Dafne Keen

Dafne María Keen Fernández was born in Madrid, Spain. She is the daughter of British actor Will Keen and Spanish actress, theatre director, and writer María Fernández Ache, and grew up in a bilingual, bicultural performing-arts family.

Keen made her acting debut alongside her father in the television series The Refugees. She played Ana "Ani" Cruz Oliver in the series, which ran from 2014 or 2015 through 2015 after one season, with the premiere year variously listed in the record.

Keen's breakthrough came in James Mangold's 2017 superhero film Logan, in which she played Laura, the child clone of Wolverine, also known as X-23. She appeared opposite Hugh Jackman, who played Wolverine, and Patrick Stewart, who played Professor Charles Xavier.

Her performance combined physical intensity with vulnerability and included action scenes involving Laura's adamantium claws. Keen won the Empire Award for Best Female Newcomer and the MTV Movie & TV Award for Best Duo with Hugh Jackman, while also receiving nominations from several critics' groups and the Saturn Awards.

In 2024, she reprised Laura in Deadpool & Wolverine, reuniting with Jackman. The film became her highest-grossing release and marked her return to the role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

In 2018, Keen was cast as Lyra Belacqua in the BBC and HBO adaptation of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. The series ran from 2019 to 2022, and Keen led the cast across its three-season run.

Keen read the books closely while preparing for the part and described Lyra as a role through which she grew up. Her performance received critical praise, and she was nominated for a British Academy Cymru Award for Best Actress in 2020. Her father, Will Keen, also appeared in the series as Hugh MacPhail.

After Logan, Keen starred opposite Andy García in the comedy-drama film Ana. She worked on the film immediately after Logan, although its release was delayed until 2020. Reviews of the film were mixed, while Keen's charisma and screen presence received positive notice.

Keen joined the cast of the Star Wars series The Acolyte in 2022 and played Jecki Lon when the series premiered in 2024. Creator Leslye Headland created the character after seeing Keen's performance in Logan. Keen also voiced Shirley Hitchings in the podcast series The Battersea Poltergeist and appeared in the music video for Teo Planell's "Let It Bloom".

Her later credits include the horror film Whistle, in which she played Chrys Willet. She is also attached to The Marshmallow Experiment, Night Comes, Barracuda, and the third season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Keen has cited Gena Rowlands, Meryl Streep, Olivia Colman, Jennifer Lawrence, and Timothée Chalamet as acting influences. Her favourite films include Singin' in the Rain, Oklahoma!, West Side Story, Some Like It Hot, Daddy's Home, A Woman Under the Influence, Opening Night, and In the Mood for Love.