Keira Knightley on Career, Family, and Feminism
Keira Knightley has had a successful career and recently announced her engagement to James Righton. The actress has now spoken about her intention to continue on in her career and whether women should have the right to choose whether to pursue a career or family.
"I'm glad that the subject is coming up again," she told a reporter for Vogue magazine. "I remember doing interviews and people would ask, as if it was a joke, 'So you mean you are a feminist?' As though feminism couldn't be discussed unless we were making fun of it."
For Knightley, career is incredibly important and what she is working for, and something she hopes to continue working for in the future. She has had a successful acting career after appearing in films like "Bend It Like Beckham" and "Pirates of the Caribbean." Now that she is engaged, she does not intend to put her career aside to start a family.
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"I don't want to deny my femininity, but would I want to be a stay-at-home mother? No. On the other hand, you should be allowed to do that, as men should, without being sneered at," she explained.
Acting is all Knightley has known since starting at age 10.
"I literally had no life outside of acting, and I just wanted to go off and not be 'on' all the time, not be photographed … I once went to the Glastonbury music festival and was completely surrounded by packs of paparazzi the entire time, so I ended up sitting in a trailer, unable to go out," she revealed.
But her success has its benefits too, including a choice of prime roles. Knightley was able to portray the lead character in "Anna Karenina," which is playing now. It was a unique opportunity to play "both a villain and a heroine."
"She is somebody who breaks her own moral code, and yet the shame and disgust she lives with because of that make her fascinating," Knightley added.
