It’s been 20 years since Bend It Like Beckham graced movie screens, making stars out of its cast in an instant.
The 2002 smash hit which followed a group of football-crazed teenage girls began impressive careers for the actors featured — from reaching Hollywood heights à la Keira Knightley, to top tier TV stardom like onscreen best friend in the film, Parminder Negra.
And Bend It Like Beckham paved the way for great successes for the names starring in it — along with personal failures in the years that followed as love interest in the film, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, publicly went through drinking and relationship problems.
With the cast having all led different lives following filming, here’s a reflection on the lives of the actors in the much-loved football film since its release.
Keira Knightley (played Jules Paxton)
It would have been hard not to catch Keira on a movie screen in the subsequent years of Bend It Like Beckham as she continued to feature in several major movie hits following on from thee 2002 success.
Keira was catapulted into movie stardom when she appeared in the football film and quickly became the IT girl of the Hollywood scene after she starred in Love Actually and the first three Pirates of the Caribbean movies playing Elizabeth Swan a year later.
The now 35 year old actress went on to feature as top billing in films Pride and Prejudice, Atonement and King Arthur, while cementing a years-long fashion deal with Chanel and is now has an estimated net worth of £45 million.
Despite her successes, Keira admitted she took a year off work after having had a “mental breakdown at 22” and was diagnosed with PTSD after experiencing fame pressures which left her feeling “worthless”.
Keira revealed she is now “in a good place” as she lives in North London with her husband James Righton and their two daughters.
Parminder Nagra (played Jess Bhamra)
Parminder featured as the main actress in Bend It Like Beckham, playing star football player Jess, who became best friends onscreen with unknown actress at the time Keira.
The 45 year old managed to break the acting industry on both sides of the Atlantic like her co-star, as she went on to have a fruitful career in US television moving on from the 2002 film.
Parminder bagged the role of Neela Roagotra on hit medical drama ER a year afterwards and remained on the show until 2009, after which she starred in thriller TV series Alcatraz and more recently, hit Netflix show 13 Reasons Why as a guidance counsellor.
In 2012, Parminder divorced her ex husband James Stenson, with whom she shares a son, and endured a nasty legal battle over money which has since been settled and the actress now lives a quieter life away from the limelight at home in Los Angeles.
Jonathan Rhys Meyers (played Joe)
Jonathan became a fully fledged star actor after appearing as love interest Joe in Bend It Like Beckham and featured in such hits as Mission Impossible III and made-for-TV film Elvis, as well as the successful Tudors series.
The 44 year old has gone through publicised personal struggles following his career triumphs after battling drinking problems — which Jonathan has denied, despite MailOnline reports of him visiting rehab for treatment in 2005.
The Sun reported in 2018 that Jonathan allegedly drunkenly screamed at his wife Mara Lane on a plane: “f**k you, I'm going to divorce you” during an argument over his e-cigarette, which the couple have since moved on from as they remain together as a family with their five year old son Wolf.
Archie Panjabi (played Pinky Bhamra)
Since starring in Bend It Like Beckham as character Pinky, Archie Panjabi has become best known for her prominent role as Kalinda Sharma in US legal drama The Good Wife, moving to New York to play the part at the time.
The 48 year old was already an acclaimed actress when she featured in the 2002 football film and has won awards in the years following in response to her talent on screen, including an Emmy in 2010 and an NAACP Image Award in 2012.
Archie married husband Rajesh Nihalani in 1998 and returned to UK TV in 2018 as she starred in ITV series Next of Kin, The Constant Gardener and universal BBC hit drama The Fall.
Juliet Stevenson (played Paula Paxton)
Juliet Stevenson was a much-admired actress in Britain when she took on the role of character Jules’ mum in Bend It Like Beckham in 2002, having previously starred in 1991’s Truly, Madly, Deeply and Jane Austen film adaptation Emma in 1996.
A year after appearing in the football film, the 65 year old went on to feature in Mona Lisa Smile playing opposite Julia Roberts as campus nurse Amanda Armstrong and later starred in 2004’s Being Julia.
Juliet shares two children with her anthropologist partner Hugh Brody and more recently showed her strong support for the Extinction Rebellion on her Instagram page whilst also raising awareness of the global refugees crisis.
Shaznay Lewis (played Mel Goines)
Shaznay Lewis was famous for being singer in four-piece UK band All Saints at the time she played the part of teammate Mel Goines in Bend It Like Beckham.
The 45 year old secured the role as the band split up shortly before production after much success in the late ‘90s, and the quartet reunited over ten years later in 2014 to support fellow ‘90s band the Backstreet Boys on their UK tour and then again in 2016.
Shaznay has stayed in close contact with the All Saints members since and is often spotted hanging out with bandmate Nicole Appleton. She married dancer Christian Horsfall in 2004 and the couple had their first child, a son, two years later followed by a daughter in 2009.
Anupam Kher (played Mr Bhamra)
Anupam Kher was an established actor when he starred as Jess' father in Bend It Like Beckham and continued to achieve large success in film as he landed roles in 2004's Bride and Prejudice, Caution in 2007 and Oscar-winning film Silver Linings Playbook in 2012.
The 65 year old warmed the hearts of viewers when he returned to playing Parminder's strict father onscreen — this time on US show ER she was starring in at the time, reuniting with the actress once again.
Anupam is married to actress Kirron Kher and has since taken up the role of UN ambassador for gender equality, alongside his acting career.
Ameet Chana (played Tony)
Ameet managed to secure a part on Eastenders following on from his appearance in Bend It Like Beckham, after previously not being well known as an actor in the country.
The 45 year old played Jess' best friend in the 2002 film, before he became widely recognised for portraying Adi Ferreira in the East End set soap. He has since featured in 2007 film Run Fatboy Run, as well as shows Casualty and Doctors.
Ameet is married to Shikha Varma and has presented also in his career on Sunrise Radio.
Frank Harper (played Alan Paxton)
Frank Harper played Jules' equally football-crazed father in Bend It Like Beckham alongside onscreen partner Juliet and has appeared in several hit UK films including 1998's Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, 2004 film The Football Factory and a cameo in 2006's This is England.
The 57 year old has since showed up in many hit TV series in the UK, such as Waking the Dead, Doctors and The Bill, however has retreated from the spotlight in recent years as he was last seen active on social media in 2016.
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