Keira Knightley

Keira Knightley is an English actress. She was born on March 26th, 1985 in Teddlington, England. She is the youngest of two children and daughter of the theatre actor Will Knightley and the writer Sharman Macdonald. When she was a kid, she developed her performing vocation. At the age of four she started taking ballet lessons, and two years later she made her debut in TV. Her persistence and talent were amazing, and soon she obtained her first role in a movie.

In 1994, she made her first steps in the cinema in Moira Armstrong's movie "A Village Affair". She continued improving her performing skills and had the opportunity to participate in a Hollywood super production: "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace". Her role was limited, but her character Sabé gave her the dreamt popularity. She appeared in several magazines as well as in many presentations of the George Lucas's masterpiece, and her name started to sound familiar for many directors and producers.

Two years later, she shared the set with Thora Birch during the shooting of the terror movie: "The Hole".

But the success in her career occurred later in 2002, when she played the leading role in the comedy "Bend it like Beckham". Keira was only 17 when all the press praised her work in the movie. She demonstrated her versatility and impressed the public with her spontaneity. This captivating young star was convoked to take part in the adventures movie "Pirates of the Caribbean", where she worked together with Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom.

Apart from her appearances in the big screen she also made some performances for TV productions like "Oliver Twist" (1999) and "Doctor Zhivago". In 2004, she placed the part of Ginebra in "King Arthur". But the role that helped her to demonstrate her talent and quality as an actress was the one in which she played Elizabeth Bennett in the movie adaptation of Jane Austen's novel "Pride and Prejudice"(2005). For her outstanding performance, she was nominated for an Oscar award and a Golden Globe, both for the same category: "Best Actress". She also participated in the following parts of the Disney production "Pirates of the Caribbean".

For the near future, Knightley is working on several projects. She has signed a contract with Chanel to promote their perfumes in 2007, and she will participate in John Maybury's "The Edge of Love", in which she will play a leading role.

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