| BIOGRAPHY
A slender but lean brunette beauty, pixyish British actress
Keira Knightley hitched herself to a star with memorable roles
in such hits as Bend It Like Beckham (2002) and Pirates of the
Caribbean (2003). Born in Teddington, London, England, in 1985,
young Knightley was enticed by the lure of cinema at an early
age. Reported to have asked her parents for a manager at the age
of three, playwright mother Sharman McDonald and actor father
Will Knightley were at first reluctant to let their daughter follow
them into show business. Although they would accommodate her wish
three years later, their strict demand that their daughter study
through school holidays and only take jobs that didn't interfere
with her education ensured that Keira would keep her priorities
straight.
Trained in dance from an early age, Knightley made her film debut
when she was 12 in Moira Armstrong's romantic drama A Village
Affair. Gradually climbing the credits with subsequent roles in
Innocent Lies (1995) and the made-for-TV features Treasure Seekers
(1996) and Coming Home (1998), she got her first big break when
cast as the decoy queen in the eagerly anticipated Star Wars:
The Phantom Menace. Knightley resembled the actual queen (portrayed
by Natalie Portman) so much that her mother couldn't distinguish
the two and some fans still insist both were portrayed by Portman.
Taking back her own face for the television miniseries Oliver
Twist (2000), Knightley stayed with the small screen as Robin
Hood's daughter in the 2001 adventure Princess of Thieves.
Although audiences would truly begin to take note of her talent
in the thriller The Hole that same year, her star-making turn
in the sleeper comedy drama Bend It Like Beckham endeared her
to audiences everywhere and ultimately served as her breakthrough
role. Playing the best friend to star Parminder K. Nagra, Knightley
proved that she could turn what might have been little more than
a noteworthy supporting role into a truly memorable, scene-stealing
performance. As Lara Antipova in the 2002 miniseries Doctor Zhivago,
the actress gracefully slipped into a role that was previously
made famous by Julie Christie, and the timeless romantic drama
proved a hit with U.K. television viewers.
With the release of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the
Black Pearl, audiences marveled at eccentric actor Johnny Depp's
quirky portrayal of pirate Jack Sparrow, although, as the beautiful
young maiden whose blood may hold the key to life for a group
of undead pirates, Knightley once again turned in a memorable
performance.
|
FILMOGRAPHY
• Pirates of the Caribbean 2 (2006)
• King Arthur (2004)
• Bend It Like Beckham (2003)
• Love Actually (2003)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
(2003)
• Pure (2002)
• The Hole (2001)
• Princess of Thieves (2001) |
