Keira Knightley Kept Her 'Wonky Teeth' | Three Stars Who Rejected Hollywood Smile Pressure

Back in 2007, when she was promoting Atonement, Keira told CBS's Sunday Morning that she'd never felt pressured to change her appearance in Hollywood. "Which is quite amazing," she said, "because I've got wonky teeth."

She explained that agents often tell actors things like "Straighten your teeth" or "Whiten your teeth". But nobody had ever said anything about hers. You can read the full CBS profile here.

I love this for a few reasons. First, "wonky" is such a wonderfully British way to describe your own teeth. Second, she said it at the height of her fame, in the middle of an awards campaign. And third, nearly twenty years later, her smile is still very recognisably hers.

That doesn't mean she's never had any dental care, and I'm not going to speculate about what she has or hasn't done. It just means she's never presented her teeth as a problem to be fixed.

This one makes me want to stand up and clap.

When Kirsten Dunst was cast as Mary Jane in Spider-Man, she was 19. Years later, she told The Independent that producers had taken her to the dentist's office to have her teeth fixed. She never went in. Her response, as reported by Insider, was: "I was like, 'Mmmmm, no, I like my teeth.'"

Think about that for a second. A 19-year-old, on one of the biggest films in the world, being driven to a dentist by the people paying her, and saying no.

Kirsten's natural smile is now part of her look. They're on screen in films that people still watch decades later. And the world didn't end because her teeth weren't perfectly symmetrical.

Jewel's slightly snaggly front tooth has been part of her image since the 90s, and she's been asked about it more times than she's probably had hot dinners.

In an interview with Redbook, quoted by Showbiz Cheat Sheet, she explained why she hasn't changed it: "I could fix my snaggle or not, and it wouldn't matter." And then the line I think everyone should hear before they book a smile makeover: "There is no way to win but to make yourself happy."

There's a funny footnote to her story. In 2012, she played June Carter Cash in a Lifetime film and wore prosthetic teeth for the role. When she posted a photo in character with a perfect smile, fans panicked that she'd had them done. Her publicists had to confirm they were temporary. Jewel later joked that she'd "caused an Internet firestorm".

The fact that people were so upset at the idea of her "fixing" her teeth says it all. Her smile was part of who she was.

Here's the uncomfortable bit. The pressure these stars talk about hasn't gone away. If anything, it's spread.

Twenty years ago, it was agents and producers. Now it's filters, before-and-after reels, influencer smiles and strangers in comment sections telling people their teeth are "yellow" or "crooked". The "perfect smile" has become a very specific look: bright white, perfectly even, often quite big. (I've explained why there's no such shade as "Hollywood white" in my piece on Cat Deeley's whitening habit, and why you can't judge anyone's teeth from photos in what we actually know about Miley Cyrus' smile.)

And I understand why people are tempted. Feeling self-conscious about your teeth is miserable. If something really bothers you, wanting to change it is completely valid.

But there's a difference between choosing a change because you want it, and feeling pushed into one because someone else has decided your face needs fixing.

Some of the most memorable smiles are memorable precisely because they're not perfect. A slightly overlapping tooth, a small gap, canines that sit a bit forward. These are part of what makes a face recognisable.

From a dental point of view, "imperfect" doesn't automatically mean "unhealthy". A tooth that's a bit out of line can be perfectly healthy. A gap can be completely harmless. What I care about first is whether teeth and gums are healthy and whether your bite works properly. How they look is a separate question, and that one belongs to you.

Of course, there are times when crowding or a bite problem does affect your dental health, by making teeth harder to clean or putting extra pressure on some of them. That's when it's worth talking about treatment for health reasons, not just looks. Teeth can also shift over time, so a smile that was fine at 20 can change at 40. And that's a conversation to have with your own dentist at a check-up, not with TikTok.

None of this is anti-cosmetic dentistry. I'm a dentist. I believe in good, well-planned treatment. The point is that it should be your choice, made for your reasons, with a clear understanding of what's involved.

And there are lots of ways to tweak a smile that keep it recognisably yours:

• Teeth whitening can lift the colour without changing the shape. (Here's what whitening costs in the UK.)
• Composite bonding can fix a chip or soften an edge without drilling away much natural tooth, and it can often be reversed, as Molly-Mae showed.
• Invisalign and other aligners can straighten teeth gently. It's never too late for adults, as Tom Cruise showed at 39.
• Veneers are a bigger, usually permanent decision, because many involve removing some enamel. They can look natural, but they need careful thought, and a realistic idea of what veneers cost in the UK.

Before you commit to anything, ask yourself one simple question: am I doing this because I want it, or because someone else has made me feel I should?

Did Keira Knightley fix her teeth? She told CBS in 2007 that she had "wonky teeth" and that nobody in Hollywood had ever asked her to straighten or whiten them.

Why didn't Kirsten Dunst fix her teeth? She said Spider-Man producers took her to a dentist to have her teeth fixed, but she refused because she liked her teeth.

Why hasn't Jewel fixed her tooth? She has said changing it wouldn't make a difference to her happiness, and that "there is no way to win but to make yourself happy".

Are crooked teeth unhealthy? Not necessarily. Slightly crooked teeth can be perfectly healthy. Treatment is worth discussing if they make cleaning difficult or affect your bite.

Keira kept the wonk. Kirsten refused the dentist. Jewel kept the tooth. Three very different stars, one shared message: your smile doesn't have to look like everyone else's to be a good one.

If you want to change yours, brilliant, do it for you. If you don't, that's brilliant too. Either way, the only person who gets to decide what your smile should look like is you.

This article is general information based on public reporting. It is not personal dental advice. Keira Knightley, Kirsten Dunst and Jewel have no connection with this article.