Daphna Kastner is a Canadian actress, screenwriter, and film director who has spent decades working in independent cinema. Born in Montreal on April 17, 1961, she appeared in films including Julia Has Two Lovers, Lana in Love, and Timecode, while also writing and directing projects such as French Exit and Spanish Fly. She is also the longtime wife of acclaimed actor Harvey Keitel, whom she married in Jerusalem in 2001.
Their love story is unusual even by Hollywood standards. Daphna and Harvey first crossed paths years before becoming a couple, lost touch, then reconnected in 2001 and married only weeks later. More than two decades afterward, they remain together and share a son, Roman Keitel.
Daphna Kastner Quick Bio
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Daphna Kastner |
| Born | April 17, 1961 |
| Birthplace | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Profession | Actress, writer, film director |
| Husband | Harvey Keitel |
| Married | October 7, 2001 |
| Wedding Location | Jerusalem |
| Children Together | One son, Roman Keitel |
| Known For | Julia Has Two Lovers, French Exit, Spanish Fly |
| Years Active | 1980s–present |
| Current Status | Married to Harvey Keitel |
Who Is Daphna Kastner?
Daphna Kastner has a much deeper entertainment career than the simple label “Harvey Keitel’s wife” suggests.
She began acting professionally during the 1980s and later expanded into screenwriting and directing. Her work often appeared in independent films rather than huge studio blockbusters, giving her career a very different shape from Harvey’s.
Her credits show something important.
Daphna did not enter filmmaking because she married a famous actor.
She was already building her own career years before their wedding.
Daphna Kastner’s Early Life in Montreal
Daphna was born on April 17, 1961, in Montreal, Quebec.
Reliable public biographies provide much less information about her parents, childhood, and education. That is worth noting because many celebrity websites fill these gaps with details that are difficult to verify.
What is certain is that her career eventually took her into acting, writing, and filmmaking.
By the early 1980s, she was already appearing on screen.
Her First Film Roles
One of Daphna’s earliest listed credits is the 1983 drama The Lonely Lady.
She continued working through the decade and appeared in projects such as Evixion and the horror-comedy Girlfriend from Hell.
These roles came long before her marriage to Harvey.
Her early career demonstrates that acting was her own professional path, not an extension of her husband’s fame.
Julia Has Two Lovers
One of Daphna’s better-known early projects was Julia Has Two Lovers.
The film helped establish her not only as an actress but also as a writer.
IMDb identifies her as a writer on the project, and the film remains one of the titles most strongly associated with her career.
That transition from appearing in films to helping shape their stories became a major feature of Daphna’s work.
She was interested in more than performing someone else’s script.
She wanted to create stories herself.
Lana in Love
Daphna was also connected to the 1991 film Lana in Love.
Again, her career was moving beyond acting alone.
This was a period when independent filmmakers could build careers through smaller productions that gave writers and directors greater creative control.
Daphna seemed especially drawn to that world.
Rather than chasing only major commercial roles, she developed projects where she could participate in several parts of the filmmaking process.
Daphna Kastner as a Screenwriter
Writing became an important part of Daphna’s identity.
IMDb credits her as a writer on multiple films, including Julia Has Two Lovers, Lana in Love, Crack Me Up, French Exit, and Spanish Fly.
That makes her career unusual compared with many actors.
Writing a screenplay requires a completely different set of skills.
Instead of focusing on one character, a screenwriter must create the entire world.
Dialogue.
Structure.
Relationships.
Conflict.
And a reason for viewers to keep watching.
Daphna repeatedly moved between those roles.
French Exit and Her Move Into Directing
Daphna made an important step when she directed French Exit.
The romantic comedy starred Mädchen Amick and Jonathan Silverman as rival screenwriters competing for professional opportunities while becoming romantically involved. Daphna co-wrote the screenplay and directed the film.
A Los Angeles Times review noted that the story drew from the experiences of Daphna and co-writer Michael A. Lerner as struggling Hollywood writers.
That makes the film especially personal.
It was not simply a directing assignment.
Parts of its world came from experiences close to the filmmakers themselves.
