ''Literature/ThePerilousGard'''s Kate, the clever, awkward elder sister, has an inferiority complex about her beautiful, silly, lovable younger sister Alicia so deep-rooted it [[ObliviousToLove prevents her from noticing]] that they aren't romantic rivals.
* Appears in Sophie Hannah's "Spilling Series" with [[TomboyandGirlyGirl Charlie and Olivia]] -- they do SnarkToSnarkCombat in almost every installment in the series, but it's clear they do care for each other.
* ''Literature/TellTheWolvesImHome'': Shows up with Greta (the pretty, popular older sister who purposely dumbs herself down) and June (plainer, prosaic, critical of Greta's shallowness), although Greta is actually more BookSmart than June (but the latter is more bookish). They used to be extremely close, but grew apart and bitter over the years.
* In Charle's Perrault's tale "Riquet with the Tuft", the ugly but witty and kind protagonist Prince Riquet comes across a princess who is a DumbBlonde while her younger sister is ugly but charming. The eldest princess, despite her dimness, is painfully aware of the trope and confides on Riquet how unhappy she is for it. [[spoiler: Riquet befriends this princess and tells her that a fairy told him that he'd be able to make the person he loves smarter, and the girl promises to marry him. She becomes smarter and refuses to marry Riquet... but on the grounds that she made the promise ''before'' becoming wittier, rather than not liking him. It turns out she has a gift of her own -- and which makes Riquet handsome, in return for him giving her the smarts she needed.]]
* In ''Literature/ProphecyOfTheSisters'', the main conflict is about moral allegiance, but Alice is more interested in looking good, while Lia prefers to be comfortable. The example given is their nightgowns, Alice has one made of silk, while Lia prefers flannel. Alice is a bit bitter about the fact that Lia was always their bookish father's favourite.
* In ''[[Literature/RamonaQuimby Beezus and Ramona]]'', Mrs. Quimby tells Beezus that her childhood relationship with her sister Beatrice (Aunt Bea) has shades of this. Doris is the bookish, indoorsy type, while Beatrice is the more popular, impulsive and outgoing of the two. The two sisters often fight because of this.
* ''Literature/TheSisterhoodOfTheTravelingPants'' has Lena and Effie. Lena is the quiet, socially awkward sister and Effie is the popular, stylish, outgoing sister, but in a slight rearrangement of the usual types, ''Lena'' is the one who gets the male attention (at first sight, that is) because of her looks. Lena herself feels that their looks and personalities are mismatched.
* ''Literature/TheFallingKingdomsSeries'': The goddesses Valoria and Cleiona embodied this, with Valoria being strict, devout, and no-nonsense, while Cleiona is frivolous, social, and self-centered. Valoria instructed a life of discipline to her nation Limeros, while Cleiona bequeathed a life of pleasure to her nation Auranos. [[UnreliableNarrator Depending on which you ask]], this rivalry eventually turned lethal, with one sister becoming evil and murdering the other. [[spoiler:The true story is that there were ''three'' sisters, with [[TheAce Eva]] being the object of Valoria and Cleiona's jealousy and that they ''both'' turned evil to murder her, steal [[MacGuffin The Kindred]], and eventually destroyed each other. [[{{Deconstruction}} Sister rivalry isn't nearly as glorious when the sisters fighting are immortals who screw up the world as a result]].]]

* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': The witch Granny Weatherwax is GenreSavvy. She can recognise when a story is happening around her, and as often as not out of sheer bloody-mindedness will seek to derail it. Or, as in the case of ''Literature/WitchesAbroad'', she walks through a trail of classic fairy-tales, recognises a truly evil witch is at work, and makes it her business to derail every story she enters. The reason is a simple one: Granny has a wealth of resentment against her older sister Lily, who became a witch first and got to leave home and do all the interesting things with Witchcraft that Granny longed to do herself. But Esme was then forced into the role of Good Witch, having to stay at home in Lancre and do all the boring and humdrum everyday "good witch" things. Esmerelda takes a long-awaited vengeance on Lilith -- who tries equally hard to thwart and if possible to kill her sister. And does some good as a side-effect.

* ''Literature/TheAnderssons'': Ida Sofia is a straight-laced intellectual, while Greta is an impulsive TheFashionista.

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': Subverted. The rivalry between Buffy and Dawn is short-lived and somewhat one-sided. However, there are some callbacks to this dynamic in later episodes, especially season 7's "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS7E6Him Him]]", in which Dawn and Buffy fall under the same guys' love spell.

