I don’t know about fans and readers out there, but Kiera Knightley will forever be, to me, the elegantly slender girl from Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean movies who had that oddly fun chemistry with Johnny Depp – and who it was kind of impossible to stop watching.

Sure, she held her mouth in a sort of awkwardly clenched fashion, but she also had a beautifully symmetrical face, high cheek bones, and calm yet intense eyes.

Her self-awareness somehow seemed to contribute to her beauty, and certainly to her acting skills.

Her more recent films include both Pride & Prejudice (which I haven’t seen, but hey, that seems like pretty awesomely spot-on casting to me, even if it’s been since my Advanced Placement English days in high school since I read the book) and The Imitation Game (which stars Sherlock stunner Benedict Cumberbatch).

So it would seem she still has a way of starring alongside REALLY big male leads and playing a quite stunning female lead herself, as well.

This British beauty was married to the now 34-year-old London-based musician James Righton in 2013 (who was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, a fun fact for the other English majors out there who know it’s also where Shakespeare was born). Daughter Edie joined their family in May of 2015.

Let’s not critique or judge, but rather marvel just for fun at the natural prettiness of the actress as we check out 15 pics of Keira Knightly that might make some folks wonder if she actually carried her own baby.

15 New Year’s Baby

This baby is bundled and ready for a walk, a New Year’s Day stroll with mom, in fact.

Knightley’s hair has a natural look with a center part and loose side braids. Her makeup looks natural and minimalistic.

A comfy dark coat keeps her warm against the cold weather, a striped tank (perhaps unintentionally?) matches the lining of baby Edie’s cozy blue bunting, and jeans appear to bag off the mother’s slender frame.

Perhaps she was going for the “boyfriend jean” look. The fly of the pants seems to gap open, though, as if the pants are simply ill-fitting.

If I had to take a guess (and I of course have no real way of knowing), I’d say maybe the outfit came together something like this: She’s not quite ready to wear her regular jeans, but her maternity jeans are quite large for her – although they’re comfortable, so she wears them anyway!

14 Strolling The Streets

This is apparently a rather fancy-pants stroller (or “pram” as they say across the pond), which it would appear that Knightly took with her to stroll with her babe about the streets of London.

Reportedly about three weeks after her baby was born, her hair is long, loose waves, and she pairs a low-cut black button-up cardigan with a what appears to be a blue linen dress (or perhaps high-sitting skirt) that she’s pictured wearing multiple times in outings with her baby. (Maybe it’s a great dress for nursing! That would be my best guess – or that it’s just really comfortable for warm weather.)

Flat, strappy gold sandals, a small cross-body bag, and trendy dark glasses accessorize the casual look.

Some might say she’s incredibly fit and slender. I would say, personally, that it’s hard work to nurse and care for a baby, and that with a healthy diet and a bit of exercise, some women naturally go almost right back to a svelte physique. (Also, this skirt has a very flattering shape!)

13 Feeling The Sun On Her Face

The same buttoned-up yet dressed-down look is featured as natural-looking Keira strolls in front of a leafy background. Long brown tresses fall over her shoulders and are swept backward as she walks the streets of London.

In this shot, jewelry is visible. A small, pretty necklace features a single charm, and simple, dangly earrings appear to be worn in each ear.

The line of the dress and high-cut cardigan accentuate the actress’s small waste, while the gathered fabric and pockets flatter the mid-section.

She’s out on the town getting some fresh air and sunshine, and she looks great – and naturally beautiful – doing it.

What we really love about this outfit is that it looks practical and comfortable but also somewhat thought out and definitely more than a little bit chic.

12 Talkin’ And Shoppin’

Keira was apparently loving the stripes and the cross-body Chanel bag after her baby was born. And I get it!

I used to be a big tote or handbag type of gal, but ever since my first was born a few short years ago, I almost always have the smallest bag I can get away with and still have what I absolutely need with me, and it’s always a cross-body purse that allows me to have both hands free. Can any other new moms out there identify with this functional fashion? I bet they can.

