Keira Knightley has spent recent years captivating audiences in dark thrillers and gripping spy dramas, often portraying complex women with troubled pasts. Now, the actress is revealing a softer, more personal side as she turns her talents to writing. Her debut children's book, I Love You Just The Same, is a heartwarming celebration of unconditional love and family – a world away from the darker roles that have defined much of her recent career.
Off-screen, the actress is happily married to former Klaxons musician James Righton, whom she wed in an intimate ceremony in the South of France in 2013. The couple, who keep a low profile in London, are famously private, but Keira - a self-proclaimed introvert - has described James as "the brightest light in any room".
While marriage wasn't on her to-do list, Keira fell for the musician after they hit it off at a dinner party in 2011. In an interview with The Guardian, she noted that they were invited to a dinner party and introduced "through our mate Tim, not Alexa Chung, as people keep telling me. We were very drunk."
According to James, Keira had no idea that he was a keyboard player in the British band, and she had never listened to the band before, but they fell in love and are now parents to two daughters, raising them in London. Take a look at their sweet love story…
Love at first sight
Keira wasn't looking for love when she found it, nor was she interested in marriage. "My parents are deeply hippy. They got married because it was the only way they could get a mortgage at the time," she told Time Out in 2014.
"I grew up with them going, 'Don't know why you'd ever get married.' And then we did. It's nice. It's been fun. Until it isn't and then you get divorced! Fingers crossed for the future."
But they met at a dinner party hosted by mutual friends, where, according to James, Keira had no idea that he was a keyboard player in the British band, Klaxons, nor had she listened to them herself. "Keira was in America when we were having our moment in the sun in the UK, so she was oblivious," he recalled to the New York Post, "but over the years, she came to loads of gigs and loved 'Surfing the Void.'"
“We really annoy each other. But, [expletive], do we laugh,” the Pride & Prejudice actress said in 2014, admitting that collaborating on a project would not be a good idea, even though James now works in film scores.
"He tries to get me to clap on things occasionally and apparently I’ve got no timing, and we end up in a big row," she revealed. "It would be awful."
Saying 'I do'
James popped the question in 2012, with the actress's publicist confirming the news. A year later, they said "I do", tying the knot in an intimate ceremony in Mazan in the South of France. Only 11 people were in attendance before the bride and groom hosted a reception at Keira's mother's house.
A style maven, it's no surprise that Keira chose a couture Chanel minidress for her big day. She completed her bridal look with a white tweed jacket by Karl Lagerfeld. Speaking with Elle UK, the A-lister revealed that they had a second wedding, and donned a floral Valentino dress for the occasion. They spent their honeymoon in Corsica.
Growing their family
Keira and James are proud parents. Their eldest daughter, Edie, was born in 2015 and their youngest, Delilah, was born in 2019.
Asked about her life as a mother, the Netflix star told Vanity Fair: "I'm very loving, mostly we have lots of cuddles and we do enjoy each other's company: we can actually have real giggles and be brilliant.
"Also, I can get angry. It's a shame, isn't it? But you know, I'm a human being, and sometimes I'm gonna shout," she continued. "When I do, though, I always try to apologize, so that they learn that it's ok to say sorry and that we still love each other. I think that's really important."
Since welcoming their daughters, Keira has turned to turn down roles abroad, stating that she wants to be close to Edie and Delilah. "I've chosen to have children, I want to bring them up, so I've had to take a major step back," she explained to The Times.