(Photo: Getty Images)

Keira Knightley isn't just an accomplished and surprisingly varied actress. She's also a resilient, principled, and empathetic person who never gives a boring interview. With her new movie Boston Strangler out today (March 17), we're celebrating eight things we appreciate about her. 

1. She uses her profile to shine a spotlight on issues that matter to her.

Knightley is known for being one of the most outspoken – and articulate – actors around. "One thing I learned from being in the public eye when I was very young is this: you can say nothing and some people will hate you, and you can say something and some people will hate you," she told The Observer. "So you might as well, if you are feeling like it, say something. If I am asked my opinion, I generally don’t have a problem giving it."

2. She will only shoot intimate scenes with a female director.

In a 2021 interview on the Chanel Connects podcast, Knightley explained that she now avoids doing nude scenes partly because of "vanity," and partly because of "the male gaze."

"I don't have an absolute ban, but I kind of do with men,' she said. Discussing the circumstances in which she would consider doing an intimate scene, Knightley added: "If it was about motherhood and literally about how extraordinary that body is, but how suddenly you're looking at this body that you've got to know and is your own and it's seen in this completely different way... then yeah, I would totally be up for kind of exploring that with a woman who would understand that."

3. She has taken a stand against Photoshopping.

In 2015, Knightley posed topless for Interview magazine to draw attention to the unrealistic female body standards perpetuated by the media. "I've had my body manipulated so many different times for so many different reasons, whether it's paparazzi photographers or for film posters," she told The Times of London. "And that [shoot] was one of the ones where I said: 'OK, I'm fine doing the topless shot so long as you don't make them any bigger or retouch.' Because it does feel important to say it really doesn’t matter what shape you are."

4. She has spoken openly about the effects of fame on her mental health.

Knightley was just 17 when she landed her breakthrough role in the British soccer movie Bend It Like a Beckham. A year later, in 2003, she starred in the global blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean, and the enormous attention this brought on her definitely took its toll.

In fact, when she was nominated for a BAFTA for Atonement in 2007, Knightley was convinced she would be unable to attend the ceremony. "I actually did hypnotherapy so that I could stand on the red carpet at the BAFTAs and not have a panic attack," she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2018.

In the same interview, Knightley revealed that she had a mental breakdown when she was 22, which led to her taking a year off and being diagnosed with PTSD. "I went deep into therapy and all of that," she recalled. "And she [the therapist] said, 'It's amazing – I normally come in here and have people that think people are talking about them and they think that they're being followed, but actually they're not. You’re the first person that actually that is happening to.'"

5. She has also spoken about the impossible pressures that society places on women as they get older.

Knightley knows there's an inherent contradiction here, but she is unafraid to confront it. "Change is always tricky. We're taught that it's bad. We’re taught that we don’t want grey hair," Knightley told Harper's Bazaar this month. "You’ve got Madonna on the one hand – and we’re told that’s not the right thing. Then you have someone else, where we’re told, 'They looked better 20 years ago.' How are we, culturally, meant to age?"

She also hailed Helen Mirren as a "terribly good" example, saying: "She ages in the most sensational manner. She’s fabulous in every way. You look at her and think, 'God, you’re having so much fun. You’re enjoying life so much.'" 

6. She's happy to talk about the tricks of the trade.

Remember that oh-so-Y2K hat that Knightley wears in Love Actually? Well, apparently it wasn't so much a costume choice as a necessity – because the actress had a "humongous spot" at the time. Knightley looked back fondly on shooting the classic rom-com as a hormonal teenager during a 2019 interview with BBC Radio 1.

7. She wrote an incredibly powerful essay about the harsh realities of childbirth. 

Knightley's essay "The Weaker Sex" appears in the 2018 book Feminists Don't Wear Pink, which was curated by journalist Scarlett Curtis, daughter of Love Actually director Richard Curtis. In addition to talking frankly about the pain of childbirth and breastfeeding, Knightley uses the essay to call out sexist double standards in her work life.

"I turn up on time, word perfect, with ideas and an opinion," she writes. "I am up with you [her daughter] all night if you need me. Sometimes I cry I'm so tired. Up with you all night and work all day... My male colleagues can be late, can not know their lines. They can shout and scream and throw things. They can turn up drunk or not turn up at all. They don't see their children. They're working. They need to concentrate."

8. And finally, she doesn't take herself too seriously.

During an appearance on The Graham Norton Show, Knightley gamely demonstrated her rather unusual party piece – playing "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" on her teeth. Seriously – it's actually pretty impressive.

What do you most appreciate about Keira Knightley?