Keira Knightley Biography

• Birth Name

  

  Keira Knightley

• Birth Date

  03/26/1985

• Birthplace

  Teddington, London, England

• Credits

  13 Movies, 1 TV appearances, 3 awards

• Family

  Brother: Caleb Knightley
  born c. 1979

  Father: Will Knightley
  

  Mother: Sharman McDonald
  

• Hookups

  Companion: Jamie Dornan
  model; met at a Manhattan photo shoot in August 2003; began dating in 2004; announced split August 10, 2005.

  Companion: Rupert Friend
  

  met while co-starring in "Pride & Prejudice"; began dating December 2005

  Companion: Del Synnott
  actor; met in 2001, while working together on "Princess Of Thieves"; split November 2003

• Notes

  "I first stared asking for an agent when I was three. I thought it was really unfair that I didn't have one. I got my first part when I was seven. I basically just stood in the background, smiled... and looked very cute... I didn't really do very much."---Knightley to Vanity Fair, February 2003.
  

  

  "Sex scenes are easy," she laughs. "I don't have a problem with them. I'm an actress. I have certain tools - one of them is my body. I don't mind stripping off occasionally."---Knightley in the Mirror, May 14, 2007.
  "There are a lot of beautiful girls around the world, but the problem is, they can't turn off who they are when the camera turns on. Keira is very natural in front of the camera-when she becomes the character, you don't see any of the acting wheels turning"---Jerry Bruckeimer, producer of "Pirates of the Caribbean" Vanity Fair April 2004
  "To take this character who's so infamous and completely change her is one of the reasons that you do this job, to keep on changing and surprising people,"---Knightley on playing Guinevere in "King Arthur" to People, July 09, 2004.
  Knightley was diagnosed with dyslexia as a small child
  Producer Jerry Bruckheimer predicts that in 10 years, Knightley will be: "a major star. She is a terrific kid. Not to mention her enormous talent. In the end, it all comes down to her screen persona. I mean, you like what you see onscreen; she becomes the character. She is the real thing." People July 7, 2004
  

• Milestones

  (2005) Cast as Elizabeth Bennet, the eldest of five sisters in "Pride and Prejudice," an adaptation of the Jane Austen classic, directed by Joe Wright; earned Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress
  (2004) Cast as Guinevere opposite Clive Owen in "King Arthur" a demystified take on the tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
  Cast as a French silkworm merchant's wife in the period drama "Silk" (lensed 2006)
  (1996) Cast as the princess in the television feature "Treasure Seekers"
  Cast in "Atonement," a drama based on the World War II-era novel by Ian McEwan (lensed 2006)
  (2003) Co-starred in Richard Curtis' directorial debut "Love Actually"
  (2001) Co-starred in the independent thriller "The Hole"
  (2003) Co-starred in the sleeper hit "Bend it Like Beckham"
  (2003) Joined Johnny Depp for the action summer feature "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl"
  (1989) Obtained her first agent by the age of six
  (1994) Obtained her first role in Moira Armstong's "A Villiage Affair"
  (2005) Portrayed Domino Harvey, a model-turned-bounty hunter and daughter of actor Laurence Harvey in Tony Scott's "Domino"
  (1999) Portrayed the character Sabe who acted as a decoy to Natalie Portman's character in "Star Wars Episode 1"
  (2006) Re-teamed with Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom in Gore Verbinski's "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"
  (2007) Reprised role of Elizabeth Swann in "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"