** In season 7, Littlefinger tries to use this, making Sansa believe Arya is plotting a coup to become Lady of Winterfell and for Sansa to get rid of her. The problem is [[spoiler: Sansa knows full well Arya couldn’t care less about being Lady and sees through the whole thing. The girls brilliantly let Littlefinger think his plan is working all the way up to starting a trial for Arya's treason...at which point Littlefinger discovers too late; ''he's'' the one on trial with Sansa passing judgement and Arya slicing Baelish's throat herself.]]

* ''Series/OneTreeHill'': An odd example exists in the James sisters since there are three of them (technically four, but the oldest is TheGhost) and they're all adults. The older of the three, Taylor, is the party girl troublemaker and the youngest, Haley, is the married HotBlooded mother, leading to some pretty intense fights whenever they are in the same scene. Middle sister Quinn ''tries'' to balance it out when the fight comes to a head in season seven, but since that episode features Taylor being quite a {{Jerkass}} to Quinn, it quickly devolves. Into an all-out brawl in Haley's swimming pool.

* ''Series/{{Psych}}'': Episode six of season four reveals that Chief Vick has a sister named Barbara who is a member of the Coast Guard. Throughout the episode, the two [[JurisdictionFriction butt heads over jurisdiction over a case]] and their dialogue suggests they have been at each other's throats since they were kids.

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': Genderflipped example in the Winchester boys: Sam is the intelligent College Boy brother who tries to be rational and think things through while Dean is the ruggedly handsome lady killer with a girl in every port (or truck stop) with a habit of rushing into things and having a [[TriggerHappy shoot first then burn and salt it before asking questions]] policy. This is somewhat subverted as Sam gets darker after [[spoiler:dying and being resurrected when Dean makes a DealWithTheDevil in season two.]]

* ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}'':
** Elphaba and Nessarose fit this trope to a certain extent. Ostracised due to her strange appearance, Elphaba has grown up smart, independent and prickly -- not to mention hugely magically talented. Nessa is pretty, somewhat shallow and her father's favourite. She misses out on the popularity she craves due to her disability [[spoiler: and severe mental instability]]. She's often embarrassed by Elphie, laying anything that goes wrong at her door.
** In terms of personality Glinda and Elphaba fit this even better, even though they are roommates/classmates instead of sisters.
* Aloysia and Constanza in ''Theatre/MozartLOperaRock'', especially when it comes to Mozart. In "six pieds sous la terre" they trade insults back and forth (Constanze calls Aloysia a "little bitch" while Aloysia shoots back that "you blow your mind when you knit!").

* Shakespeare did this one too in ''Theatre/TheTamingOfTheShrew'' -- Katerina, the older sister, is the hotheaded nonconformist who hates the idea of getting married, and her younger sister Bianca is the sweet womanly one who deeply wants a husband.
* ''Theatre/WonderfulTown'' has Ruth Sherwood as the smart one and her sister Eileen as the pretty one. This was based on ''Theatre/MySisterEileen'', which was VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory by Ruth [=McKenney=].
* Subverted in ''Theatre/{{Proof}}''. Catherine is portrayed as the smart sister and Claire as the pretty one but both are actually very intelligent and attractive.
* ''Theatre/TheLearnedLadies'' has smart older sister Armande and beautiful younger sister Henritte. They snit at each other constantly, in a rare example where the beautiful sister is more sympathetic and the smart one trying to bring the pretty one to her side.

* Eponine and Cosette of ''Theatre/LesMiserables'', although they were only raised as sisters after Cosette's mother Fantine placed her in of Eponine's parents, the Thenardiers. The rivalry, however, doesn't begin after they have long since stopped "being" sisters when Cosette is introduced to Marius, Eponine's love interest. Cosette is the pretty, innocent one who eventually gets the guy while Eponine is more intelligent, snarky, and due to a bad case of CanNotSpitItOut (and Marius's obliviousness) ends up [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy helping Marius and Cosette get together]].
* PlayedWith in ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}''. Angelica, the eldest Schuyler sister, is intelligent ''and'' attractive, but her younger sister Eliza is evidently more attractive to Alexander, and she is the one whom he marries. However, he clearly has affections for both (he flirts with Angelica in "Satisfied", and they have a ''very'' close relationship in "Take a Break"), and when push comes to shove [[spoiler:after he publicly admits to adultery]], Angelica sides with her sister, thus effectively ending the rivalry.

* In ''VideoGame/TheSims2'', twins Lilith and Angela Pleasant in the Pleasantview neighborhood are pre-programmed to hate each other. Angela is the Popular One and Lilith is a Goth.
* Nina and Anna Williams in the ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'' series. It started out with Nina playing mean pranks on Anna (in the endings for the first two games) to the two of them actually trying to kill each other with a variety of lethal weaponry before the most recent titles have had them switch over to being more rivals without the outright murder attempts anymore.

