The iconic German entertainers, the Kessler twins, reportedly chose to “end their lives together” through assisted dying. They had earlier expressed wishes to be buried with their mother and dog after their deaths.

Alice and Ellen Kessler pass away together

On November 17, the Kessler twins reportedly “decided to end their lives together” at the age of 89. “They didn’t want to live anymore,” per Bild.

According to the report, the two chose to end their lives together through assisted dying at their home in Grünwald, a municipality in the district of Munich, on November 17. Germany legalized assisted dying in 2019. It allows the person to take the prescribed life-ending medication themselves. However, it must be under strict legal conditions and with their complete free will.

In 2024, the twins had jointly expressed their wish to have their remains placed together in one urn, beside their mother Elsa and her dog Yello. “That’s how we stipulated it in our will,” Ellen told the Bild.

Alice and Ellen Kessler were born on August 20, 1936, in Nerchau, Gau Saxony, Nazi Germany. They achieved international fame in the post-World War era between 1950 and 1960, prominently in Germany and Italy.

At the age of six, they began ballet lessons and joined the Leipzig Opera’s child ballet at eleven. As teenagers, they fled East Germany and later performed professionally in Düsseldorf. Later, they moved to the famous Lido in Paris in 1955.

They became household names across Europe as singers, dancers, and actresses after representing West Germany in the 1959 Eurovision Song Contest. They even posed for the Italian edition of Playboy, which quickly became their fastest-selling issue.

The Kessler twins debuted in the United States with CBS’s The Red Skelton Hour, later working with legendary artists like Frank Sinatra and Fred Astaire. They were also featured in several popular movies and magazines, garnering a massive following.