{{Short description|German singers, dancers and actresses (1936–2025)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2025}} {{Infobox person | name = Kessler Twins | image = Gemelle Kessler 1965 (cropped).jpg | caption = The Kessler Twins in 1965 | birth_name = Alice Kaessler<br />Ellen Kaessler | birth_date = {{Birth date|1936|08|20|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Nerchau]], [[Gau Saxony]], [[Nazi Germany]] | death_date = {{Death date and age|2025|11|17|1936|08|20|df=y}} | death_place = [[Grünwald, Bavaria|Grünwald]], Bavaria, Germany | other_names = {{lang|de|die Kessler-Zwillinge}} (in Germany)<br />{{lang|it|le gemelle Kessler}} (in Italy) | years_active = 1947–2016 | parents = | occupation = {{Flatlist| * Singers * dancers * actresses }} }}
'''Alice''' and '''Ellen Kessler''' (born '''Kaessler''', {{IPA|de|aˈliːsə/ˈɛlən ˈkɛslɐ|lang}}; 20 August 1936 – 17 November 2025), usually credited as the '''Kessler Twins''' ({{langx|de|die Kessler-Zwillinge|links=no}}; {{langx|it|le gemelle Kessler|links=no}}), were twin German singers, dancers and actresses who were popular in Europe, especially Germany and Italy, during the 1950s and 1960s.
== Early life == Twin sisters Alice and Ellen Kessler were born on 20 August 1936 in [[Nerchau]], Saxony,<ref name="y506">{{cite web | title='Im Tode vereint' — Kessler-Zwillinge gemeinsam gestorben | website=[[Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger]] | date=17 November 2025 | url=https://www.ksta.de/panorama/promis/kessler-zwillinge-unter-ungeklaerten-umstaenden-gestorben-1152084 | language=de | access-date=17 November 2025}}</ref> to parents Paul and Elsa Kaessler<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=5 August 2019 |title="Platz sparen": Kessler-Zwillinge wollen mit ihrer Mutter in eine Urne |url=https://www.mz.de/panorama/stars-und-prominente/platz-sparen-kessler-zwillinge-wollen-mit-ihrer-mutter-in-eine-urne-1585796 |access-date= |website=Mitteldeutsche Zeitung |language=de}}</ref> (also spelled Kässler).<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2025-11-20 |title=Nicht nur neben der Mutter: Kessler-Zwillinge finden ihre letzte Ruhe auf diesem Friedhof |url=https://www.abendzeitung-muenchen.de/promis/nicht-nur-neben-der-mutter-kessler-zwillinge-finden-ihre-letzte-ruhe-auf-diesem-friedhof-art-1094093 |access-date=2025-11-21 |website=Abendzeitung |language=de}}</ref> The girls started ballet classes at the age of six,<ref name="s931">{{cite web | title=Kessler-Zwillinge Alice und Ellen sind gestorben | website=[[Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung]] | date=17 November 2025 | url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/gesellschaft/menschen/kessler-zwillinge-alice-und-ellen-sind-gestorben-110784674.html | language=de | access-date=17 November 2025}}</ref> and they joined the [[Leipzig Opera]]'s child ballet program at age 11.<ref name="o934">{{cite web | title=Kessler-Zwillinge feiern ihren 160. Geburtstag | website=[[Leipziger Volkszeitung]] | date=20 August 2016 | url=https://www.lvz.de/lokales/leipzig-lk/grimma/kessler-zwillinge-feiern-ihren-160-geburtstag-L7E5H4LTOIVNSUTEEZGBDNTMWY.html | language=de | access-date=17 November 2025}}</ref> In 1952, when the twins were 16, their parents used a visitor's [[Travel visa|visa]] for the family to leave [[East Germany]].<ref name="o934" /><ref name="Feddersen">{{cite web | last=Feddersen | first=Jan | title=Kessler-Zwillinge feierten ihren 82. Geburtstag | website=eurovision.de | date=20 August 2018 | url=https://www.eurovision.de/feddersens_kommentar/Kessler-Zwillinge-feierten-ihren-82-Geburtstag,kesslerzwillinge106.html | language=de | access-date=17 November 2025}}</ref><ref name="i365">{{cite web | title=Im Alter von 89 Jahren: Die Kessler-Zwillinge sind gestorben | website=[[Die Zeit]] | date=17 November 2025 | url=https://www.zeit.de/news/2025-11/17/die-kessler-zwillinge-sind-gestorben | language=de |agency=dpa | access-date=17 November 2025}}</ref>
