Alice and Ellen Kessler Dead: What We Know About the Kessler Twins’ Cause of Death

Sad news out of Germany: Alice and Ellen Kessler, the twin performers who were everywhere in Europe in the 1950s and 60s, have died at 89. The details are both stark and very them: completely in sync, right to the end.

What happened

German outlets and CNN report the sisters died by assisted suicide, which has been legal in Germany since a 2020 constitutional court ruling. The German Society for Humane Dying confirmed the news on Tuesday, saying the twins had set the date in advance. The procedure took place with a doctor and a lawyer present. Authorities found no signs of foul play and said the decision was entirely voluntary.

Bild added a difficult piece of context: the twins reportedly did not want to go on living and chose to make the decision together.

Police told CNN they were deployed around lunchtime on Monday to the sisters home in Gruenwald, a suburb of Munich where the Kesslers had lived for years. In a detail that feels almost too on the nose, their shared home was two adjoining apartments separated by a sliding wall — practically a floor-plan version of their lifelong partnership.

They had also arranged for their remains to be buried together, in a single urn, alongside their mother, Elsa, and their dog, Yello.

Who they were, and why they mattered

Alice and Ellen Kessler were born August 20, 1936, in Nerchau, Saxony. They started young in the Leipzig Opera junior ballet and, as adults, broke out as part of the Bluebell Girls at the Lido in Paris — old-school, high-gloss revue culture at its most polished.

Television made them household names. In the 1950s and 60s, the Kesslers became fixtures on variety shows in Italy, known for razor-sharp synchronization, matching costumes, and a knack for turning a catchy number into an event. If you know one title, it is probably "Da-da-un-pa."

They also pushed boundaries for the era. While still in their 20s, they posed nude for the Italian edition of Playboy. That issue reportedly sold so fast it set a sales record that still stands, according to Elle. The Kesslers worked across dance, singing, and acting, and became a symbol of post-war European showbusiness: bright, glamorous, and unmistakably in tandem.

The quick version

• Alice and Ellen Kessler, identical twins and 1950s/60s entertainment icons, died at 89 by assisted suicide in Germany.
• Germany legalized assisted suicide after a 2020 top court ruling; their deaths were conducted with a doctor and a lawyer present and deemed fully voluntary.
• The German Society for Humane Dying confirmed the news Tuesday; police were deployed Monday around lunchtime to their home in Gruenwald, a Munich suburb.
• They reportedly decided on the date in advance and had expressed that they no longer wished to continue living.
• They arranged to be buried together in a single urn with their mother, Elsa, and their dog, Yello.
• Born August 20, 1936, in Nerchau, Saxony, they trained with the Leipzig Opera junior ballet and later joined the Bluebell Girls at the Lido in Paris.
• They became major TV stars in Italy in the 50s and 60s, famous for synchronized routines like "Da-da-un-pa."
• They posed for the Italian edition of Playboy while in their 20s; the issue reportedly set a lasting sales record.
• The twins lived side-by-side in two connected apartments separated by a sliding wall, an almost literal representation of how closely their lives were intertwined.

Legacy-wise, the Kesslers were more than a novelty act. They were a brand — efficiency, elegance, and absolute synchronicity — who helped define a certain post-war European variety aesthetic. Even the way they left was choreographed together.