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Keira Christina Knightley (born March 26,
1985) is an Academy Award-nominated English actress.
****
Personal life
Knightley is the daughter of Sharman
Macdonald, a Scottish actress turned award-winning playwright, and Will
Knightley, an English theatre and television actor. She has an older
brother, Caleb Knightley (Born 1979). Knightley was born in Teddington,
Middlesex and lived most of her life in Richmond upon Thames, attending
Teddington Secondary School and Esher College. She currently lives in
Central London.
In late February 2006, it emerged that she
was dating her Pride and Prejudice co-star Rupert Friend. She has
previously enjoyed relationships with Irish model Jamie Dornan, and
actor Del Synnott.
Career
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. Her first
major movie appearance was as Sabé, Padmé Amidala's decoy in the 1999
release Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. 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.
Her 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.
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 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 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", Knightley being described as looking
"simultaneously sexy and muddy" fitting in with the current vogue for
strong female action heroes. In fact she has developed a reputation for
frequently playing tough women getting along in male dominated
environment.
In 2005, 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 Knightley for her ability to
play a diversity of roles.
In contrast, in the same year, she 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 she received a Best
Actress - Comedy/Musical nomination at the 2006 Golden Globes for it. On
January 31, 2006, Knightley was announced as a nominee for the Academy
Award for Best Actress. If Knightley wins, she will become the youngest
winner ever of that particular award. She is currently the third
youngest nominee for that award.
She 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 will
film Silk, an adaptation of the novella by Alessandro Baricco, opposite
Michael Pitt.
Knightley promotes the luxury goods brand
Asprey, as well as Lux haircare products in Japanese TV commercials.
Public Profile
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, Knightley was voted by readers
of Hello! magazine as the movie industry's most promising teen star.
Additionally, 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.
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. She appeared nude on the cover of
Vanity Fair magazine (March 2006 'Hollywood' issue) with Scarlett
Johansson.
Selected Filmography
Year Title Role Other notes
2007 Pirates of the Caribbean 3 Elizabeth
Swann Filming
2007 Silk Helene Joncour Pre-production
2006 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's
Chest Elizabeth Swann Post-Production
2005 Pride and Prejudice Elizabeth Bennet
Academy Award nomination - "Best Actress"
2005 Domino Domino Harvey
2005 The Jacket Jackie
2004 King Arthur Guinevere
2003 Love Actually Juliet
2003 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of
the Black Pearl Elizabeth Swann
2003 Bend It Like Beckham Juliette 'Jules'
Paxton
2003 Pure Louise
2002 Doctor Zhivago Lara
2001 The Hole Frances 'Frankie' Almond
Smith
2001 Princess of Thieves Gywn
1999 Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom
Menace Sabé (queen's decoy)
****
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