Then there’s the stripes, which although fashion guidelines of yore may have said are widening and potentially unflattering, can actually be quite the opposite. They can be the perfect bold and classic pattern to flatter many forms, especially if the fit of the garment is just right, as it appears to be here in the form of a boat-neck, three-quarter-length-sleeves top.

11 Holding Hands

With a floral wrap-style dress adorned with lace trim, Kiera Knightley accentuated her feminine hips post-baby while wearing that trademark cross-body Chanel bag.

She and her husband hold hands as they stroll together.

She wears what appear to be the same gold strappy flat sandals that we’ve seen in other photos of her out and walking around on the streets of London or, as reportedly here, New York City.

Her hair is worn long and loose as it seems was her preferred style at this time. I know I had to take special opportunities to wear my hair down, especially during the first say 9 to 12 months of my two babies’ lives. They love to grab long hair, and they don’t understand or care about direction to NOT do something until a bit later.

Hopefully this mom enjoyed a bit of time with her hubs letting her hair down.

10 This Way

In that lovely floral wrap dress (which may actually be awesome for nursing a baby, now that we think about it), Keira Knightley motions to someone as she stands out and about in the city. She is lean and fit, and the empire waste of the dress flatters her form perfectly.

At this point, we kind of want to know where she found cute strappy flats that are also comfortable enough to wear out walking around the city all day long. Score on that one! It seems to me that the strappier the shoes, the more potential for painful rubbing and blistering. She appears perfectly comfortable, though!

And she is pictured many times post-baby wearing flats as she explores outdoors. I can relate. I’ve worn heels maybe once since my first baby was born a few years ago.

9 Baby Makes Three

Here we see two pieces repeated from earlier outfits – which I find a bit refreshing. Does it ever seem like each time you see a photo of a celebrity, she’s wearing something you’ve never seen her in before? It’s easy to assume they just constantly receive shipments from all of the brands hoping desperately to have them photographed in something from the company’s upcoming line.

But Knightley post-baby seems to be loving a few key pieces and wearing them repeatedly – just like a real human!

The top she chose for this stroll out with her husband and baby was a boat-neck apparently cotton shirt with three-quarter-length sleeves and a striped pattern – a timeless and probably quite comfortable choice. I have to wonder if maybe it snaps down at the shoulder to allow for nursing. Just a hopeful guess…

8 The Little Black Dress

Talk about a versatile piece!

The little black dress (LBD, of course) might be something you love so much that you hang onto the same cherished one for years and years on end.

Here, Keira has chosen a form-flattering one that appears to have some pleating in the skirt. A V-neck and bare shoulders are summery and most likely comfortable as she walks around the city with her husband. Her long hair is down. Very dark shades (a pair of apparently many which she currently had in rotation) accessorize the look, along with those two pieces that just wouldn’t quite for her at the time – the extremely practical small-sized cross-body bag and the strappy gold sandal with no high heel.

I call these sensible and comfortable yet chic and pretty choices for a mom who found a look that really worked for her at the time.

7 Whistle While You Don’t Work

In the image at the left, are both of the two (husband and wife Keira) whistling as they strong along? Maybe they’re putting on a little show of sorts for the baby. If they aren’t whistling the same tune at the same time, though, man, that could get really annoying really fast.

Anyhow, Keira’s outfit gets perhaps slightly a bit dressier than some of the others we’ve seen as she strolls about in daylight hours.

She’s gone for all black, from her dark shades to her cotton tank to her high-wasted gathered pants.

And let’s talk about these pants. They sit so high on the body and then provide enough space and fabric around the abdomen that they might easily provide a flattering effect for a postpartum mom. And yet they also sort of draw attention to the area.

6 Hot Stuff

Holding hot coffee or tea or whatever might be in that cup while also wearing a forward-facing baby in a front pack while also walking around the city would make me pretty nervous. But you know what? Maybe Keira’s beverage isn’t even that hot anymore.

In any case, she seems to pretty much have everything in control as she and her husband walk around, presumably having just picked up a favorite warming beverage before getting on the go again. Keira doesn’t sport that trademark Chanel cross-body purse in this image, so hey, maybe they just ran out from the flat to grab a coffee, rather than being out on an afternoon-long excursion in which she might need some essentials with her.

