Name
Ellen Kessler
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1936-08-20
Deathday
2025-11-17 (89 years old)
Place of Birth
Nerchau, Germany
Biography
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.
Known For
5.3
Lot leads his people to a fertile valley adjacent to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, hot...
5
After World War I, a war hero returns to Berlin to find that there's no place for him--he ...
6.4
In the 9th Century, two Viking children, separated since their early childhood with one ra...
7.1
It's the story of a day spent by Dino, separated by his wife, who sees his son Robertino a...
4.9
The seven stages in the life of the modern Frenchwomen are disclosed by seven directors in...
5.1
Detective C.G. begins to investigate the death of an attractive woman whose naked body was...
- 1963 Maskenball bei Scotland Yard as Kessler-Zwillinge
- 1964 The Thursday as Self
- 1975 Treffpunkt Herz as Gast
- 1961 Erik the Conqueror as Daya
- 1958 Countess Mariza as Rosika
- 1966 Playgirl as Self
- 2007 Ein Leben wie im Flug as Self
- 1958 Mein Schatz ist aus Tirol as Lo
- 1957 Vier Mädels aus der Wachau as Hanni
- 1958 Der Bettelstudent as Katja
- 1958 Das Posthaus im Schwarzwald as Cilli
- 1957 The Count of Luxemburg as Franzi
- 1957 Scherben bringen Glück as Flora Fleuron
- 1962 Hochzeitsnacht im Paradies as Milli
- 1957 Mit Rosen fängt die Liebe an as Lotte
- 1955 Solang es hübsche Mädchen gibt as Ellen
- 1962 Der Vogelhändler as Tänzerin
- 1964 Dead Woman from Beverly Hills as Tiddy Sister Nr. 1
- 1957 Die Zwillinge vom Zillertal as Tänzerin
- 1964 Songs, Bullies and Chicks as Self
- 1958 The Beautiful Legs of Sabrina as Tänzerin
- 1960 Love and the Frenchwoman as L'autre jumelle, un mannequin de publicité (segment "L'Adultère")
- 1960 The Magician as Hildegarde
- 2003 Johannes Heesters: Eine Legende wird 100 as Self
- 1962 Sodom and Gomorrah as Dancer
- 1967 Andere Zeiten - andere Sitten as Self
- 1965 Complexes as Self (segment "Guglielmo il Dentone")
- 1961 Die lachende Dritte as Ellen
- 1961 Rocco e le sorelle
- 1958 Tabarin as Self
- 1963 Perpetuum Musicale - Eine Revue ohne Aufenthalt as Self
- 1965 Show - Charme - Chansons as Self
- 1971 Alice und Ellen as Self
- 1969 Festival der Stars as Self
- 1968 Paris nach Noten as Self
- 1978 Just a Gigolo as Dancer (uncredited)
- 2002 Ein roter Teppich für.... ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1976 Domenica In ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1962 Lieben Sie Show ? ( 4 episodes ) as Self - Host
- 1986 Showgeschichten ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1966 Continental Showcase ( 2 episodes ) as Self
- 2015 Wer weiß denn sowas? ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2008 Heimat - Deine Filme ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1970 Scene of the Crime ( 1 episode ) as Mutter Bemering
- 1971 Dalli Dalli ( 1 episode ) as Self - Contestant
- 1974 Am laufenden Band ( 1 episode ) as Self - Guest
- 1959 Stars in der Manege ( 2 episodes ) as Self
- 1995 Die Harald Schmidt Show ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1995 Balko ( 1 episode ) as Ira Adomeit
- 1993 Auf eigene Gefahr ( 1 episode ) as Lucie Grindel
- 1971 Dalli Dalli ( 2 episodes ) as Self
- 2007 Inas Nacht ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2006 Lafer! Lichter! Lecker! ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1973 Klimbim ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1996 Lukas ( 1 episode ) as Ellen Kessler
- 1990 Ein Schloß am Wörthersee ( 1 episode ) as Erika Strassberg
- 2008 Markus Lanz ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1974 Die Montagsmaler ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1948 The Ed Sullivan Show ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1972 Hätten Sie heut’ Zeit für mich? ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1978 Bio’s Bahnhof ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1971 Die diebischen Zwillinge ( 7 episodes ) as Kathy
- 1990 Mini Playback Show ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1969 Peter Alexander präsentiert Spezialitäten ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1968 Starparade ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1979 Die Pyramide ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1948 Bambi ( 1 episode ) as Self - Laudation
- 2016 Ringlstetter ( 1 episode ) as self
- 1957 Zum blauen Bock ( 2 episodes ) as Self
- 1977 Auf los geht's los ( 2 episodes ) as Self
- 1996 Zimmer frei! ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1959 Discorama ( 2 episodes ) as Self
- 1975 Numéro un ( 2 episodes ) as Self
- 2003 Menschen bei Maischberger ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2006 Filmlegenden. Deutsch ( 2 episodes ) as Self
- 1994 alfredissimo! Kochen mit Bio ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1976 Kölner Treff ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2000 Menschen der Woche ( 2 episodes ) as Self
- 1991 Boulevard Bio ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1984 Die verflixte 7 ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1995 Versteckte Kamera ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1998 Alpha Forum ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1995 Lebens-Künstler ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1991 DAS! ( 2 episodes ) as Self
- 1979 NDR Talk Show ( 3 episodes ) as Self
- 1976 Music & Guests ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2001 Aeschbacher ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1982 Wortwechsel ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1961 Hotel Victoria ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1982 Menschen ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1973 8 x 1 in Noten ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1992 Riverboat ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1971 Anneliese Rothenberger gibt sich die Ehre ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1966 Die Caterina-Valente-Show ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1969 Wünsch dir was ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1994 Die Feste mit Florian Silbereisen ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2005 Herzlichen Glückwunsch - Die Michael Schanze Jubiläumsgala ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1987 Nachtcafé ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1968 Night-Club ( 2 episodes ) as Self
- 1963 The Danny Kaye Show ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1990 Pssst ... ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1980 Heut' abend ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1962 Wieder zurück: Siegfried Arno - Eine Musik-Show aus Studio 3 ( 2 episodes ) as Self
- 1956 Eurovision Song Contest ( 1 episode ) as Self -Germany Contestant
- 2000 Alles Liebe V.I.P. ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1988 Alles Nichts Oder?! ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1962 Raise Your Glasses ( 1 episode )
