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Photo of Ellen Kessler

Ellen Kessler

ActorBorn August 20, 1936 (88 years)
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
  • Erik the Conqueror
  • Double Deception
  • Vier Mädel aus der Wachau
  • Dead Woman from Beverly Hills
  • Beautiful Girls
  • Gräfin Mariza
  • Mein Schatz ist aus Tirol
  • Seven Years Hard Luck
  • Mein Mädchen ist ein Postillion
  • Der Graf von Luxemburg
  • The Beggar Student
  • Mit Rosen fängt die Liebe an

Filmography

1995
Balko (TV Series) · as Ira Adomeit
1993
Auf eigene Gefahr (TV Series) · as Lucie Grindel
1990
Lakeside Hotel (TV Series) · as Erika Strassberg
1971
K2 + 1 (TV Series) · as Kathy
1970
Tatort (TV Series) · as Mutter Bemering
1964
Dead Woman from Beverly Hills · as Tiddy Sister Nr. 1
1963
1962
Sodom and Gomorrah · as Dancer
1962
Der Vogelhändler · as Tänzerin
1962
1961
1960
Love and the Frenchwoman · as L'autre Jumelle, Un Mannequin De Publicité (segment "l'adultère")
1960
1959
La Paloma · as Tänzerin
1958
1958
Gräfin Mariza · as Rosika
1958
1958
1957
1957
1957
1957
1957
La garçonne · as The Dolly Sisters #2
1957
Seven Years Hard Luck · as Flora Fleuron
1956
The Beggar Student · as Katja
1955
Beautiful Girls · as Ellen
1951
The Red Skelton Show (TV Series) · as Native Girl

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