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Keira Knightley

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Actors, models and
celebrities

   Keira Christina Knightley
   Knightley at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival, photo by Tony Shek
   Birth name    Keira Christina Knightley
   Born          March 26, 1985 (age 21)
                 Teddington, Middlesex, England
   Height        5' 7" (1.70 m)
   Notable roles Bend It Like Beckham (2002)
                 Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
                 Pride & Prejudice (2005)
                 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)

   Keira Christina Knightley (born March 26, 1985) is an Academy
   Award-nominated English actress. She began her career as a child
   actress, and came to international fame in 2003, after major roles in
   the films Bend It Like Beckham and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse
   of the Black Pearl. Knightley has since become a notable lead actress,
   having starred in several Hollywood films. In 2005 she received a "Best
   Actress" Academy Award nomination for Pride & Prejudice. Her most
   recent film is Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.

Biography

Early life

   Knightley was born in Teddington, Middlesex, England to Sharman
   Macdonald, a Scottish actress turned award-winning playwright, and Will
   Knightley, an English theatre and television actor. She has an older
   brother, Caleb (b. 1979). Knightley lived most of her life in Richmond
   upon Thames, attending Teddington School and Esher College. Knightley
   suffers from dyslexia, but nevertheless achieved good grades in school
   to please her parents, and was thus permitted to have an agent and
   pursue an acting career. Knightley has noted that she was "so
   single-minded about acting" during her childhood. She performed in a
   number of local amateur productions including After Juliet (written by
   her mother) and United States (written by her then drama teacher, John
   McShane).

Career

   Knightley began her acting career at the age of seven, making her
   television debut in Royal Celebration (1993) and also appearing on the
   television series, The Bill (1995). She appeared in several more
   made-for-television films in the mid to late 1990s, before being cast
   as Sabé, Padmé Amidala's decoy, in the 1999 science fiction blockbuster
   Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace. Knightley was cast in the role
   due to her close resemblance to Natalie Portman, who played Padmé; the
   two actresses' mothers had difficulty telling their daughters apart
   when they were heavily made up. Knightley's first starring role
   followed in 2001, when she played the daughter of Robin Hood in a
   made-for-television Walt Disney Productions feature, Princess of
   Thieves. During this time period, Knightley also appeared in The Hole,
   a thriller that received a direct-to-video release in the United
   States, and in a mini-series remake of Doctor Zhivago that was first
   aired in 2002.

   Knightley's breakthrough role was in the English football-themed film,
   Bend It Like Beckham, which was a major success in its August 2002 UK
   release, and did fairly well at the box office upon its United States
   release in March 2003, grossing $32 million. After Bend It Like
   Beckham's UK release raised her profile, she was cast in the big budget
   action film, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,
   which was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and opened in July 2003 to
   positive reviews and a high box office gross, becoming one of the
   biggest hits of summer 2003 and cementing Knightley as a leading
   actress. Knightley had a role in the British romantic comedy Love
   Actually, which opened in November 2003. Her next film, King Arthur,
   opened in July 2004 and received mixed reviews, but 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". In the same month, Knightley was voted by readers of
   Hello! magazine as the movie industry's most promising teen star.
   Additionally, Time magazine noted in a 2004 feature that Knightley
   seemed dedicated to developing herself as a serious actress rather than
   a film star.

   Knightley starred in three 2005 films; The Jacket, a dark thriller that
   opened in March; director Tony Scott's film Domino, which opened in
   October, was an action film inspired by the life of bounty hunter
   Domino Harvey; and finally Pride and Prejudice, an adaptation of Jane
   Austen's novel, in which Knightley played regency Englishwoman
   Elizabeth Bennet. The Jacket and Domino received mixed critical
   receptions and performed poorly at the box office, but Pride and
   Prejudice did well in the U.S. and opened at No. 1 in the UK box
   office, and is Knightley's sixth film to do so. She received a Best
   Actress - Comedy/Musical Golden Globes nomination and an Academy Award
   for Best Actress nomination for the role, though she did not win
   either.

