Twin Sisters Who Were Once Famous Entertainers Choose to End Their Lives on the Same Day
Alice and Ellen Kessler ended their lives through medical aid in dying, and “left together, just as they lived: inseparable”
Arthur Grimm/United Archives via Getty
Alice Kessler and Ellen Kessler
NEED TO KNOW
The Kessler twins — Alice and Ellen Kessler — died on Nov. 17 after choosing to end their lives together through medical aid in dying
The renowned German entertainers reportedly “no longer wanted to live”
The sisters requested that their ashes be buried in the same urn alongside their mother and dog
The Kessler twins — renowned German sisters who reached international stardom for their post-war entertainment in the 1950s and 1960s — ended their lives together.
On Monday, Nov. 17, Alice and Ellen Kessler died at age 89 in their home near Munich after choosing medical aid in dying, German newspaper Bild reports.
According to the outlet, the sisters “no longer wanted to live” and “they had chosen to end their lives together.” Police were reportedly notified after the process was completed.
Ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty
Alice Kessler and Ellen Kessler in 1956
Medical aid in dying has been legal in Germany since 2019, according to Dignity in Dying, a British organization. It’s different from euthanasia — which is illegal — because the patients themselves administer prescribed drugs to end their lives, rather than a doctor.
In April 2024, the Kessler twins told Bild that they wanted their ashes to be buried in the same urn one day. They will reportedly be buried alongside their mother Elsa and dog Yello.
Hannes Magerstaedt/Getty
Alice Kessler and Ellen Kessler in 2025
Following their deaths, Radio Monte Carlo posted a tribute to Alice and Ellen on Instagram.
“Alice and Ellen Kessler left together, just as they lived: inseparable,” the statement read. “Born in 1936, they were an absolute symbol of European spectacle, including music, dance and television. In Italy, they became celebrities as the ‘legs of the nation,’ icon of elegance and stage presence since the Fifties.”
“A unique artistic couple, capable of leaving an indelible imprint on the collective imagination.”
