What We Know About Keira Knightley And James Righton's Two Kids
Actress Keira Knightley and her husband James Righton share two daughters, Edie and Delilah. The public doesn't often hear from Knightley anymore, as she is tight-lipped about her private life, but she has commented on how she loves being a mother. For instance, the "Pride & Prejudice" actor described her kids as "fantastically strange" in a 2023 interview with Vogue. She has also shared how her career has changed since welcoming her daughters. "I think I play everything differently now that I'm a parent," the star told The Inquirer in March 2019. "Obviously, it just has an impact on your point of view about everything ... I think there are certainly nuances that the experience brings to you that I might not have thought about before I had a kid."
Knightley has embraced motherhood and even plans to release a children's book in the coming year that is inspired by her journey as a mother. The book is titled "I Love You Just The Same." The story involves a girl who is about to become a big sister, and shows how she navigates the changes to her family as they welcome a new baby. The new project displays parallels to Edie's experience as the firstborn daughter and the challenges that come with adjusting to a new role in the family dynamic. In addition to penning the upcoming book, Knightley will also try her hand at illustrating.
Edie was diagnosed with dyslexia like her mother
Keira Knightley gave birth to her first daughter, Edie, on May 25, 2015. After welcoming Edie, Knightley reflected on how her life had changed since becoming a mom. "The love thing is astonishing. It's a very primal, primal love. That's quite extraordinary," she told Elle in August of the same year. She also mentioned how her opinion of her own body had changed for the better since welcoming her daughter: "You go through pregnancy and labor and then feeding the kid and you go, 'Wow, my body is totally amazing, and I'm never going to not like it again, because it did this, and this is f– — extraordinary.'"
Like her mother, Edie has been diagnosed with dyslexia. Knightley and her husband James Righton spoke about raising a child with dyslexia on Ruthie's Table 4 iHeart podcast in August 2024. "Her memory is absolutely amazing," said Knightley (via E! News). Righton added, "She'll memorize the book, basically — it's amazing."
What's more, Knightley doesn't let her daughters watch certain Disney princess movies, but Edie has been vocal about her mother's filmography. Knightley shared that when she tried to watch "Pirates of the Caribbean" with her daughters, Edie didn't approve of her mother's performance in the film. "She watched 10 minutes. She was far too terrified," Knightley said of the experience during an appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" in 2023. "She said, 'I don't — I don't want to see you doing that.'" The actor's eldest daughter also had a biting reaction to seeing a younger version of her mom in the movie: "You know what she also said? 'No, I don't like you in that. You're too pretty.' But she said, 'Don't worry, you're not anymore.'"
Delila is the pair's youngest daughter
Keira Knightley and James Righton welcomed their second daughter, Delilah, on September 13, 2019. Mere weeks after Delilah was born, Knightley spoke out about the struggles that come with raising a newborn. She detailed her regimented breastfeeding schedule and mentioned how frazzled she was during an interview with "BBC Breakfast" presenter Louise Minchin. "You can tell I've got a 6-week-old baby, can't you?! I'm talking, but I've got no idea where I'm going'" (via People).
The "Anna Karenina" star also joked about returning to the spotlight and having to quickly spruce up her appearance. "This is about the third time since I gave birth that my hair has been brushed — and I didn't brush it," she explained. "Lovely Luke, who is my hairdresser today, he brushed it. I was in my pajamas when they got there and this is somebody else's dress."
During a 2020 appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," Knightley was excited to share how Delilah took her first steps while the family was under quarantine at home. "The baby, who I thought would be sat and very easy to look after for quite a while, at nine months just decided to get up and start walking," Knightley recalled of her second daughter's milestone. It's safe to say that the couple was not yet prepared for their youngest child to graduate from tummy time to fully fledged toddler so soon.