Why French Exit Matters in Her Career
Directing a feature film is a major responsibility.
The director has to guide actors, work with cinematographers and designers, make decisions about pacing and tone, and keep the entire production moving toward one vision.
Daphna doing that while also contributing to the screenplay showed that she was developing into a filmmaker rather than remaining only an actress.
French Exit did not become a giant box-office hit.
But career importance is not measured only by ticket sales.
For Daphna, it represented creative control.
Spanish Fly
Daphna later directed Spanish Fly, another project strongly connected with her name.
The film follows Zoe, an American writer in Madrid researching ideas about male sexuality and relationships. Daphna played Zoe while also directing and writing the movie.
That meant she was juggling several creative responsibilities at once.
Actor.
Writer.
Director.
Few people understand how difficult that can be.
A performer must stay emotionally present inside the scene while the director has to think about the entire production.
Daphna did both.
Critical Response to Spanish Fly
The Los Angeles Times described Spanish Fly as a funny and intelligent look at love and relationships and referred to Daphna as a talented writer-director.
The movie may not be familiar to every mainstream audience today.
But it helps explain Daphna’s artistic identity.
She was interested in complicated relationships, humor, attraction, and the strange ways people misunderstand one another.
Those themes appear repeatedly across her work.
Daphna Kastner in Timecode
Daphna also appeared in the 2000 experimental film Timecode.
The movie, directed by Mike Figgis, became known for its unusual format, presenting four simultaneous continuous camera shots divided across the screen.
That kind of production was far removed from conventional Hollywood filmmaking.
Daphna’s presence in projects like this shows her interest in unusual and independent cinema rather than only mainstream commercial productions.
Who Is Harvey Keitel?
Harvey Keitel was born on May 13, 1939, in Brooklyn, New York.
He became one of the most respected American character actors of his generation.
His career stretches across more than five decades and includes collaborations with filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Ridley Scott, Jane Campion, and Wes Anderson.
His famous films include Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Thelma & Louise, Reservoir Dogs, The Piano, Pulp Fiction, and The Irishman.
Harvey also earned an Academy Award nomination for Bugsy.
By the time he married Daphna, he had already become one of cinema’s most recognizable faces.
Daphna and Harvey First Met Years Earlier
Their romance did not begin in 2001 from nothing.
Daphna and Harvey had met years earlier, during the 1980s, and had gone on a date.
Then life took them in different directions.
They lost contact.
Harvey entered other relationships, while Daphna continued building her film career.
Years later, they crossed paths again.
That second meeting changed everything.
Their 2001 Reunion
Harvey and Daphna reconnected in 2001.
Public biographical accounts place the reunion around the Toronto International Film Festival that September.
After years apart, their relationship moved remarkably quickly.
Within only a few weeks, they decided to marry.
For most couples, that timeline would sound incredibly fast.
But Harvey was already in his early sixties and Daphna was 40.
Both had lived full adult lives.
They apparently knew what they wanted.
Daphna Kastner and Harvey Keitel’s Jerusalem Wedding
The couple married on October 7, 2001, in Jerusalem.
Contemporary reporting described a rooftop ceremony overlooking Jerusalem’s Old City while Harvey was in Israel for the Haifa International Film Festival.
The setting was striking.
Stone walls.
The Tower of David nearby.
A nighttime Jerusalem skyline.
And a small ceremony rather than an enormous Hollywood spectacle.
Harvey was in Israel promoting The Grey Zone, a Holocaust drama he produced and starred in.
In the middle of that trip, he and Daphna became husband and wife.
Why Their Wedding Was So Unusual
Most major Hollywood weddings involve months of planning.
Celebrity guests.
Magazine coverage.
Designer gowns.
Security teams.
Harvey and Daphna’s marriage unfolded very differently.
Their Jerusalem ceremony came only weeks after reconnecting.
The speed of the relationship became one of its defining stories.
Instead of carefully building publicity around the wedding, they simply married.
That decision fits a couple who, even decades later, rarely turns their relationship into a public spectacle.
A Second Wedding Celebration
After the Jerusalem ceremony, the couple later celebrated their marriage in New York.
