Name: Keira Knightley

Birth Name: Keira Christina Knightley

Birthdate: March 26, 1985

Birthplace: Teddington, England

Since playing the Decoy Queen to Natalie Portman's Queen Amidala in 1999's Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace, Knightley's career has really taken off. Successes include her portrayal of tomboy footballer Jules Paxton in the sleeper hit Bend It Like Beckham and of course her stint as Elizabeth Swann in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl — a role she almost missed; heavy traffic on the day of her audition put her at the end of the list.


1. A precocious child, she asked for an agent at age 3 and got one at age 6.
2. She pierced her belly button at age 13.
3. She did her first nude scene at age 15 in The Hole.
4. She split with her live-in boyfriend, Irish model Jamie Noonan, in September 2005.
5. She was born as the result of a bet between her parents: Her mother wanted another child, and her father bet her that if she could sell her next play, they could have a baby.


"Weight is such a big issue in Hollywood. I'm twice the size and height of the other girls who go for a part. When I was in L.A., I went to see a dermatologist about my acne and, while I was there, they said that they could fix my nose and give me liposuction. I said, 'No thanks. I'm only 20,' but afterwards you wonder, 'What are they trying to say?'"
— Daily Post, Sept. 10, 2005


Father: Will Knightley, actor; born Apr. 23, 1946
Mother: Sharman Macdonald, actress and author; born 1951
Brother: Caleb, actor; born 1979

2006: Academy Award nomination: Best Actress, Pride & Prejudice; Golden Globe nomination: Best Performance by an Actress (Comedy or Musical), Pride & Prejudice

 

FILMS

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - (2007) - Actor
Atonement - (2007) - Actor
Silk - (2007) - Actor
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - (2006) - Actor
The Jacket - (2005) - Actor
Pure - (2005) - Actor
Pride and Prejudice - (2005) - Actor
Domino - (2005) - Actor
King Arthur - (2004) - Actor
Bend It Like Beckham - (2003) - Actor
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl - (2003) - Actor
Doctor Zhivago - (2003) - Actor
Love Actually - (2003) - Actor
In America/Bend it Like Beckham - (2003) - Actor
Bend it Like Beckham/Drumline - (2003) - Actor
The Hole - (2001) - Actor
Princess of Thieves - (2001) - Actor