Ellen Kessler
Acting
- Born:
- 1936-08-20
- Died:
- 2025-11-17
- 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
Filmography
Ringlstetter
Wer weiß denn sowas?
Heimat - Deine Filme
Markus Lanz
Inas Nacht
Ein Leben wie im Flug
Lafer! Lichter! Lecker!
Filmlegenden. Deutsch
Herzlichen Glückwunsch - Die Michael Schanze Jubiläumsgala
Johannes Heesters: Eine Legende wird 100
Menschen bei Maischberger
Ein roter Teppich für....
Aeschbacher
Menschen der Woche
Alles Liebe V.I.P.
Alpha Forum
Zimmer frei!
Lukas
Die Harald Schmidt Show
Lebens-Künstler
Versteckte Kamera
Balko
alfredissimo! Kochen mit Bio
Die Feste mit Florian Silbereisen
Auf eigene Gefahr
Riverboat
Boulevard Bio
DAS!
Mini Playback Show
Ein Schloß am Wörthersee
Pssst ...
Alles Nichts Oder?!
Nachtcafé
Showgeschichten
Die verflixte 7
Menschen
Wortwechsel
Heut' abend
Die Pyramide
NDR Talk Show
Just a Gigolo
Bio’s Bahnhof
Auf los geht's los
Music & Guests
Domenica In
Kölner Treff
Treffpunkt Herz
Numéro un
Am laufenden Band
Die Montagsmaler
Klimbim
8 x 1 in Noten
Hätten Sie heut’ Zeit für mich?
Anneliese Rothenberger gibt sich die Ehre
Dalli Dalli
Alice und Ellen
Die diebischen Zwillinge
Scene of the Crime
Wünsch dir was
Festival der Stars
Peter Alexander präsentiert Spezialitäten
Night-Club
Paris nach Noten
Starparade
Andere Zeiten - andere Sitten
Die Caterina-Valente-Show
Playgirl
Continental Showcase
Complexes
Show - Charme - Chansons
Songs, Bullies and Chicks
Dead Woman from Beverly Hills
The Thursday
The Danny Kaye Show
Maskenball bei Scotland Yard
Perpetuum Musicale - Eine Revue ohne Aufenthalt
Lieben Sie Show ?
Raise Your Glasses
Sodom and Gomorrah
Der Vogelhändler
Hochzeitsnacht im Paradies
Wieder zurück: Siegfried Arno - Eine Musik-Show aus Studio 3
Erik the Conqueror
Die lachende Dritte
Rocco e le sorelle
Hotel Victoria
Love and the Frenchwoman
The Magician
Stars in der Manege
Discorama
Mein Schatz ist aus Tirol
Countess Mariza
The Beautiful Legs of Sabrina
Das Posthaus im Schwarzwald
Tabarin
Der Bettelstudent
The Count of Luxemburg
Mit Rosen fängt die Liebe an
Die Zwillinge vom Zillertal
Zum blauen Bock
Vier Mädels aus der Wachau
Scherben bringen Glück
Eurovision Song Contest
Solang es hübsche Mädchen gibt
The Ed Sullivan Show
Bambi