Keira Knightley feels “fortunate” to have survived her early experiences of fame.

The 40-year-old actress has enjoyed a very successful career in the film industry, having starred in Bend It Like Beckham back in 2002 – but Keira acknowledges that her life and her career could’ve easily gone in another direction.

Speaking to The Independent, Keira explained: “The adult me is very aware that people can go through very difficult periods in their life, and they do not come out of it with a very successful career and a very healthy bank balance. I feel incredibly fortunate.”

The Pride and Prejudice star also acknowledged that she’s now achieved a level of respect from the public that didn’t exist during her teenage years.

“I think being a 40-year-old woman, people have a different response to you than when you’re 18. That’s just the way the world is,” she said.

Keira added, “When you’re 18, you haven’t got much work, you’re all image. When you have a career that’s 25 years long, and you’ve got enough stuff to be like, ‘Well, that’s a body of work; some worked, some didn’t’ – people can look, and go, ‘That’s a career.’”

Meanwhile, the Black Doves talent previously claimed that there’s “an inherent rage to actors.”

Keira Knightley told the Guardian newspaper: “I think there’s an inherent rage to actors. I see that quite a lot. Masked brilliantly but easy to access.”

“Not that people behave badly, because generally they don’t. But there’s a well of anger that opens very quickly,” she concluded.

Sarah Ferguson is seemingly rolling with the punches now that its been claimed that its her loyalty to Andrew from the past that completely cost her everything.

The comment and allegation has been made on Channel 5’s show Vanessa by Fergie’s friend Lizzie Cundy.

The chat highlighted just how bad things have gone for the former Duchess of York, who lost her titles alongside her husband, ever since her apology email to “supreme friend” Jeffrey Epstein was leaked.

Not only did it overshadow her work, but led to her being booted from several charities.

Now her friend believes it all stems from Andrew because “I’m afraid Sarah’s biggest mistake was her loyalty to Andrew, because that mud has stuck on her.”

Furthermore the pal also noted, “sadly because of her lack of judgement and her underlying loyalty to Andrew, it’s really cost her. She can’t be linked with Andrew unfortunately.”

For those unversed, Fergie is also said to have started house hunting, now that Andrew will be housed in one of King Charles’ private estates Sandringham estate instead of Frogmore Cottage, amid other possibilities that were floated around.

In light of that, she is currently house hunting for her own living arrangements.

For those unversed with why she has chosen to go this route instead of choosing to cohabitate with her ex-husband once more, the answer has been come from Ms Cundy, and she claims, “she doesn’t want to live with Andrew. “Now she (Sarah) wants to draw the line and hopefully move on from this.”

Before signing off from that chat the pal also admitted that there I a lot of remorse on Fergie’s end and was quoted saying, “I think she’s (Sarah) had a rough ride with it, I’m not saying get the violins out, but it has been tough for her. She’s made the most huge silly mistakes…and no one knows that more than Sarah Ferguson today.”

Pakistan is reaching diplomatic heights unseen in its 78-year history. From Riyadh to Baku, from Beijing to Moscow, Pakistan’s handshake now spans continents and commands attention. From Jeddah to Doha, from Astana to Tashkent, Pakistan is anchoring a new arc of trust across the Muslim world. From London to Brussels, from Washington to Beijing, Pakistan is no longer on the margins; it’s back in the conversation.

From isolation to strategic embrace: a US reset unlocks access to multi-billion dollar programmes — EXIM, IMF, World Bank, DFC, IFC. A US reset means cheaper capital, longer tenors and revived investor confidence. A US reset brings technology transfers in energy, digital finance and renewables. 

A US reset means $2.5 billion AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) missiles. A US reset is not just a foreign-policy shift but an economic lifeline wrapped in diplomacy.

There’s $3.5 billion in limited recourse project financing for Reko Diq by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Asian Development Bank (ADB), US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Export-Import Bank (US EXIM), Export Development Canada (EDC), Germany’s KfW IPEX-Bank, Sweden’s EKN and Finland’s Finnvera Oyj.

A landmark Saudi Defence Pact marks Pakistan’s deepest Gulf tie in 78 years. Alongside the pact comes a $3 billion deposit extension, $2 billion worth of investment MoUs and a $1 billion oil facility. A $8 billion manpower-export deal and a China-Pakistan export of diesel-electric ‘Hangor class’ submarine deal (China-Pakistan deal is worth $5 billion).

The year (2025) saw $4.6 billion in JF-17 sales to Azerbaijan (June). 2025 saw a $230 million Sudan pact (May). The year saw $7 billion ML-1 rail confirmation. It saw a $2 billion Karachi-Rohri upgrade. It saw Pakistan-Kazakhstan transit-trade and logistics linkages. The year brought Pakistan-UAE trade escalation target of $20 billion.

Yes, Pakistan is all set to play a central role in shaping the emerging Middle East Security Architecture. Imagine, Pakistan is transitioning from ‘observer’ to ‘architect’.

For a common Pakistani, the $3.5 billion Reko Diq financing and $7 billion ML-1 rail upgrade, alongside $2 billion Karachi-Rohri upgrades, will create 100,000–200,000 jobs in mining, construction and logistics. For a common Pakistani, the $8 billion Saudi manpower-export deal and $20 billion UAE trade target could employ 300,000+ workers abroad. Yes, the $4.6 billion JF-17 sale to Azerbaijan, $230 million Sudan pact and a $2.5 billion AMRAAM deal signal a robust defence sector.

For the first time, Pakistan’s foreign policy, defence exports and economic outreach are moving in sync. For the first time, Pakistan is building alliances, not dependencies.

Imagine, Pakistan now has the ‘protector of the Ummah’ status. Imagine, Riyadh now sees Islamabad not just as a ‘partner in security’, but as a ‘co-architect of regional stability’. Imagine, Pakistan is moving from an ‘aid recipient’ to a ‘security guarantor’. Just imagine, from a ‘security recipient’ to a ‘security partner’.

The dividends of Pakistan’s diplomacy will be visible where it matters most — in employment, energy stability and public morale.

The writer is a columnist based in Islamabad. He tweets/posts @saleemfarrukh and can be reached at: [email protected]

Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed in this piece are the writer’s own and don’t necessarily reflect Geo.tv’s editorial policy.

Originally published in The News