She was born in Constantinople to a Turkish father and a Russian-Jewish mother, and died in Paris.
[1] She was a former president and full member of the Paris Psychoanalytical Society, known by its French acronym SPP.
[2] Kestemberg moved to Paris with her family shortly after birth.
She was first analysed by Marc Schlumberger and decided to dedicate her life to psychoanalysis.
She was tutored by Sacha Nacht, who was against her admission to the SPP given she was not a trained physician.