== Career == [[File:Kessler Twins 1966.JPG|thumb|upright|The Kessler Twins on ''[[The Danny Kaye Show]]'' in 1966]] [[File:Kessler twins.JPG|thumb|upright|Kessler Twins in 1966]] After they reached [[Düsseldorf]], the sisters performed at the Palladium theatre.<ref name="n815">{{cite web | title=singend und tanzend ins internationale Showbusiness | website=SWR | date=19 August 2022 | url=https://www.swr.de/kultur/musik/artikel-kessler-zwillinge-stars-tanzen-singen-lido-fernsehen-100.html | language=de | access-date=17 November 2025}}</ref> Between 1955 and 1960, they performed at [[Le Lido|The Lido]] in Paris.<ref name="n815" /> There they met American singer [[Elvis Presley]], who was on leave from the army on 17 June 1959.<ref name="n815" /> The twins represented {{esccnty|Germany|t=West Germany}} in the [[Eurovision Song Contest 1959]], finishing in 8th place with "{{lang|de|[[Eurovision Song Contest 1959#Participants|Heute Abend wollen wir tanzen geh'n]]|i=no}}" ("Tonight we want to go dancing").<ref name="Elle">{{cite web |url=https://www.elle.com/it/showbiz/celebrities/news/a172286/gemelle-kessler-storia-delle-dive-della-tv-italiana/ |title=Perché le gambe delle gemelle Kessler erano il sogno di tutte? La vera storia delle dive della tv italiana|website=www.elle.com |date=24 September 2017 |access-date=14 June 2022 |language=it}}</ref><ref name="n815" /> While performing at The Lido, they also met [[Don Lurio]], a US-born Italian choreographer who brought them to Italy in 1961.<ref name=somemorekesslerinfo>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/18/the-kessler-twins-sisters-alice-and-ellen-die-together-aged-89|title=The Kessler Twins sisters Alice and Ellen die together aged 89|first=Angela|last=Giuffrida|work=The Guardian|date=18 November 2025|accessdate=18 November 2025}}</ref>
In 1962, the twins moved to Italy,<ref name="q235">{{cite web | title=Kessler-Zwillinge werden 75 | website=SWI swissinfo.ch | date=20 August 2011 | url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/ger/eins-plus-eins-ist-eins-kessler-zwillinge-werden-75/30951418 | language=de | access-date=17 November 2025}}</ref> changing their surname from Kaessler to Kessler.<ref>Wulff, Hans-Jürgen: Der Tanz der Puppen. Die Kessler-Zwillinge und ihre Performances. In: ''montage AV. Zeitschrift für Theorie und Geschichte audiovisueller Kommunikation'', (2015), Nr. 1, p. 159-170</ref> They gradually worked into more serious roles and became very popular through the [[RAI]] television variety show ''[[Studio Uno (TV series)|Studio Uno]]'' (1961–1966), with the opening theme "Da-da-un-pa" becoming their most memorable song in Italy.<ref name="n815" /> At the age of 40, they agreed to pose for the cover of an issue of the Italian edition of ''[[Playboy]]'', which became the fastest-selling Italian ''Playboy'' to that date.<ref name="Elle"/><ref name="q235" />
