Keira Knightley almost gave up on acting altogether after a traumatic diagnosis of PTSD in her early twenties.
The Empire Award winner, 33, opened up about her early struggles with fame including being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and having a breakdown.
Having been propelled into the spotlight at 17 years old in the hit British film Bend It Like Beckham, Knightley then went on to get an Oscar nomination for her role in Pride and Prejudice.
At just 23, the actress was already being coined one of the richest women in showbiz, but potentially at the price of her health after suffering a breakdown just a year before after a very intense and lonely period.
Thinking back on her early years of stardom, Knightley confessed that she nearly packed it all in, if it wasnt for the love and help of her family and friends.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, the Atonement star confessed: I did think about it, particularly at the point when I had a breakdown.
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Struggling with Hollywoods body image perceptions, the star recalled the rumours about her weight, with some people in the industry accusing her of having an eating disorder.
I literally felt like I was worthless, she said on the publications podcast. I felt pretty much like actually I didnt exist and I was this weird creature with this weird face that people seemed to respond to in quite an extreme way.
She added: If you [female stars] werent breaking down in front of them, then it was worth their while to make you break down in front of them … so suddenly there was a level of violence, it felt, in the air. That is not a thing that anybody would react to well.
I did have a mental breakdown at 22, so I did take a year off there and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder because of all of that.
Later on in 2008, it also came to light that The Duchess star nearly missed out on attending the BAFTA Awards because she was unable to leave her house for three months prior.
Knightly had to undergo hypnotherapy in order to step out on the red carpet, but the star credits her close-knit group of friends and family for seeing her through the worst of times.
She explained to The Sunday Times Magazine: I have a super-solid background and thank fuck for that.
My family and my small, but very close, group of friends just wrapped me up. And, I think, without that, it would have been a very different story.
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Now married to Klaxons musician, James Righton, the OBE holder praises her husband on being a wonderful father and confesses that the singer had to majorly put his life on hold looking after their daughter, Edie, on every single shoot.
The pair tied the knot back in 2013 in France after dating for two years before having their daughter Edie in 2015.
Meanwhile, the actress is light years away from her earlier times, having just wrapped her role in Official Secrets, not to mention also as the sugar plum fairy in Disneys Nutcraker alongside three other productions.
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms is out now.
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