* ''Webcomic/{{Pacificators}}'' has an interesting case: two of the main characters, Larima and Taffe, are a pair of [[DeathByOriginStory orphaned sisters]]. They ''usually'' get along reasonably well… but the entire time, there is constant tension between the two. [[spoiler:Finally, in chapter 42, they had a huge fight (off-screen), because Taffe was pissed that Larima almost got herself killed.]] [[note]][[spoiler:It makes sense when you recall that they're the only family they've got left. Taffe almost lost her only family.]][[/note]]
** Larima, the older sister, is the stereotypical blonde beauty… and a CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass, being an ''[[MakingASplash Elite-ranked]]'' [[MakingASplash Pacificator of Water]], and a very [[{{Ambadassador}} renowned ambassador]]. She's definitely ''not'' [[ObfuscatingStupidity stupid as]] [[BunnyEarsLawyer she looks]]. She's also the [[TheChick compassionate one]].
** Taffe, the younger sister, is the stereotypical DeadpanSnarker and, on rare occasions, the AnnoyingYoungerSibling… and she's ''incredibly'' protective of Larima, a la [[BigBrotherInstinct Little Sister Instinct]], including doing all the fighting for her. She's also BrilliantButLazy and doesn't care one bit for her job. Also, Taffe is the [[EmotionlessGirl cold one]].

* ''Literature/LittleWomen'' has four sisters; among them, Jo and Amy fit the trope. Jo is a brash, bookish, outspoken tomboy, while Amy is an aspiring ProperLady who loves beauty and refined society. Their differences, combined with the fact that they're NotSoDifferent in their fiery tempers, leads them to clash with each other much more often than they do with their other sisters, although they [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther really do love each other]] and learn to disagree more respectfully as they grow up.

* In ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'', Elsa, though a striking beauty, is The Smart Sister who is aloof and pragmatic. Anna is The Beautiful Sister who is a GenkiGirl and so desperate for romance that she accepts a proposal from a man she just met. [[spoiler: A bit of a subversion as the sisters actually don't share much animosity towards each other and wish they were closer. Most of their conflict stems from a misunderstanding where Elsa thinks she needs to keep her distance after accidentally injuring Anna with [[AnIcePerson her powers]] as children, and present-day Anna doesn't even know that Elsa has powers because her parents agreed to let trolls erase that part of her memory in a misguided attempt to protect her. Once Elsa's powers are out in the open again and she lets down her walls, the two get along very well despite their different personalities. They were also shown to have been very close as children before the accident.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'', Elsa, though a striking beauty, is The Smart Sister who is aloof and pragmatic. Anna is The Beautiful Sister who is a GenkiGirl and so desperate for romance that she accepts a proposal from a man she just met. [[spoiler: A bit of a subversion as the sisters actually don't share much animosity towards each other and wish they were closer. Most of their conflict stems from a misunderstanding where Elsa thinks she needs to keep her distance after accidentally injuring Anna with [[AnIcePerson her powers]] as children, and present-day Anna doesn't even know that Elsa has powers because her parents agreed to let trolls erase that part of her memory in a misguided attempt to protect her. Once Elsa's powers are out in the open again and she lets down her walls, the two get along very well. They were also shown to have been very close as children before the accident.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'', Elsa, though a striking beauty, is The Smart Sister who is aloof and pragmatic. Anna is The Beautiful Sister who is a GenkiGirl and so desperate for romance that she accepts a proposal from a man she just met. [[spoiler: The sisters actually don't share much animosity towards each other, with most of their conflict stemming from Elsa thinking she needs to keep her distance to avoid injuring Anna again with [[AnIcePerson the powers]] she has trouble controlling. Once Elsa lets down her walls, the two get along very well. They were also shown to have been very close as children before the accident.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'', Elsa, though a striking beauty, is the Smart Sister who is aloof and pragmatic. Anna is The Beautiful Sister who is a GenkiGirl and so desperate for romance that she accepts a proposal from a man she just met. [[spoiler: The sisters actually don't share much animosity towards each other, with most of their conflict stemming from Elsa thinking she needs to keep her distance to avoid injuring Anna again with [[AnIcePerson the powers]] she has trouble controlling. Once Elsa lets down her walls, the two get along very well. They were also shown to have been very close as children before the accident.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'', Elsa, though a striking beauty, is the Smart Sister who is aloof and pragmatic. Anna is The Beautiful Sister who is a GenkiGirl and so desperate for romance that she accepts a proposal from a man she just met.

