Star dancers of the 1950s and 1960s, the Kessler sisters shared everything, until the end of their lives. This Monday, November 17, they committed suicide together at the age of 89, at their home.
Alice and Ellen Kessler: to life, to death
From a very young age, Alice and Ellen Kessler had everything to succeed: rare beauty, talent and legendary audacity.
And if, very quickly, they received demanding training at the Leipzig Opera – where they trained tirelessly as dancers – it was in Paris, at the Lido, that their talent was spotted: they became singers, dancers and actresses and performed alongside stars like Frank Sinatra, Fred Astaire and Harry Belafonte.
The twins even develop a rare artistic fusion: on stage, their steps, their looks, are perfectly coordinated.
A fusion that seemed limitless to the point that “the most beautiful twins in the world” decided to die together. And they kept their word: on November 17, the Kessler sisters were found at their home, near Munich.
An assisted suicide on the same day
According to the police present on site, it is indeed a “joint suicide”.
“They chose to end their lives,” specifies the German media Bild. They no longer wanted to live.”
According to local media, the two sisters administered lethal drugs to each other in the presence of a doctor and a lawyer, as part of an assisted suicide, legal in Germany provided that the person is an adult and acts “of his own free will”.
A gesture that they had long anticipated. In fact, in 2012, the twins told the Italian press that if one disappeared, the other would follow.
“Life would no longer have any meaning for the survivor. Not to mention that she would risk having to be held accountable to the courts for the homicide of her sister(?) So the survivor will commit suicide.” they had clarified.
“The mirror effect”: inseparable twins
The hyper-fusional bond of the twins can only raise questions.
And yet, this double suicide is the end point of their relationship: doing everything together, until the end.
“Twins often share everything: their secrets, genes in common and a deep connection – almost telepathic. And yet, it happens that the lives of twins are “distant”, both in their happiness and in their values. But we witness, in these two sisters, this famous “mirror effect”: there is something strange, singular about them. Their relationship is close, carried by a unique bond which connects them”, recognizes Pascal Anger.
So, when we have to renounce the other, the suffering becomes terrible. “It’s like giving up a part of yourself. The survivor’s existence can quickly falter“, specifies the expert.
Differentiate yourself, the key to not staying locked in the relationship
In this configuration, it could have been good for each of the twins to learn to dissociate. In other words, to build one’s own identity apart from the other.
“In twins, it is essential to be able to differentiate them, so that they are not prisoners of this reciprocal image.”
A little advice for parents of twins: help each of your children develop their own individuality, by valuing their differences from an early age. Fusion is only beneficial in small doses.