Keira Knightley is revealing the sobering realities behind the overnight fame she experienced at the start of her career.
"My jaw dropped at the time," Knightley told The Los Angeles Times of the treatment she received by the media in the early 2000s. "I didn’t think it was OK at the time. I was very clear on it being absolutely shocking."
"There was an amount of gaslighting to be told by a load of men that 'you wanted this,'" she continued. "It was rape speak. You know, 'This is what you deserve.' It was a very violent, misogynistic atmosphere."
The actress, 39, followed up her breakout role in 2002's Bend It Like Beckham with back-to-back appearances in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and Love, Actually, both of which she filmed at the age of 17 and were released when she was 18 in 2003.
She recalled that the overwhelming attention she received as a result crossed a line.
"They very specifically meant I wanted to be stalked by men," Knightley explained. "Whether that was stalking because somebody was mentally ill, or because people were earning money from it—it felt the same to me. It was a brutal time to be a young woman in the public eye."
The Atonement star—who shares daughters Edie, 9, and Delilah, 5, with husband James Righton—didn't mince words as she went on to share her true feelings about what it really means to be famous as a young woman.
"Social media has put that in a whole other context, when you look at the damage that’s been done to young women, to teenage girls," she said. "Ultimately, that’s what fame is—it’s being publicly shamed. A lot of teenage girls don’t survive that."
While Knightley is clear with how she feels about the effects of fame, the two-time Oscar nominee admitted, too, that her experience with it has also had its benefits.
"It’s very brutal to have your privacy taken away in your teenage years, early 20s, and to be put under that scrutiny at a point when you are still growing," she shared. "Having said that, I wouldn’t have the financial stability or the career that I do now without that period. I had a five-year period between the age of 17 and 21-ish, and I’m never going to have that kind of success again. It totally set me up for life."
Knightley added, "Did it come at a cost? Yes, it did. It came at a big cost. Knowing the cost, could I, in all good conscience, say to my kid, you should do that? No. But am I grateful for it? Yes. But then that’s life, isn’t it?"
The Pride & Prejudice actress credits the support system she had from those around her with allowing her to ultimately get through those difficult early years.
"I had a very stable family background. I always had friends and family that weren’t profiting from it," Knightley reflected. "They had no skin in the game. I had a separate life from the industry, and I’ve maintained that. That’s been very important."
As she explained, "If you don’t have that stability, and instead what you’ve got is a load of people who are making money off you, and they’ve got a vested interest in keeping you going, even if you need to stop, that’s a whole other scenario. I was supported and told that I was allowed to stop at any time."
Keep reading for more on Knightley's career.
Bend It Like Beckham
In 2002, Keira Knightley came onto the screen in a major way with Bend It Like Beckham. The comedy is about two girls who both have families who don't understand their love for football. Jess (Parminder Nagra) is the daughter of orthodox Sikh who only want their daughter to find love and be a wife, while Jules' (Knightley) mom thinks she's a lesbian based on the fact that she loves the sport. Both have talent and together they prove that girls can do it all.
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Knightley's role as the governor's daughter, Elizabeth Swann, really put her on the map and it all began with The Curse of the Black Pearl. In this Pirate's of the Caribbean film, Elizabeth is taken by a group of undead pirates and only her blacksmith admirer Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and a scrappy pirate name Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) can get her back.
Love Actually
Love Actually is an iconic holiday film that takes place the month before Christmas in London, England and Knightley is just one of the many love stories told throughout the film. She plays Juliet who gets married, but later discovers that her husband's best friend, who she thought hated her, was actually in love with her in one of the most memorable scenes in the movie...involving giant cue cards.
King Arthur
When Knightley was only 19 years old, she became a hero...at least on screen. In King Arthur, the actress portrayed Guinevere, an arrow-wielding warrior, who is also a part of one of the most iconic love triangles ever between Arthur and Lancelot. This tale is unlike the myths we all know, because it is based on the archaeological roots of the real King Arthur and his knights.
Pride & Prejudice
Jane Austen's iconic story comes to life thanks to Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy. In this film, Elizabeth Bennet (Knightley) falls in love with Mr. Darcy, and he falls for her, despite the gap between their class levels and the fact that upon first meeting they can't stand one another. The real question is will they be able to overcome their pride and own prejudices and live happily ever after?
