Keira Knightley Age, Husband, Net Worth & Biography

Keira Knightley is an English actress who became an international star as a teenager and has spent more than two decades moving between blockbusters, period dramas and the stage. Born on 26 March 1985 in London, England, the 41-year-old is best known as Elizabeth Swann in the Pirates of the Caribbean films and as Elizabeth Bennet in Pride & Prejudice, a role that earned her an Academy Award nomination at the age of 20.

Keira Knightley Quick Facts

Full Name	Keira Christina Knightley
Date of Birth	26 March 1985
Age	41 years old (as of 2026)
Birthplace	London, England
Occupation	Actress
Years Active	1991–present
Spouse	James Righton (m. 2013)
Children	2 daughters
Known For	Pirates of the Caribbean (Elizabeth Swann); Pride & Prejudice (Elizabeth Bennet)
Net Worth	Approx. $80 million (Celebrity Net Worth, 2026)

Who Is Keira Knightley?

Keira Knightley is a two-time Academy Award-nominated English actress whose career began in childhood and reached the top of Hollywood before she turned 21. She first drew wide attention as the football-mad Jules Paxton in Bend It Like Beckham (2002), then became a global star as Elizabeth Swann in Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. At the same time, she built a reputation as one of the finest dramatic actresses of her generation, with acclaimed performances in Pride & Prejudice, Atonement and The Imitation Game.

Knightley has always balanced commercial hits with smaller, riskier work, and she has returned to the theatre regularly throughout her career, earning an Olivier Award nomination for her West End debut and making her Broadway debut in 2015. In 2018 she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to drama and charity. She remains one of Britain’s most enduring screen stars, with recent hits including the Netflix thriller Black Doves (2024), which earned her a Golden Globe nomination.

Keira Knightley’s Early Life & Background

Keira Christina Knightley was born on 26 March 1985 in Teddington, London, England. She grew up in a theatrical household: her father, Will Knightley, is an actor, and her mother, Sharman Macdonald, is a playwright and former actress. She began performing almost as soon as she could talk, appearing in local theatre productions as a child and asking her parents for an agent when she was six years old.

Her first screen roles came while she was still a schoolgirl, with small parts in television films such as The Treasure Seekers (1996) and Coming Home (1998). At the age of 12 she landed a small but memorable role in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999), playing Sabé, the handmaiden and decoy of Queen Amidala. She left school at 16 to pursue acting full time, and within two years she had her breakthrough.

Keira Knightley’s Career

Knightley’s breakthrough came in 2002 with Bend It Like Beckham, in which she played Jules Paxton, a teenager who defies her parents to play football. The film was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, and a year later she was cast as Elizabeth Swann in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), opposite Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom. The film became a box office phenomenon, and Knightley returned for two sequels, Dead Man’s Chest (2006) and At World’s End (2007), plus a brief appearance in Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017). In the same period she also appeared in the ensemble romantic comedy Love Actually (2003) and the action film King Arthur (2004).

While the Pirates films made her a blockbuster star, Knightley was building a parallel reputation in period drama. Her performance as Elizabeth Bennet in Joe Wright’s Pride & Prejudice (2005) earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress at the age of 20, making her the third-youngest nominee in the category’s history. She reunited with Wright for Atonement (2007), played Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, in The Duchess (2008), and starred as Sabina Spielrein in David Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method (2011) and as the title character in Anna Karenina (2012). In 2014 she played cryptanalyst Joan Clarke opposite Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game, earning her second Academy Award nomination, this time for Best Supporting Actress. Like Emilia Clarke, she has balanced big-screen franchises with acclaimed stage work, making her West End debut in The Misanthrope in 2009, earning an Olivier Award nomination, and her Broadway debut in Thérèse Raquin in 2015.

In recent years Knightley has continued to mix film and television. She played the title role in Colette (2018), British intelligence whistleblower Katharine Gun in Official Secrets (2019) and journalist Loretta McLaughlin in Boston Strangler (2023). She returned to series television in a major way with the 2024 Netflix thriller Black Doves, which became a hit and earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress, and in 2025 she starred in Netflix’s adaptation of Ruth Ware’s thriller The Woman in Cabin 10. In 2026 she is set to appear on stage in a new adaptation of The Lives of Others at the Adelphi Theatre in London. She has been the face of Chanel’s Coco Mademoiselle fragrance since 2006, one of the longest-running celebrity fragrance partnerships in fashion.

Facts About Keira Knightley

• Knightley was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress at the age of 20 for Pride & Prejudice (2005), making her the third-youngest nominee in the category’s history.
• She has been nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Actress for Pride & Prejudice and Best Supporting Actress for The Imitation Game (2014).
• At the age of 12, she played Sabé, Queen Amidala’s handmaiden and decoy, in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999).
• She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2018 Birthday Honours for services to drama and charity.
• She has been the face of Chanel’s Coco Mademoiselle fragrance since 2006.

Frequently Asked Questions

How old is Keira Knightley?

Keira Knightley is 41 years old. She was born on 26 March 1985 in London, England.

What is Keira Knightley’s net worth?

Keira Knightley’s net worth is approximately $80 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth (2026).

Who is Keira Knightley’s husband?

Keira Knightley’s husband is James Righton, a musician best known as a member of the band Klaxons. They married on 4 May 2013 in Mazan, France, and have two daughters, born in 2015 and 2019.

What is Keira Knightley best known for?

Keira Knightley is best known for playing Elizabeth Swann in the Pirates of the Caribbean films and Elizabeth Bennet in Pride & Prejudice (2005), which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

What is Keira Knightley doing now?

Keira Knightley starred in the hit Netflix thriller Black Doves (2024), which earned her a Golden Globe nomination, and in Netflix’s The Woman in Cabin 10 (2025). In 2026 she is set to appear on stage in a new adaptation of The Lives of Others at the Adelphi Theatre in London.

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