Jesse James Keitel is an American actor, writer, and artist from eastern Long Island, NY. Keitel is non-binary and uses she/her pronouns.
Keitel graduated from Pace University with a BFA in Acting in 2015. She was honored in Out magazine's OUT100 in 2018 for her portrayal of queer characters in the Ben Stiller-produced Netflix film Alex Strangelove and as TV Land's first non-binary character on Younger.
She is known for starring in Asher Jelinsky's short film Miller & Son (2019), which won the BAFTA Student Film Award and Gold Medal for "Best Narrative" (Domestic) at the 2019 Student Academy Awards. In 2019, Keitel also starred in the world premiere of Martin Moran's play Theo at Two River Theater. Later the same year, she also appeared in Linda Yellen's Showtime feature film Fluidity, starring Nico Tortorella.
Keitel plays the leading role in the upcoming MadRiver Pictures sci-fi series, Forever Alone. In March 2020, Keitel was cast in a lead role in Big Sky, an ABC crime-drama created by David E. Kelley. Big Sky made her the first non-binary actor to play a non-binary series regular on primetime television.
In Peacock's 2022 reboot of Queer as Folk, Keitel stars as Ruthie, a trans woman and onetime party girl trying - and sometimes failing - to mature. She also appears in season 1 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds as Dr. Aspen, a non-binary humanitarian aid worker.
