Keira Christina Knightley was born March 26, 1985 and is an Academy Award-nominated English actress.


Keira Knightley is the daughter of Sharman Macdonald, a Scottish actress turned award-winning playwright, and Will Knightley, an English theatre and television actor. Keira Knightley has an older brother, Caleb Knightley (Born 1979). Keira Knightley was born in Teddington, Middlesex and lived most of her life in Richmond upon Thames, attending Teddington Secondary School and Esher College. Keira Knightley currently lives in Central London.


In late February 2006, it emerged that Keira Knightley was dating her Pride and Prejudice co-star Rupert Friend. Keira Knightley has previously enjoyed relationships with Irish model Jamie Dornan, and actor Del Synnott (who reportedly attempted suicide after their relationship ended, although Del Synnott denies these claims).


Keira Knightley started to follow in her parents' footsteps at an early stage, making her television debut at the age of seven in Royal Celebration (1993) and in The Bill in 1995. Keira Knightley's first major movie appearance was as Sabé, Padmé Amidala's decoy in the 1999 release Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Keira Knightley was presumably cast because of her close resemblance to Natalie Portman, who played Padmé. It is rumoured that the two actresses' mothers had difficulty telling their daughters apart when they were heavily made up. Keira Knightley first starring role was as the daughter of Robin Hood in a made-for-TV Walt Disney Productions feature, Princess of Thieves, first telecast in 2001.

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Keira Knightley is best known for her breakthrough roles in Bend It Like Beckham and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Bend It Like Beckham was especially physically demanding for Keira Knightley in terms of the intense football training she underwent, but opened the way for her into Hollywood. Her role in the blockbuster Pirates cemented her up-and-coming position in international cinema.




In 2004 Keira Knightley appeared in the blockbuster King Arthur which, although it received mixed reviews, was praised by critic Roger Ebert for "the considerable production qualities and the charisma of the actors, who bring more interest to the characters than they deserve", Keira Knightley being described as looking "simultaneously sexy and muddy" fitting in with the current vogue for strong female action heroes. In fact Keira Knightley has developed a reputation for frequently playing tough women getting along in male dominated environment.


In 2005, Keira Knightley starred in the title role of Tony Scott's film Domino inspired by the life of his friend Domino Harvey, a British born model-turned-bounty hunter. The film received mixed reviews but Ebert praised Keira Knightley for her ability to play a diversity of roles.


In contrast, in the same year, Keira Knightley also played regency Englishwoman Elizabeth Bennet in a film adaption of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Opening at No.1 in the UK box office, it is her sixth film to do so in her career, and Keira Knightley received a Best Actress - Comedy/Musical nomination at the 2006 Golden Globes for it. Keira Knightley was nominated for the 2006 Academy Award for Best Actress, though she did not win. She is currently the third youngest nominee for that award.


Keira Knightley is currently filming the two sequels to the immensely popular Pirates of the Caribbean series, due for release in the summers of 2006 and 2007 respectively. The filming of Pirates 3 will go on hiatus from March to August 2006 during which time Keira Knightley will film Silk, an adaptation of the novella by Alessandro Baricco, opposite Michael Pitt.



Keira Knightley promotes the luxury goods brand Asprey, as well as Lux haircare products in Japanese TV commercials.


Keira Knightley's dedication to developing herself as an actress rather than a movie star was noted by Time magazine in a 2004 feature. In July 2004, Keira Knightley was voted by readers of Hello! magazine as the movie industry's most promising teen star. Additionally, Keira Knightley was voted the sexiest movie star of all time by the readers of Empire magazine, leaving behind other stars such as Angelina Jolie, Halle Berry, Charlize Theron, Julia Roberts, Marilyn Monroe and Brigitte Bardot.


Keira Knightley has not failed to impress even off the movie set. Her Valentino gown at the 2006 Golden Globe Awards won her much acclaim and even landed her the top spot on Kojo's Best Dressed List on Entertainment Tonight. Keira Knightley appeared nude on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine (March 2006 'Hollywood' issue) with Scarlett Johansson.




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