Alice and Ellen Kessler, the German twin entertainers who became international show business fixtures in the 1950s and 1960s, died together at age 89 in a coordinated assisted suicide, the German Society for Humane Dying (DGHS) confirmed Tuesday. The sisters, inseparable throughout their lives and careers, had joined the Berlin-based organization more than a year ago to prepare for an end-of-life decision they described as deliberate, mutual, and deeply considered.
Local police in Grünwald, the upscale Munich suburb where the twins lived in adjoining apartments, confirmed to CNN that officers responded to a call Monday afternoon but declined to specify the nature of the incident. DGHS later stated the twins self-administered life-ending medication in compliance with German law, which, since a 2020 Constitutional Court ruling, has permitted assisted suicide under conditions ensuring autonomy and voluntary choice.
DGHS spokesperson Wega Wetzel said the sisters’ intent had long been clear. “Their desire to die was well-considered, long-standing, and free from any psychiatric crisis,” Wetzel told CNN. The driving force, Wetzel added, was “the desire to die together on a specific date.” These comments echoed what the twins expressed in a 2023 interview with Corriere della Sera. They said they hoped “to go away together on the same day,” and noted “the idea that one of us might get it first is very hard to bear.”
The pair revealed last year they wished their ashes interred in a shared urn, placed beside their mother Elsa and their dog Yello—a final gesture of unity after nearly nine decades together.
The Kesslers’ ascent began far from the cabaret lights that later defined them. Born in 1936 in a village near Grimma, in the German state of Saxony, Alice and Ellen trained in classical ballet from childhood. Their family fled East Germany in 1952. This move allowed the twins to pursue opportunities unavailable behind the Iron Curtain. They soon joined the famed Lido cabaret in Paris. Their polished synchronization and bright blonde glamour propelled them into the postwar European entertainment circuit.
By the late 1950s, the Kessler twins were representing West Germany on some of the world’s biggest stages. They competed in the 1959 Eurovision Song Contest, appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, and graced the cover of Life magazine — rare visibility for German performers in the postwar period. They moved in Hollywood-adjacent circles, sharing stages and studio halls with Fred Astaire, Frank Sinatra, Rock Hudson, and Elvis Presley. Following news of their deaths, “The Ed Sullivan Show” paid tribute on social media, calling them “dazzling stars, true legends, and sisters whose grace, charm, and magic will shine forever.”
Yet it was in Italy where the twins became true icons. As the first showgirls to appear on Italian state television, they helped usher in a new era of televised variety entertainment. Their long legs — showcased despite censorship-era tights mandated by broadcaster RAI — earned them the enduring nickname “the legs of the country.” They starred in films and theatre productions and, in 1976, posed for Playboy Italia, whose issue reportedly sold out within hours.
Even as the glamour-drenched showgirl era faded, the Kesslers remained fixtures in German-speaking entertainment. They took on stage roles in a musical staged in Berlin, Munich, and Vienna between 2015 and 2016, and made periodic television appearances that highlighted their longevity and enduring synchronicity.
Their private lives were marked by the same closeness. They lived for years in “two mirrored, connecting apartments,” as they described to Corriere. The twins met for lunch at noon every day. Their partnership, they often emphasized, shaped everything. “You’re stronger together,” Alice said in a late-career interview. This philosophy guided both their artistry and their final decision.
Tino Kießig, Grimma’s mayor, said the town “mourns the loss of these two world-renowned personalities,” remembering them as entertainers and cultural ambassadors during a key period in European history.
Alice and Ellen Kessler leave a legacy spanning continents and eras—a life lived in perfect harmony, ending as they always intended: together.