* In the third season, ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' reveals that Lin and Suyin Beifong were this. Lin was a young police officer, soon to rise rapidly through the ranks, and notably lacking when it came to navigating interpersonal relationships; Suyin was outgoing but a [[BrattyTeenageDaughter bratty wild child]] whose friends landed her in trouble. They really don't get on well when they first meet after thirty years but patch things up by the end of the show.

* Starfire and Blackfire on ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans''. Starfire is the sweet, beautiful, GenkiGirl while Blackfire is a smart, evil, DarkChick.
* Surprisingly and refreshingly averted in ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingChanAndTheChanClan''. Anne Chan is the Smart One and a {{Bokukko}} while her older sister Suzie is TheCutie and the Pretty One, but they get along quite well. In fact, a good part of the SiblingRivalry tropes are averted in the cartoon: while the kids ''did'' have their disagreements, ''extended'' rivalries didn't really happen.
* An adult example: ''WesternAnimation/AKindOfMagic'' has Willow, a cheerful fairy, and Ferocia, an evil witch.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Sixteen}}'' has Jen as The Smart One and Courtney as The Beautiful One in "It's Always Courtney, Courtney, Courtney".
* ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'' has Abigail Lincoln, a.k.a. Numbuh Five, and her sister, Cree. This show takes this trope UpToEleven since Cree is a teenager and a sworn enemy of the Kids Next Door, in which Numbuh Five is involved. Cree was once a KND operative herself, known as Numbuh 11, and the sisters got along rather well then, but when Cree got older, she was no longer allowed in the KND but escaped being decommissioned. This has also somewhat caused their personal relationship to sour as well. One scene shows them at the dinner table pretending to get along, when in fact they're secretly aiming weapons at each other under the table.

* Alice Tompkins in ''WesternAnimation/TheCritic'' has a decades-long rivalry with her SouthernBelle sister, Miranda, who for the most part, is considered to be more attractive, and deliberately tries to upstage Alice every chance she gets, even at Alice's wedding. When Miranda finally admits to her sister that she's jealous of the life that she has with her job, her daughter, and her relationship with Jay, Alice takes a brief moment to rejoice.

** Marilyn and Carolyn Arnold, with Marilyn being the Smart One while Carolyn is the Popular One.

* The Beautiful Sister: An attractive, outgoing, fashionable, popular, but unintellectual character. If older, she'll be more mature in "womanly" ways. Can range from smart yet BookDumb to TheBrainlessBeauty. Endlessly criticizes her sister for her willing social outsiderness.

** Daria Morgendorffer is the titular character and the smart one, her sister Quinn is the red-headed popular one. However, Quinn is shown to be fairly intelligent in her own right (which actually ''scares'' her, fearing she'd be kicked out of her clique), and Daria is shown to be fairly attractive when she makese an effort (which actually ''scares'' her, fearing it makes her as shallow as the conformist students she rails against). The sisters do begin to make peace in the final season. In the episode "Quinn the Brain", Quinn embraces a shallow sort of intellectualism because the dimmer wits wandering the school find her crappy poetry profound. Daria finds this even worse than her normal, self-imposed ditziness; as much as she hates her sister's default state, she hates discarding personal integrity in favor of pleasing the masses even more, so [[WeWantOurJerkBack she works to restore the status quo]] (even willing to give herself [[BeautifulAllAlong a temporary makeover]]), if only so that their relationship can remain at "rivalry" as opposed to out-and-out holy war.

* In the third season, ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' reveals that Lin and Suyin Beifong were this. Lin was a young police officer, soon to rise rapidly through the ranks, and notably lacking when it came to navigating interpersonal relationships; Suyin was an outgoing [[WildChild wild child]] whose friends landed her in trouble. They really don't get on well when they first meet after thirty years but patch things up by the end of the show.

* This trope is the reason Literature/HarryPotter grew up with MuggleFosterParents who [[AbusiveParents hated him]] (well, and that whole Voldemort thing). Harry's treatment by his Aunt Petunia was essentially revenge against his mother/her younger sister Lily for being the better sister (it seems Lily got the looks ''and'' the brains ''and'' was a witch to boot -- no wonder Petunia was so jealous). That's not the reason Vernon abused him, of course, but that's a moot point since Petunia wouldn't be married to someone like Vernon if she hadn't chosen to be like that, not to mention that the rivalry is likely the reason Petunia never once objected to Vernon mistreating Harry.

* Millie and Madge from ''{{Picnic}}''.
* ''Film/WhatEverHappenedToBabyJane'' As children, Jane was a child star while her sister Blanche was plain and often overlooked. Blanche grew up to be beautiful but was better known for her acting talent, which overshadowed Jane's.