Ellen Kessler

Known for ActingBorn 1936-08-20Died 2025-11-17Nerchau, Germany

Alice and Ellen Kessler (born 20 August 1936 in Nerchau, Saxony, Germany) are twin entertainers known in Europe, especially Germany and Italy, from the 1950s and 1960s for their singing, dancing, and acting. They are usually credited as the Kessler Twins (Die Kessler-Zwillinge in Germany and Le Gemelle Kessler in Italy), where they remain popular. The Kessler sisters enjoyed a significant degree of popularity in the US, appearing on national television programs such as The Ed Sullivan Show. The Kesslers made their American television debut on the CBS variety show, The Red Skelton Hour. They also appeared in the 1963 film Sodom and Gomorrah as dancers and were featured on the cover of Life Magazine that same year. Their parents, Paul and Elsa, sent them to ballet classes at the age of six, and they joined the Leipzig Opera's child ballet program at age 11. When they were 18, their parents used a visitor's visa to escape to West Germany, where they performed at the Palladium in Düsseldorf. They performed at The Lido in Paris between 1955 and 1960, where they met Elvis Presley, on leave from the Army on June 17, 1959, and represented West Germany in the 1959 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing in 8th place with Heute Abend wollen wir tanzen geh'n (Tonight we want to go dancing). They moved to Italy in 1960 and gradually moved to more serious roles. They became very popular thanks to the RAI television variety show Studio Uno (1961–1966). At the age of 40, they agreed to pose on the cover of the Italian edition of Playboy. That issue became the fastest-selling Italian Playboy to that date. They moved back to Germany in 1986 and live in Grünwald. They have received two awards from both the German and Italian governments for promoting German-Italian cooperation through their work in show business. Source: Article "Kessler Twins" from Wikipedia in english, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.Read more

Movies & web series

Wünsch dir was

Starparade

Continental Showcase

Maskenball bei Scotland Yard

Dalli Dalli

Bio’s Bahnhof

Hotel Victoria

Bambi

Filmlegenden. Deutsch

Ein roter Teppich für....

The Beautiful Legs of Sabrina

Mini Playback Show

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Alles Nichts Oder?!

Inas Nacht

Auf los geht's los

Wer weiß denn sowas?

Die Montagsmaler

Discorama

Countess Mariza

Die Pyramide

Menschen bei Maischberger

Numéro un

Die Harald Schmidt Show

The Count of Luxemburg

Die Zwillinge vom Zillertal

Lukas

Boulevard Bio

Scherben bringen Glück

Heut' abend

Eurovision Song Contest

Treffpunkt Herz

Am laufenden Band

Zimmer frei!

The Thursday

The Danny Kaye Show

Rocco e le sorelle

Complexes

Der Bettelstudent

Ein Schloß am Wörthersee

Solang es hübsche Mädchen gibt

Kölner Treff

Auf eigene Gefahr

NDR Talk Show

The Ed Sullivan Show

The Magician

Songs, Bullies and Chicks

Balko