Keira Knightley has been navigating the intricate balance of her career and motherhood. The 40-year-old actress has shared insights into how she is embracing the challenges of being a working mother.
On a recent episode of “Giovanna Fletcher’s Happy Mum Happy Baby” podcast, Knightley opened up about her mother’s pragmatic advice on managing both a career and children. “She’s a proper second-wave feminist. ‘You just get on with it. You just do it. That’s what you do. You have the babies and you take them and that’s what you do, you know,'” Knightley said, quoting her mother’s words to host Giovanna Fletcher.
Having two daughters with her husband, musician James Righton, Knightley has found her mother’s perspective to resonate with her own experiences. “There is a reality to it. You do just make it work,” she noted. “It does look different for absolutely everybody, and it’s always a mess. And I think this is what I’ve come to just accept, is that it’s always messy.”
The “Pride and Prejudice” actress acknowledges her fortune in having a supportive network, including her husband and mother. With Righton working from home, he can assist with family logistics during her filming commitments. “It sort of works well from that point of view,” she shared, “but it’s always a mess.”
As her children grow older, Knightley finds the demands more manageable. “And definitely just from, you know, from being able to, if there’s a problem, they can call me,” she explained, mentioning that although her daughters don’t have phones, school staff are able to reach her if necessary.
Upcoming projects will keep Knightley in London, allowing for minimal disruption to her family’s routine. “Their life is set. They’re at school. They’ve got their friends. They’ve got the stuff. We’ve got our support network around us because we’re at home,” Knightley said, emphasizing the importance of stability after the pandemic.
“I felt for me, you know, and I think for actors that’s very difficult because we move all over the world. So, I’ve really tried to kind of keep it in London, and been really fortunate that I could kind of I could make that work,” she added. In 2024, she decided to step back from her career to prioritize her children. “I’ve chosen to have children, I want to bring them up, so I’ve had to take a major step back,” Knightley told The Times.
Keira Knightley is not alone in the struggle to balance a demanding career with family life. In January, Cameron Diaz spoke about taking a decade-long break from Hollywood to focus on motherhood. Similarly, Hailey Bieber recently shared that she relies on full-time help to manage her dual roles as a working mom.