Public accounts vary on some details about the exact private location and host, so the safest point is that the Jerusalem wedding was followed by another celebration with friends in New York later in 2001.
This is a good example of why celebrity biographies need care.
Different databases sometimes repeat different versions of the same event.
The clearly established facts are the most important ones: Daphna and Harvey married in Jerusalem in October 2001 and later marked the marriage again in New York.
Their Son Roman Keitel
Daphna and Harvey welcomed a son named Roman Keitel in 2004.
IMDb lists Roman as their child and gives August 2004 as his birth period.
Roman has since developed an interest in acting himself.
That makes him part of a family with several generations connected to entertainment.
His father is an internationally famous actor.
His mother is an actress, writer, and director.
Growing up around movies would have been almost unavoidable.
Harvey Keitel’s Other Children
Roman is Daphna’s only publicly documented child with Harvey.
Harvey also has older children from previous relationships.
He shares daughter Stella Keitel with actress Lorraine Bracco and has another son, Hudson, from a later relationship before his marriage to Daphna.
That means Daphna entered a blended family.
However, reliable public information about her private relationships with Harvey’s older children is limited.
It would be wrong to invent those details.
Daphna and Harvey on the Red Carpet
Although Daphna keeps much of her private life quiet, she regularly appears beside Harvey at important film events.
They attended the Gotham Independent Film Awards together in New York in 2010.
They were photographed at the Cannes Film Festival premiere of Youth in 2015.
They also attended the 2020 Academy Awards together, where Harvey was part of the celebrated cast of The Irishman.
These appearances create a visual timeline of a marriage that has lasted for decades.
Their 2020 Oscars Appearance
At the 2020 Oscars, Harvey wore black while Daphna appeared in a silver gown.
People magazine included them among the couples photographed on the red carpet and noted that Harvey had brought his wife of nearly two decades as his date.
By then, their marriage had lasted almost 19 years.
They looked comfortable rather than overly staged.
That seems to reflect their larger relationship with publicity.
They will attend major events.
But they do not seem interested in turning every private moment into news.
Daphna’s Own Identity Matters
It would be easy to write an entire article about Daphna using only Harvey’s name.
That would miss the point.
She was acting before their marriage.
She wrote screenplays.
She directed feature films.
She starred in her own projects.
Her artistic work exists independently of Harvey’s career.
Their marriage may be what brings many readers to her name today, but it is not where her story started.
Is Daphna Kastner Still Acting?
Daphna’s most recognizable acting and directing credits come from earlier decades.
Her publicly documented screen output has become less frequent in recent years.
That does not erase the career she built.
IMDb still lists her professionally as an actress, writer, and director.
In 2026, she is better known publicly through older independent films and her long marriage to Harvey than through a new major screen release.
It is therefore safest to describe her as an established filmmaker whose recent public profile is quieter.
Harvey Keitel Is Still Working
Harvey, meanwhile, has continued acting well into his eighties.
People reported in 2026 that he remained active in film and had new projects even at age 87.
That level of career longevity is extraordinary.
Daphna has been beside him through more than two decades of that later career.
She has seen everything from independent films to award ceremonies and major international festivals.
How Long Have Daphna and Harvey Been Married?
Daphna and Harvey married in October 2001.
By October 2026, they will have completed 25 years of marriage.
That quarter-century milestone is especially notable in the entertainment business.
Their relationship began suddenly.
But it clearly did not end quickly.
A romance that turned into marriage within weeks eventually became one of Harvey Keitel’s most enduring personal relationships.
Are Daphna Kastner and Harvey Keitel Still Together?
Yes.
Current public biographies continue to list Daphna and Harvey as married, and there are no credible reports of divorce or separation.
Their occasional public appearances over the years have also shown them attending major industry events together.
In an age when celebrity relationships can be documented almost daily, their marriage has remained remarkably low-key.
Perhaps that privacy has helped them protect it.
Daphna Kastner’s Net Worth
Daphna’s personal net worth has not been reliably disclosed.
Some entertainment websites publish estimates, but these figures are usually not supported by public financial records.
She has worked professionally as an actress, screenwriter, and director.
Harvey has also enjoyed a highly successful acting career.
