What Is Keira Knightley's Net Worth and Salary?
Keira Knightley is a British actress who has a net worth of $80 million. Keira Knightley has been acting since elementary school. She began her professional career appearing in commercials and modeling and then went on to work on television. From there, she made the leap to film work in the early 2000s, and she hasn't slowed down since. Determined to be more than a "pretty face," she has crafted an impressive resume that includes everything from big-budget blockbusters to costume dramas to arthouse fare. She has become one of Hollywood's most bankable stars. Today she is known for film roles like "Bend It Like Beckham," the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise, "Pride and Prejudice," "Atonement," "The Duchess," "Never Let Me Go," and "A Dangerous Method."
Endorsements
Outside of her acting salaries, Keira Knightley has earned tens of millions from endorsements over the years. Her most notable endorsement is for the brand Chanel, specifically its perfume line Coco. She first became the face of the brand's perfume Coco Mademoiselle, in April 2006.
Outside of Chanel, she has endorsed brands including Asprey, Shiatzy Chen, and Lux.
Early Life
Keira Christina Knightley was born on March 26, 1985, in Teddington, London, England. Her parents, Sharman Macdonald and Will Knightley, were both theatre actors. She was meant to be named "Kiera," but her mother misspelled the name as "Keira" when she registered her daughter. Knightley was introduced to theatre and ballet at a very young age thanks to her parents, and this helped spark her interest in acting. She first asked for an agent when she was three years old, inspired by how her parents both had agents, and got her own agent when she was six. She started out acting in local amateur productions, including a production of "After Juliet," which was written by her mother. Knightley was briefly a student at the Esher College for a year, where she studied art, history, and English literature, but left to focus on her acting career.
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Career
As a child, Knightley appeared in small television roles and commercials—her first on-screen appearance but in a 1993 episode of the show "Screen One." Her other early roles include appearances in the television films "Innocent Lies" (1995), "The Treasure Seekers" (1996), "Coming Home" (1998), and "Oliver Twist" (1999). When she was twelve years old, Knightley was cast as Sabé, the handmaiden and decoy of Padmé Amidala (played by a young Natalie Portman), in "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace" (1999).
Knightley's first major leading role was in the Walt Disney Productions film "Princess of Thieves" (2001), playing the daughter of Robin Hood. She then appeared in the film "The Hole" (2001), the miniseries "Doctor Zhivago" (2002), and the drama "Pure" (2002). Keira's mainstream breakthrough did not come until she starred in the sports comedy film "Bend It Like Beckham" in 2002. The smash hit film grossed over $76.7 million and helped her gain greater global recognition. Thanks to her elevated image following "Bend It Like Beckham," Knightley landed the leading role of Elizabeth Swann in the fantasy film "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" (2003). Despite low expectations for the film, it ended up opening as #1 at the box office and was one of the highest-grossing productions of that year. Keira reprised her role as Elizabeth Swann in the sequels "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (2006) and "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (2007), and she had a cameo in "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" (2017).
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In 2003, Knightley was a member of the all-star ensemble cast of the British romantic comedy film "Love Actually," alongside other big names such as Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, and Rowan Atkinson. She then starred in the films "King Arthur" (2004), "The Jacket" (2005), "Domino" (2005), and "Pride & Prejudice" (2005). For her role in "Pride & Prejudice," Knightley was nominated for the Best Actress Award at both the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards. In 2007, Keira starred in the films "Silk" and "Atonement," both period dramas. Of the two, "Atonement" was the more successful, earning her nominations for Best Actress at both the BAFTA Awards and Golden Globe Awards. Other films Knightley has appeared in include "The Duchess" (2008), "Last Night" (2010), "London Boulevard" (2010), "Never Let Me Go" (2010), "A Dangerous Method" (2011), "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" (2012), "Anna Karenina" (2012), "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit" (2014), "Laggies" (2014), "The Imitation Game" (2014), "Everest" (2015), "Collateral Beauty" (2016), "Colette" (2018), "The Nutcracker" (2018), "The Aftermath" (2019), "Official Secrets" (2019), and "Misbehaviour" (2020). Her first musical film, "Begin Again", was released in 2013. In it, Knightley stars as a singer-songwriter alongside James Corden and Mark Ruffalo. Her voice is featured on six tracks on the movie's original soundtrack.
In addition to her film acting, Keira has ventured into the world of theatre as well. She made her West End debut in December 2009 at the Comedy Theatre in London in a production of the play "The Misanthrope." In 2011, she returned to the Comedy Theatre, this time in a revival of Lillian Hellman's "The Children's Hour." In 2015, she made her Broadway debut in a production of "Therese Raquin" with the Roundabout Theatre Company in New York City.
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Personal Life and Philanthropy
In 2001, Knightley began dating actor Del Synnott. They met while filming "Princess of Thieves." After they split up in 2003, Keira was in a relationship with actor Jamie Dornan until 2005. Then, from 2005 until December 2010, she dated Rupert Friend, her "Pride and Prejudice" co-star. In February 2011, Knightley began dating musician James Righton. They married in May 2013 and have two daughters together.
Knightley is one of the faces of Amnesty International, and she supported them during a campaign to support human rights. Other organizations she has supported include the Comic Relief charity, WaterAid, the American Library Association, Oxfam, Women's Aid, the SMA Trust, and the United Nations' refugee agency UNHCR.
