Keira Knightley is opening up about her roots in the entertainment world, and she isn’t dodging the “nepo baby” label.
During a candid chat on Giovanna Fletcher’s Happy Mum Happy Baby podcast, the 40-year-old actress acknowledged that having parents in the industry played a role in her early start.
Keira is the daughter of TV actor Will Knightley and playwright Sharman Macdonald, so life around scripts, rehearsals and creative work was normal from the beginning.
When Giovanna asked if the viral term “nepo baby” bothered her, Keira didn’t hesitate.
“I don’t know about annoyed, I think I am a Nepo Baby,” she admitted.
She explained that her first real agent was her mother’s best friend — and remains her agent today. To her, that alone proves the reality of her family connections.
However, Keira didn’t frame it as an unfair advantage so much as a natural outcome of growing up around creative work. She said that artistic careers often pass through generations, simply because of shared lifestyle and exposure.
She compared it to other fields where children naturally follow their parents: builders, doctors and lawyers. Keira pointed out that no one refers to second-generation doctors as “nepo babies,” even though the pattern is similar.
At the same time, she emphasized that connections don’t guarantee success.
“Ultimately, with every job, no matter what it is, you might have help through the door, which is not nothing. But unless you bring the goods, you’re going to be chucked out very quickly,” she said.
For her, the “nepotism conversation” is simply part of being in a very public industry where everything is louder and more scrutinized.
She said many performers come from families of creatives because they understand the lifestyle — which is very different from a typical 9-to-5 routine.
Keira also spoke about her two children with musician James Righton, noting that neither seems drawn to acting right now.
Still, if they do choose that path, she believes they’ll develop their own take on the label and learn to handle it.
The star began her career young, first appearing on TV as a child. She became widely known after Bend It Like Beckham in 2002 and achieved global fame the next year with her role as Elizabeth Swann in the Pirates of the Caribbean films.
Her work in Pride & Prejudice earned major praise, and she later continued building her reputation through period dramas like Atonement, A Dangerous Method and Anna Karenina.
Most recently, Keira has stepped into a new on-screen space in the Netflix drama The Woman In Cabin 10, where she plays a journalist who turns detective.
Whether or not the label follows her, Keira’s message is clear, family connections may open a door, but talent and hard work are what keep you inside.