   Knightley's most recent film, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's
   Chest, was released on July 7, 2006.

   She recently completed filming on Silk (an adaptation of the novel by
   Alessandro Baricco) and Atonement, a feature film adaptation of Ian
   McEwan's novel of the same name, also starring James McAvoy, Vanessa
   Redgrave and Brenda Blethyn.

   Knightley has completed work on parts of Pirates of the Caribbean 3,
   which is due for release in May of 2007; she will continue to film
   scenes during the last part of 2006. She was also recently cast in a
   film entitled The Best Time of Our Lives, about the Welsh poet Dylan
   Thomas, from a screenplay by her mother.

Celebrity

   As a result of her rapid rise to fame, Knightley has been the subject
   of significant media attention, being described by press reports as
   "famously open with media" regarding her personal life. She was voted
   the sexiest movie star of all time by the readers of Empire magazine,
   was ranked #79 by FHM in the magazine’s UK Edition 2004 100 Sexiest
   Women in the World list, #18 in 2005, and was ranked the sexiest woman
   in the world in 2006. The U.S. Edition ranked her #54 in 2004, #11 in
   2005 and #5 in 2006. Knightley appeared nude on the cover of Vanity
   Fair magazine's March 2006 'Hollywood' issue, with Scarlett Johansson,
   and was voted the World's Sexiest Woman by FHM (UK) in their FHM 100
   Sexiest Women in the World 2006 poll. In May of 2006, Knightley was #9
   on Maxim's 2006 Hot 100. However Knightley herself has stated "I don't
   talk about my private life."

   Knightley was the celebrity face for the luxury goods brand Asprey, as
   well as Lux haircare products in Japanese TV commercials. In April of
   2006, she was confirmed as the new celebrity face of Chanel's perfume
   "Coco Mademoiselle".

   Her Valentino gown at the 2006 Golden Globe Awards won her much acclaim
   and even landed her the top spot on Steven Cojocaru's "Best Dressed
   List" on Entertainment Tonight, while the dress she wore to the 2006
   Academy Awards was recently donated to the charity Oxfam, where it
   raised £4,300.

Personal life

   Knightley, who currently lives in Central London, is dating her Pride
   and Prejudice co-star, Rupert Friend. She has previously dated Irish
   male fashion model Jamie Dornan, as well as actor Del Synnott, who
   according to some reports, attempted suicide after their relationship
   ended, although Synnott and Knightley deny these claims.. Knightley has
   stated that she feels uncomfortable dressing up and that she prefers
   British men over Americans, because she feels that British men are less
   concerned about their own appearance.

   She has denied rumours she is anorexic, although she has noted that her
   family has a history of anorexia, after her appearance at the Pirates
   of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest premiere led to media speculation
   that her extremely slender figure was due to an eating disorder.

   In July of 2006, Knightley noted that she believes that she has become
   a workaholic, detailing that "the last five years have blended into
   one. I can't tell you what was last year and what was the year before"
   and specifying that she is "working too much" and is "quite frightened
   that if I continue at this rate I will start to hate what I love." As a
   result, Knightley may take a one year break from acting to travel and
   focus on her personal life. Knightley is also a devoted supporter of
   West Ham United.

Selected filmography

   Year Title Role Other notes
   1999 Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace Sabé (queen's decoy)
   2001 Princess of Thieves Gwyn, daughter of Robin Hood First starring
   role
   2001 The Hole Frances 'Frankie' Almond Smith
   2002 Bend It Like Beckham Juliette 'Jules' Paxton
   2003 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Elizabeth
   Swann
   Love Actually Juliet
   2004 King Arthur Guinevere
   2005 The Jacket Jackie
   Domino Domino Harvey
   Pride and Prejudice Elizabeth Bennet Academy Award nomination - "Best
   Actress"
   2006 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Elizabeth Swann
   Silk Helene Joncour Post-production
   2007 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Elizabeth Swann In
   production
   Atonement Cecilia Tallis In production
   2008 The Best Time of Our Lives Vera Phillips
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keira_Knightley"
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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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