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Alice and Ellen Kessler (born Kaessler, ; 20 August 1936 – 17 November 2025), usually credited as the Kessler Twins (; ), were twin German singers, dancers and actresses who were popular in Europe, especially Germany and Italy, during the 1950s and 1960s.
In 1962, the twins moved to Italy, changing their surname from Kaessler to Kessler.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 They gradually worked into more serious roles and became very popular through the RAI television variety show Studio Uno (1961–1966), with the opening theme "Da-da-un-pa" becoming their most memorable song in Italy. 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.
The Kessler sisters were also significantly popular in the United States, making their American television debut on variety show The Red Skelton Hour and appearing on national television programs including The Danny Kaye Show and The Ed Sullivan Show. They also appeared in the 1962 film Sodom and Gomorrah as dancers, and were depicted on the cover of Life that same year.
The Kessler Twins moved back to Germany in 1986 and lived in Grünwald, near Munich, Bavaria. They received awards from both the German and Italian governments for promoting German–Italian cooperation through their work in show business.
The twins died together, by assisted suicide in Grünwald, on 17 November 2025, at the age of 89. The suicide took place in the presence of a doctor and a lawyer from the German Society for Humane Dying. It was known that the twins did not want to become dependent on nursing care, and wanted to die together. 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. 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 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.
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