German entertainers Alice and Ellen Kessler died at age 89 on the same day in November 2025. The duo - who were known professionally as The Kessler Twins - reportedly made the decision to have an assisted suicide in consultation with the German Society for Human Dying (DGHS), according to NBC's Today. "People who choose this option in Germany must be absolutely clear-headed, meaning free and responsible," an English-language statement from the DGHS read. "The decision must be thoughtful and consistent, meaning made over a long period of time and not impulsive." The Kessler Twins hinted at wanting to die together a year earlier by telling the Italian media that they didn't want to deal with the trauma of one going before the other Celebrity Deaths of 2025: The Kessler Twins and More Stars We've Lost During their 70-plus year careers, The Kessler Twins performed on some of the world's grandest stages, from the Lido in Paris to the bright lights of the The Ed Sullivan Show in New York City. The siblings made history by appearing on the cover of Life Magazine in the U.S. and later posed for the Italian edition of Playboy when they turned 40. Keep scrolling for more information on the incredible lives of The Kessler Twins. The Kessler Twins Escaped From Behind the Iron Curtain as Children Alice and Ellen Kessler were born in Nerchau, Germany, in August 1936, during the rise of the Nazi Party. Their childhood was torn apart by the encroachment of World War II, which lasted from 1939 to 1945. Following the war, their hometown became part of East Germany and the twins grew up under the control of Soviet occupation. Despite their harsh upbringing, Alice and Ellen excelled at dance from an early age and even performed with the Leipzig Opera. When the twins were 16 years old, their parents were able to secure a visitor's visa that allowed the family to escape East Germany. The Kessler Twins Became Huge Stars in Europe as Teenagers The Kessler Twins first made a name for themselves by performing in Düsseldorf once they arrived in West Germany. It wasn't long before The Kessler Twins made their debut on the Paris stage at the famed Lido theater - where the likes of Siegfried and Roy, Elton John and Marlene Dietrich also performed over the years. In 1959, The Kessler Twins finished in eighth place as the West German representatives at the Eurovision Song Contest in Cannes, France, with their single "Heute Abend wollen wir tanzen geh'n" ("Tonight We Want to Go Dancing"). (The 1959 Eurovision Song Contest was won by the Netherlands representative Teddy Scholten with her submission "'n Beetje," or "A Little Bit.") "We didn't really want to do it because it was the debut of our signing but our record company in Germany felt we had to do it because we were already known in France for [performing] at The Lido in Paris," Ellen explained in one interview. "They thought if we go [to Eurovision] and sing a song, we may make it. But we didn't make it!" While the song competition launched the careers of ABBA and Celine Dion, the Kessler Twins felt that performing at Eurovision was a mistake. Ellen and Alice Kessler Jack Kay/Daily Express/Getty Images "We didn't make it because we didn't think that song was too good and we didn't think that we were too good," Ellen joked. Alice admitted that she'd never watched their Eurovision performance "completely" in all the years since the 1959 competition because the experience didn't help their careers. "We're not really record stars," Ellen noted. "We've always been visual because we moved all the time. Success was always visual. Everybody wanted to see us, not only singing like the record star would do, but also dancing. So, it was always visual." The Kessler Twins Had Success in Hollywood The Kessler Twins were discovered by U.S.-born choreographer Don Lurio in 1961 and brought to Italy, where they became early TV stars in the country. Their success in Europe paved the way for The Kessler Twins to make their American television debut on CBS's The Red Skelton Show in 1963. The sisters became regulars on pioneering CBS variety show The Ed Sullivan Show in the 1960s and early '70s, where they performed alongside The Jackson 5 and other major American entertainers. "We didn't feel any competition [with American acts] because we were twins," Ellen said in an interview. "We were something special, not just one thing. ... We were something out of the normality." Alice added: "We really were lucky to work with all the big stars in the U.S.A." The Most Shocking Celebrity Deaths of All Time: Diane Keaton and More The twins frequently shared stages with the Rat Pack, and they singled out Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin as two of their favorite colleagues. While Alice and Ellen said they got along well with Rat Pack leader Frank Sinatra, they recognized that Sinatra had a darker side too. "Frank Sinatra, he was interesting because he was very humorous," Ellen said. "You never knew, was he in a good [moo