Five facts about people with two eye colors

Photo credit: Liesl Hansen

If you're wondering what's going on with the person whose eyes are two different colors, that's heterochromia. While at Fight for the Few we focus on more serious issues, it's good to take breaks every once in a while.

1. Here's how it happens

Iris color develops within the first few months of life, with melanin levels deciding the color. Sometimes more melanin gets in one of the eyes, which causes heterochromia. It can also occur later in life from glaucoma. Mostly it's hereditary, but it can also come from an eye injury or inflammation, so PLEASE stop setting your eyes on fire.

Joe Hadfield is no stranger to heterochromia. While searching Wikipedia for causes, he made an uncomfortable discovery.

“One of the last things on the list is that you might have had a womb twin and your body absorbed the genetics of the twin,” Hadfield said. "I have the strength of a man and an infant."

2. Pretty darn rare

Heterochromia affects about six out of every 1,000 people.

Image credit: Charlotte Duerden

3. The three types

Photo credit: Blikkk - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Central heterochromia comes from low melanin. The center of the iris is one color and circles the pupil. The color circling outside is the true eye color.

Photo credit: Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

Sectoral heterochromia looks like a random, different colored spot in the same eye. This type can affect both eyes.

Staring into your soul.

Complete heterochromia is the most noticeable type. One eye color is a completely different color than the other eye. Complete is usually either genetic or acquired.

4. Celebrities with heterochromia

"Max Scherzer on July 12, 2015" by Keith Allison on Flickr

Max Scherzer, pitcher for the Washington Nationals, has complete heterochromia with blue and brown eyes. 

 Photo credit: Georges Biard. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons

Actress Kate Bosworth, best known for Blue Crush, has sectoral, with one blue eye and a blue/brown eye.

Photo credit: Richard Goldschmidt. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Commons

Actress Alice Eve, best known for Star Trek Into Darkness, has one blue eye and one gray eye.

5. The weirdness that comes with it

With such a noticeable condition, odd comments come up. Sometimes people like to bring up their pet cats who have heterochromia, which leads to the awkward, very incorrect assumption that the person with heterochromia is also sterile.

But for Hadfield, most people just ask, "did you know your eyes are two colors?’” 

“That’s usually when I mess with them," he said, laughing. "I'll say, ‘Oh, no! The pills stopped working! I’ve got to go!’ and pretend to run away.”

Either way, heterochromia doesn't bother people who have it and they make it work.