The Kessler sisters were also significantly popular in the United States, making their American television debut on variety show ''[[The Red Skelton Show|The Red Skelton Hour]]''<ref name="c888">{{cite web | title='The Red Skelton Hour' (CBS) Season 12 (1962–63) | website=CTVA US Music Variety | date=25 September 1962 | url=https://ctva.biz/US/MusicVariety/RedSkeltonShow_12_(1962-63).htm | access-date=17 November 2025}}</ref> and appearing on national television programs including ''[[The Danny Kaye Show]]'' and ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]''.<ref name="e327">{{cite web | title=Showgirls Alice und Ellen Kessler | website=[[Der Spiegel]] | date=19 August 2016 | url=https://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/showgirls-alice-und-ellen-kessler-fotostrecke-139806.html | language=de | access-date=17 November 2025}}</ref> They also appeared in the 1962 film ''[[Sodom and Gomorrah (1962 film)|Sodom and Gomorrah]]'' as dancers, and were depicted on the cover of ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' that same year.<ref name="l059">{{cite web | title=February 22 1963 Life Magazine Sensations from Germany Kessler Twins on Cover | website=Etsy Canada | date=22 February 1963 | url=https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/1764783434/february-22-1963-life-magazine | access-date=17 November 2025}}</ref>
[[File:Kessler Zwillinge.jpg|thumb|The Kessler Twins in 2005]] The Kessler Twins moved back to Germany in 1986 and lived in [[Grünwald, Bavaria|Grünwald]], near [[Munich]], Bavaria.<ref name="q235" /> They received awards from both the German and Italian governments for promoting [[Germany–Italy relations|German–Italian cooperation]] through their work in show business.<ref name="Wulff" />
== Personal lives and deaths == Despite both sisters having a history of romances – with Ellen being with the Italian actor [[Umberto Orsini]] for 20 years, and Alice having relationships with the French singer [[Marcel Amont]] and Italian actor [[Enrico Maria Salerno]] – neither of the two sisters ever married.<ref name=somemorekesslerinfo /><ref name=somekesslerinfo>{{cite news |last=Arkin |first=Daniel |date=18 November 2025 |title=The Kessler Twins, German entertainment duo, die together by assisted suicide |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/celebrity/kessler-twins-german-entertainment-duo-die-together-joint-assisted-sui-rcna244615 |publisher=NBC News |access-date=18 November 2025}}</ref>
The twins died together, by [[assisted suicide]] in Grünwald, on 17 November 2025, at the age of 89.<ref>{{Cite news |date=19 November 2025 |website=The New York Times |title=Alice and Ellen Kessler, '60s Singing Sensations, Die at 89 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/arts/alice-ellen-kessler-dead.html |access-date=20 November 2025 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Etienne |first=Vanessa |date=17 November 2025 |title=Twin Sisters Who Were Once Famous Entertainers Choose to End Their Lives on the Same Day |url=https://people.com/kessler-twins-end-lives-together-medical-aid-in-dying-11851001 |access-date=17 November 2025 |magazine=People}}</ref><ref name="v320">{{cite web | last=Klugmayer | first=Lisa | title=Die Kessler-Zwillinge sind tot | website=FOCUS online | date=17 November 2025 | url=https://www.focus.de/kultur/stars/die-kessler-zwillinge-sind-tot_c77ba2e7-4acb-48c4-9a9f-5ab769738087.html | language=de | access-date=17 November 2025}}</ref><ref name=somekesslerinfo /> The suicide took place in the presence of a doctor and a lawyer from the German Society for Humane Dying.<ref name="f063">{{cite web | last1=Hoffmann | first1=Nadja | last2=Zsolnay | first2=Maria | last3=Woitsch | first3=Katrin | title=Alice und Ellen Kessler sind tot – Sie wurden von Sterbehilfeverein begleitet | website=Merkur.de | date=19 November 2025 | url=https://www.merkur.de/lokales/muenchen-lk/das-leben-genommen-alice-und-ellen-kessler-haben-sich-94042219.html | language=de | access-date=19 November 2025}}</ref> It was known that the twins did not want to become dependent on nursing care, and wanted to die together.