Keira Knightley’s love story with rocker husband James Righton

Unlike her character in Black Doves, Keira Knightley is happily married. The actress, who fronts Netflix’s spy series, wed rocker James Righton in 2013. An extremely private couple, the duo tends to keep a low profile in London, but they have spoken about one another on occasion. 

Keira, a self-proclaimed introvert, has hailed James as “the brightest light in any room” and while marriage wasn’t on her to-do list, she soon fell for the Klaxons star after hitting it off at a dinner party. 

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As of 2024, Keira and James are still going strong with 11 years of marriage under their belts, not to mention two daughters – Edie and Delilah. Here, we take a look at their sweet love story…

A fortuitous first meeting

Keira wasn’t looking for love when she found it, nor was she interested in marriage. “My parents are deeply hippy. They got married because it was the only way they could get a mortgage at the time,” she told Time Out in 2014. 

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“I grew up with them going, ‘Don’t know why you’d ever get married.’ And then we did. It’s nice. It’s been fun. Until it isn’t and then you get divorced! Fingers crossed for the future.”

Keira and James first crossed paths in 2011. In an interview with The Guardian, she noted that they were invited to a dinner party and introduced “through our mate Tim, not Alexa Chung, as people keep telling me. We were very drunk.”

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According to James, Keira had no idea that he was a keyboard player in the British band, Klaxons, nor had she listened to them herself. “Keira was in America when we were having our moment in the sun in the UK, so she was oblivious,” he recalled to the New York Post, “but over the years, she came to loads of gigs and loved ‘Surfing the Void.'”

Tying the knot 

Keira and James got engaged in 2012, with the actress’s publicist confirming the news. A year later, they said ‘I do’, tying the knot in an intimate ceremony in Mazan in the South of France. Only 11 people were in attendance before the bride and groom hosted a reception at Keira’s mother’s house.

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A style maven, it’s no surprise that Keira chose a couture Chanel minidress for her big day. She completed her bridal look with a white tweed jacket by Karl Lagerfeld. Speaking with Elle UK, the A-lister revealed that they had a second wedding, and donned a floral Valentino dress for the occasion. They spent their honeymoon in Corsica. 

Expanding their family

Keira and James are proud parents. Their eldest daughter, Edie, was born in 2015 and their youngest, Delilah, was born in 2019. 

Asked about her life as a mother, the Netflix star told Vanity Fair: “I’m very loving, mostly we have lots of cuddles and we do enjoy each other’s company: we can actually have real giggles and be brilliant. 

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“Also, I can get angry. It’s a shame, isn’t it? But you know, I’m a human being, and sometimes I’m gonna shout,” she continued. “When I do, though, I always try to apologise, so that they learn that it’s ok to say sorry and that we still love each other. I think that’s really important.”

Since welcoming their daughters, Keira has turned to turn down roles abroad, stating that she wants to be close to Edie and Delilah. “I’ve chosen to have children, I want to bring them up, so I’ve had to take a major step back,” she explained to The Times.