They don’t even appear to have a stroller or diaper bag with them either – so moms out there probably assume that either the car is very nearby or they are very close to home.

5 All Smiles

In a shot taken straight-on, Keira smiles for the camera in a pose that makes her look different to me than she usually does. I think it might be that she is smiling with her mouth open, which she doesn’t normally seem to do. It’s always lips together, whether smiling slightly or straight-faced or, hey, even whistling, as we’ve seen.

People apparently loved to photograph her in this dress – and perhaps readers out there can understand why. It is so flattering that it might leave ordinary people out there to wonder how in the world she could look so fit and happy and healthy after having quite recently had a baby.

But you know what? I know that it is for sure entirely possible to be the fittest you’ve ever been in your life just a few months after the baby has come along. Raising a baby, nursing, and all the work that comes with it is hard physical stuff!

4 Keeping It Casual

It looks like they just needed to run out to the story like ordinary non-famous people or something!

Keira’s musician husband is wearing those comfy athletic shorts that I know for a fact guys love to throw on and live in the second they get home. Slip-ons without socks and a partially unbuttoned shirt with rolled up sleeves are his super casual attire for this outing.

And Keira has on that favorite stripy top again! It has to be a nursing favorite or something – she’s worn it so many times!

And you know what? Maybe she even has more than one of them. I totally do that. When I was pregnant for the second time, I found a really comfortable top with details that I loved (also white with navy stripes, actually, quite funnily) at my favorite local baby boutique. It snapped down for nursing and was cool and comfortable, so I ended up buying a handful of them and wearing it for everything from outings to exercise to sleep!

3 Nicely Coordinated At Night

This must be some sort of amazingly comfortable skirt – because Keira just wouldn’t stop wearing it post-baby, from the looks of things.

Oh – this gives me an idea!

I don’t know the details of how this couple’s baby was born at all, of course, but I’m thinking hey, maybe there’s a reason that she’s favoring high wastes and the same favorite pieces again and again. Have you ever known moms who had C-sections who found one pair of comfortable leggings or a skirt or something that didn’t rub uncomfortably against their scar? They end up wearing them for like the better part of the next six months or even year, sometimes, right? Nothing wrong with that.

And regardless of how a baby was born, many fashion-savvy moms choose high wastes and gathering or a loose fit over the abdomen for a flattering look.

2 All Aglow

So I’ve focused, I think fittingly, on shots of Keira Knightly said to be taken shortly after she had her baby and decided to “debut” her postpartum form out and about on the town, often with her little one in the stroller and / or her husband on her arm.

Here let’s be amazed by the mama in all of her newly pregnant glory.

With hair not quite so long as she wore it after the baby was born, a side part, and loose curls, Knightley smiles brightly (hey, I’m a poet and I didn’t know it… sorry, can’t help it).

Apparently glammed up for a red-carpet event, this picture was reportedly taken before the actress announced the news of her pregnancy.

Slender and looking tall and elegant in heels and long lacy sleeves, she beams happily with what might be just the barest hint of a baby bump visible under the tiered lace of the golden dress’s skirt.

1 Bold-Chested With A Bump

I don’t personally have doubts that this famous actress birthed her own baby, as has most likely become very apparent. I kind of identify with her and her fashion choices, in fact! I was fit and lean going into pregnancy both of the two times I’ve done it so far. I rather quickly got back down to a lean and fit form while breastfeeding (and eating sensibly enough, I suppose, and getting out for some form of exercise pretty regularly).

So I in no way find it astounding or unbelievable that a healthy and rather young person would remain slender and fit both during pregnancy and after. In fact, there’s not really any reason that a woman needs or should be expected to look like an entirely different person while carrying a child or after the fact.

I wanted to include this one of her during her pregnancy, though, just for fun – because if you want to playfully suggest that something about this isn’t real, how about the fact that the actress appears to be braless under the sweater top of her maternity dress?

My breasts did NOT enjoy being without support when I was pregnant, even at home but especially while out and walking around!

Whatever you believe, I bet you might have a hard time believing a pregnant gal would go without a bra!

Sources: IMDB.com, Wikipedia.com, Google.com