<ref>{{cite news| last=Frey | first=Angelica | title=Inseparable, sensuous and confident, the Kessler twins were pioneers of variety show culture | newspaper=The Guardian | date=21 November 2025 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/nov/21/inseperable-sensuous-and-confident-the-kessler-twins-were-pioneers-of-variety-show-culture}}</ref> According to a friend, Ellen had suffered a [[stroke]] in October, and their general quality of life was declining due to heart problems and loss of the sense of smell.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=18 November 2025 |author=Teresa Winter, Maria Zsolnay |date=18 November 2025 |language=de |title='Wir sehen uns wieder auf Wolke 7': Der Abschiedsbrief der Kessler-Zwillinge |url=https://www.merkur.de/lokales/muenchen/alice-ellen-kessler-schickten-abschiedsbrief-an-ihre-freundinnen-94043647.html |website=Münchner Merkur}}<!-- Auto-translated from German by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> In a 2023 interview with ''[[Bild]]'', the sisters revealed that they had changed their last will and testament. They had initially wanted to bequeath their entire estate to [[Médecins Sans Frontières|Doctors Without Borders]], but changed it so that more social organisations would inherit something; these organisations included the [[Paul Klinger Künstlersozialwerk]], [[CBM Blindenmission]], [[UNICEF]], and [[Deutsche Stiftung Patientenschutz]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Trunk |first=Steffen |date=19 November 2025 |title=Kessler-Zwillinge bestimmten im Testament: Wer das Millionen-Haus erbt |url=https://www.abendzeitung-muenchen.de/promis/kessler-zwillinge-bestimmten-im-testament-wer-das-millionen-haus-erbt-art-1093808 |access-date=20 November 2025 |website=www.abendzeitung-muenchen.de |language=de}}</ref>
==Selected filmography== '''Sources:'''<ref name="t845">{{cite web | title=Alice Kessler | website=filmportal.de | date=20 August 1936 | url=https://www.filmportal.de/person/alice-kessler_117030a3057348a4a89845d1f4a315e9 | language=de | access-date=17 November 2025}}</ref><ref name="o962">{{cite web | title=Ellen Kessler | website=filmportal.de | date=20 August 1936 | url=https://www.filmportal.de/person/ellen-kessler_c05b693e02d648c5b522a7059eaa4431 | language=de | access-date=17 November 2025}}</ref> * ''[[As Long as There Are Pretty Girls]]'' (1955)<ref name="Guttmann">{{cite web | last=Guttmann | first=Katja | title=Kessler-Zwillinge mit 89 Jahren in München gestorben | website=Süddeutsche.de | date=17 November 2025 | url=https://www.sueddeutsche.de/panorama/kessler-zwillinge-tot-muenchen-li.3339936 | language=de | access-date=17 November 2025}}</ref> * ''[[The Beggar Student (1956 film)|The Beggar Student]]'' (1956)<ref name="t528">{{cite web | author=CINEMA online | title=Kino bei CINEMA: Kinoprogramm, Filme, DVDs, Stars, Trailer und mehr | website=cinema.de | date=18 December 1956 | url=https://www.cinema.de/film/der-bettelstudent,1298468.html | language=de | access-date=17 November 2025}}</ref> * ''[[The Count of Luxembourg (1957 film)|The Count of Luxembourg]]'' (1957)<ref name="s931" /> * ''[[The Twins from Zillertal]]'' (1957)<ref name="o860">{{cite web | title=Die Zwillinge vom Zillertal | website=filmportal.de | url=https://www.filmportal.de/film/die-zwillinge-vom-zillertal_df209a9ed3a246038337de551ad70fa4 | language=de | access-date=17 November 2025}}</ref> * ''[[My Sweetheart Is from Tyrol]]'' (1958) * ''[[Gräfin Mariza (1958 film)|Gräfin Mariza]]'' (1958) * {{lang|fr|{{ill|Les Magiciennes|fr|3=Les Magiciennes (film, 1960)|lt=Les Magiciennes}}}} (1960) * ''[[Love and the Frenchwoman]]'' (1960) * ''[[Erik the Conqueror]]'' (1961) * ''[[The Bird Seller (1962 film)|The Bird Seller]]'' (1962) * ''[[Sodom and Gomorrah (1962 film)|Sodom and Gomorrah]]'' (1962) * ''[[Wedding Night in Paradise (1962 film)|Wedding Night in Paradise]]'' (1962) * ''[[The Thursday]]'' (1963) * ''[[Dead Woman from Beverly Hills]]'' (1964)<ref name="s931" />