But it would be inaccurate to take Harvey’s estimated wealth and simply call it Daphna’s personal fortune.
Her finances remain private.
How Old Is Daphna Kastner?
Daphna was born on April 17, 1961.
That makes her 65 years old in 2026.
Harvey turned 87 in May 2026, creating an age difference of nearly 22 years between them.
The age gap has occasionally attracted curiosity online.
Yet their marriage has now lasted around a quarter of a century, making the numbers far less interesting than the longevity of the relationship itself.
What Is Daphna Kastner Doing Today?
Daphna keeps her present-day routine largely private.
There is no need to invent claims about where she spends every day, what projects she may be developing, or how she structures her family life.
What is reliably known is that she remains publicly identified as Harvey Keitel’s wife and retains her professional identity as an actress, writer, and director.
Her quieter public profile is consistent with much of her career.
She has never seemed to chase celebrity for its own sake.
Why People Still Search for Daphna Kastner
Harvey Keitel’s films continue to find new audiences.
Someone may watch Taxi Driver.
Then Reservoir Dogs.
Then Pulp Fiction.
Eventually, curiosity moves from the actor to the person behind the public image.
Who is Harvey Keitel married to?
How did they meet?
Does his wife work in film too?
That is when Daphna becomes especially interesting.
Because the answer is not simply “his wife.”
She is a filmmaker herself.
Interesting Facts About Daphna Kastner
Daphna was born in Montreal in 1961 and began her screen career during the 1980s. She has worked as an actress, writer, and director and is especially associated with Julia Has Two Lovers, French Exit, and Spanish Fly.
She and Harvey Keitel first met years before becoming a couple, lost contact, then reconnected in 2001. They married in Jerusalem only weeks later and welcomed son Roman in 2004.
Their marriage reaches 25 years in 2026.
Final Thoughts
Daphna Kastner has lived an unusual life at the meeting point of independent cinema and Hollywood fame.
She began as an actress, expanded into writing, and eventually directed feature films including French Exit and Spanish Fly. Her career shows a willingness to move between different creative roles rather than staying inside one box.
Then came a love story that almost sounds like a screenplay.
Daphna had met Harvey Keitel years earlier.
They went their separate ways.
They unexpectedly reconnected in 2001.
Within weeks, they stood together on a Jerusalem rooftop and got married.
Their son Roman arrived in 2004.
And a marriage that began very quickly turned into one lasting roughly 25 years.
Harvey may be the more famous name, but Daphna’s own career deserves attention.
She acted.
She wrote.
She directed.
She told stories.
And she built a creative life long before becoming part of one of Hollywood’s longest-running marriages.
FAQs About Daphna Kastner
Who is Daphna Kastner?
Daphna Kastner is a Canadian actress, screenwriter, and director. She is also the wife of actor Harvey Keitel.
When was Daphna Kastner born?
She was born on April 17, 1961, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
How old is Daphna Kastner?
She is 65 years old as of September 2026.
What movies has Daphna Kastner appeared in?
Her credits include The Lonely Lady, Girlfriend from Hell, Julia Has Two Lovers, Lana in Love, Timecode, and My Sexiest Year.
Is Daphna Kastner a director?
Yes. She directed French Exit and Spanish Fly.
When did Daphna Kastner marry Harvey Keitel?
They married on October 7, 2001.
Where did Daphna Kastner and Harvey Keitel marry?
They married in Jerusalem during a trip connected to the Haifa International Film Festival.
How did Daphna Kastner and Harvey Keitel meet?
They first met years earlier and dated briefly before losing contact. They reconnected in 2001 and married only weeks later.
Do Daphna Kastner and Harvey Keitel have children?
Yes. They have one son together, Roman Keitel, born in 2004.
Are Daphna Kastner and Harvey Keitel still married?
Yes. Current sources continue to list them as married in 2026.
What is Daphna Kastner’s net worth?
Her personal net worth has not been independently verified by reliable public financial records.
What is Daphna Kastner doing today?
She keeps much of her current life private. She remains publicly known as an actress, writer, director, and Harvey Keitel’s longtime wife.
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