Biography - Keira Knightley

Though barely 21 years old, red-hot starlet Keira Knightley has earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actress and has starred in several major Hollywood blockbusters. The British stunner has emerged as one of the most talented and confident young actresses alive, and is currently on-screen in “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”.

Knightley was born on March 26, 1985 in Teddington, Middlesex, England to theatre director Will Knightley and actress/playwright Sharman Macdonald. Keira began acting as a child, appearing in amateur productions in her hometown of Richmond upon Thames, and at age seven made her screen debut in the television film “Royal Celebration”. As a teen in the 90’s she appeared in several more television movies in England, and in 1999 made her mainstream breakthrough as Sabé in “Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace”. Cast due to her striking physical similarities to lead actress Natalie Portman, Knightley gave a stately performance as Portman’s decoy bodyguard. She then starred in the Robin Hood TV spinoff “Princess of Thieves”, and rose to fame alongside Parminder Nagra in the popular British football comedy “Bend It Like Beckham”.

After a surprisingly powerful performance in the 2002 made-for-TV “Doctor Zhivago”, which saw Knightley impress in the role made famous by Julie Christie, she starred alongside Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp in “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl”. The swashbuckling fantasy adventure became the surprise hit of 2003, grossing over $300 million in the U.S. alone and making Knightley a major star. Since “Pirates” Knightley has become an important leading lady, starring alongside Clive Owen in “King Arthur”, with Adrien Brody in “The Jacket”, and in a small role in the charmingly dumb British comedy “Love Actually”. 2005 saw her cement her status as a powerful actress with a ballsy performance in the ill-conceived action dud “Domino”, and as Elisabeth Bennet in “Pride & Prejudice”. The latter role earned her a surprising but much-deserved Oscar nomination. Though she ultimately lost to Reese Witherspoon for “Walk the Line”, “P&P” showcased Knightley’s extraordinary range in one of her first leading dramatic roles. Playing one of literature’s most famous independent women, Knightley impressed with a subtle, heartfelt, yet effortlessly charismatic performance way beyond her years.

Consistently voted among the sexiest women on earth, Knightley appeared nude on the cover of the March 2006 “Vanity Fair”, and was voted best dressed at this year’s Golden Globes ceremony. She is currently reprising her role as Elizabeth Swann in “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest”, and in 2007 will star in “Silk” with Michael Pitt, the British drama “Atonement”, and the third "Pirates" film "At World's End".