BY: Sam Schifrien

Beyond bending it like Beckham and being the source of a controversial triangle in Love, Actually—it is worth taking a look at Keira Knightley’s other roles, some better known than others, all linked with strength, sex appeal and an appropriate grace.

Atonement

Knightley and James McAvoy steaming up the countryside. The film that will turn audiences on (who can forget that library scene?), then fill their hearts before breaking them wide open. Starring opposite McAvoy and Saoirse Ronan, Atonement is one of those stories that rightfully stays with you long after the credits roll.

Pride & Prejudice

Playing Elizabeth Bennet to Matthew Macfadyen’s Mr. Darcy, this legendary romance was the first time audiences saw Knightley truly carry a film, post-Pirates. It might be an Austen adaptation, but there are plenty of moments of understated sensuality that turn the heat up.

Pirates of the Caribbean

The character of Elizabeth Swann is where Knightley gained worldwide recognition, but Elizabeth was also often the heart of the Pirates movies. While her swash-buckling action scenes are killer, the romantic scenes between her and co-star Orlando Bloom are just as exciting to watch.

Black Doves

Playing so much more than just a politician’s wife, now is the perfect time to get acquainted with Knightley costarring with Ben Whishaw in this Netflix spy drama, as all six episodes of season two have just dropped. Black Doves wonderfully twists spycraft of Slow Horses with the usually more buttoned-up world found in The Diplomat.

Colette

Based on a real life French novelist and author of the Claudine series, this literary drama finds Knightley’s Colette finding her voice — then fighting for it. Along the way, Colette falls in and out of relationships, entering into a forbidden romance with another woman that’s sure to steam up your screens.

Anna Karenina

Leading an ensemble that includes Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jude Law, Kelly Macdonald and Alicia Vikander, Knightley plays the titular role of Anna Karenina, carrying the weight of the epic Tolstoy adaptation. Like many of Knightley’s other collaborations with director Joe Wright, there is a stylish sensuality, no matter the setting.

The Duchess

Secret affairs. Glamorous high society. Dangerous secrets. The Duchess sees Knightley play a dissatisfied wife to a nobleman, who finds that missing satisfaction with another man, kicking off a chain of events that rocks the nobility.

Begin Again

In John Carney’s musical drama Begin Again, Knightley stars opposite Mark Ruffalo as a talented singer-songwriter with a broken heart. The will-they-won’t-they tension between the pair ratchets up the heat in this often-overlooked film.