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
In 2006, Knightley reprised her role as Elizabeth, but this time she is a pirate like her love Will (Bloom). Together they help Jack Sparrow (Depp) recover the heart of Davy Jones in order to keep him from having to become a slave to Jones' forever.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
In At World's End, Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), Will (Bloom) and Elizabeth (Knightley) sail to the edge of the map to find Jack Sparrow (Depp) before fighting a massive battle to end all battles.
Atonement
After her young sister Briony (Saoirse Ronan) accuses her lover Robbie (James McAvoy) of a crime he did not commit, Cecilia's (Knightley) world and the lives of those around her change forever.
The Duchess
In 2008, the 34-year-old actress took on the role of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire in this biography/drama film, which shows the personal and political life of the 18th-century aristocrat.
Anna Karenina
Knightley wowed in yet another period piece when she played Anna Karenina in this romantic drama taking place in the late 19th century in Russia. It follows the story of Anna, who is an aristocrat in St. Petersburg who has an affair with the handsome Count Alexei Vronsky (Aaron Taylor-Johnson).
Begin Again
After moving to New York City with her boyfriend Dave (Adam Levine), Gretta (Knightley) must find her own way in the music world when Dave gets a major record deal and cheats on her. Luckily, a chance encounter comes her way while playing in the East Village when Dan (Mark Ruffalo), a washed-up label exec likes her talent and decides to collaborate with her.
Laggies
Megan (Knightley) is having a quarter-life crisis after her boyfriend proposes, so she escapes for a week to her new friend, a 16-year-old named Annika's (Chloë Grace Moretz) house. While there she tries to figure out how to be an adult, not to run away from her problems and how to love...with Annika's single dad.
The Imitation Game
Based on the real life story of English mathematical genius Alan Turing (played by Benedict Cumberbatch), The Imitation Game reveals what happened when Alan and his team of code-breakers, one of which is a woman named Joan Clarke (Knightley), race against time in order to crack the German Enigma code and stop World War II from continuing.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
In 2017, the English actress reprised her role of Elizabeth for one last time as Captain Jack (Depp) searches for the trident of Poseidon with her son Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites).
Colette
Parisian writer Henry Gauthier-Villars (Dominic West), known as Willy, might be the toast of the town after his successful novel about a girl named Claudine hits the shelves, but it is his wife who wrote the tale and she's not ready to stay silent about her ghostwriting forever. In fact, Colette (Knightley) and her semi-autobiographical novel's cultural sensation status makes her seek out creative control of her novel, her fashion, her sexuality and her life and in the process challenge traditional gender roles.
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
Clara (Mackenzie Foy) is transported to a magical world of four realms, the Land of Snowflakes, Land of Flowers, Land of Sweets and the ominous Fourth Realm that is being run by the tyrant Mother Ginger (Helen Mirren). She must team up with a soldier named Phillip (Jayden Fowora-Knight), a gang of mice and those who preside over the three good realms, including the Sugar Plum Fairy (Knightley) to save all of the kingdoms from getting taken over by Mother Ginger.
Official Secrets
Official Secrets is the true story of British whistle-blower Katharine Gun (Knightley) who leaked information to the press about an illegal NSA spy operation in order to try and push the UN Security Council to sanction the 2003 invasion of Iraq. When the war still happened, Katharine was arrested for breaching the Official Secrets Act, and her legal battle exposed high levels of the government.
Berlin, I Love You
Berlin, I Love You is set in Berlin, Germany and tells 10 different stories of romance, one of which is Jane (Knightley), who takes in a child from the streets in hopes of changing her life.
The Aftermath
In 2019, Knightley's latest film hit theaters. In The Aftermath, a British colonel and his wife Rachael (Knightley) are assigned to live in Hamburg, Germany after World War II. They are there to assist with post-war reconstruction, but things get complicated when tensions, grief, passion and betrayal unfold between Rachael and the home's former owner, a German widower (Alexander Skarsgård), who still lives on the premises with his daughter.