==Awards== * Premio Capo Circe<ref name="Wulff">{{cite journal | last1=Wulff | first1=Hans-Jürgen | author2=mediarep.org | title=Der Tanz der Puppen. Die Kessler-Zwillinge und ihre Performances |journal=Montage AV. Zeitschrift für Theorie und Geschichte audiovisueller Kommunikation | date=2015 | issn=0942-4954 | doi=10.25969/MEDIAREP/3506 | doi-access=free | language=de | page=}}</ref> * 1987: [[Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]]<ref name="n815" /> * 2006: Honorary citizens of [[Grimma]]<ref name="n815" /><ref name="k749">{{cite web | title=Ehrenbürger der Stadt Grimma | website=Stadt Grimma | url=https://www.grimma.de/portal/seiten/ehrenbuerger-der-stadt-grimma-900000151-27290.html | language=de | access-date=18 November 2025}}</ref> * 2025: [[Bavarian Order of Merit]]<ref name="Reppenhagen">{{cite web | last=Reppenhagen | first=Charlotte | title=Sie starben gemeinsam! Die berühmten Kessler-Zwillinge sind tot | website=gala.de | date=17 November 2025 | url=https://www.gala.de/stars/news/alice---ellen-kessler-starben-gemeinsam--kessler-zwillinge-sind-tot-24489932.html | language=de | access-date=17 November 2025}}</ref>
==Bibliography== * {{cite book |last1=Kessler |first1=Alice |last2=Kessler |first2=Ellen |date=1996 |title=Eins und eins ist eins |language=de |publisher=Ed. Ferenczy bei Bruckmann |isbn=978-3-7654-2880-7|oclc=38132100}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
== Further reading == * {{cite book |last=Probst |first=Ernst |date=2002 |title=Königinnen des Tanzes |language=de |publisher=Probst |isbn=978-3-935718-99-8}}
== External links == {{Commons category}} {{Wikiquote}} * {{IMDb name|id=0450300|name=Alice Kessler}} * {{IMDb name|id=0450326|name=Ellen Kessler}} * {{Discogs artist|Alice & Ellen Kessler}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080618000509/http://archives.cbc.ca/arts_entertainment/dance/clips/14867/ Interviewed by the CBC, c. 1960] (the interview, made while they were employed at The Lido, starts halfway through the clip) * [https://www.allaboutjazz.com/news/the-kessler-sisters-scopitone-and-desmond/ Kessler Sisters on Scopitone]
{{S-start}} {{Succession box | before=[[Margot Hielscher]]<br />with "[[Für zwei Groschen Musik]]" | title=[[Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest]] | years='''[[Eurovision Song Contest 1959|1959]]''' | after=[[Wyn Hoop]]<br />with "[[Bonne nuit ma chérie]]" }} {{S-end}} {{Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest|state=collapsed}} {{Eurovision Song Contest 1959|state=collapsed}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kessler Twins}} [[Category:1936 births]] [[Category:2025 deaths]] [[Category:2025 suicides]] [[Category:People from Grimma]] [[Category:Actresses from Saxony]] [[Category:German child actresses]] [[Category:German women singers]] [[Category:German film actresses]] [[Category:20th-century German actresses]] [[Category:Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]] [[Category:German twins]] [[Category:Identical twin actresses]] [[Category:Twin musical duos]] [[Category:Actresses from Munich]] [[Category:Identical twin females]] [[Category:Female musical duos]] [[Category:German female dancers]] [[Category:Eurovision Song Contest entrants]] [[Category:Deaths by euthanasia]] [[Category:Suicides in Germany]] [[Category:Actors and actresses who died by suicide]] [[Category:Joint suicides]] [[Category:Female suicides]] [[Category:Artists who died by suicide]] [[Category:Musicians who died by suicide]]