Keira Christina Knightley
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3,150
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97
Film credits
5
Awards
Keira Knightley began acting at age seven and landed her breakout role as Elizabeth Swann in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl in 2003. She earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for Pride & Prejudice in 2005. Her performance in Atonement won her an Empire Award for Best Actress in 2008. She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2018.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Keira Knightley — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Keira Knightley by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Keira Knightley — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
At age three, Keira Knightley asked for her own agent. She got one at six. Born on March 26, 1985 in Teddington, Middlesex to actor Will Knightley and playwright Sharman Macdonald, she grew up surrounded by acting. She performed her first TV role as a Little Girl in Royal Celebration 1993 at seven. Severe dyslexia in childhood was overcome with family encouragement by her early teens.
Knightley’s first substantial role came in The Treasure Seekers 1996, but she gained global attention playing Natalie Portman’s decoy Queen Padme in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace 1999. Her breakthrough arrived with Bend It Like Beckham 2002, a UK box office hit that grossed $76 million worldwide. That same year, she starred as Elizabeth Swann in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl 2003, a commercial success that made her a global star. She received her first Academy Award nomination for playing Elizabeth Bennet in Pride & Prejudice 2005. She followed that with acclaimed roles in Atonement 2007, winning an Empire Award for Best Actress, and The Imitation Game 2014.
Knightley dated her Princess of Thieves co-star Del Synnott from 2001 to 2003, then had a relationship with Jamie Dornan from 2003 to 2005. She was in a long-term relationship with actor Rupert Friend from 2005 to 2010. In 2013, she married musician James Righton in a private ceremony in Mazan, France. The couple have two daughters: Edie, born in 2015, and Delilah, born in 2019. Knightley successfully sued the Daily Mail in 2007 for libel after the paper falsely suggested she was anorexic.
She was the fifth-youngest woman in Oscar history to be nominated for Best Actress at age 20. In 2007, Forbes ranked her as the second highest-paid actress in Hollywood with earnings of $32 million. Her green satin gown from Atonement was voted the public’s favorite film costume of all time. She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2018 for her services to drama and charity.
The complete filmography of Keira Knightley — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
Every award, honor, and recognition received by Keira Knightley — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
A wall of memorable lines from Keira Knightley — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
The Problem for Me Was That by Being in the Film the Magic Was Broken. I Loved the First Star Wars Film and My Mum Was Really into It Too, That’s Why I Took the Part. but the Force Wasn’t There When We Were Filming It, and They Didn’t Have Real Light Sabres, Which Annoyed Me.
I Feel Less Blonde Now And, Er, Smarter!
There’s No Point Having an 18Th Birthday in America.
I’ve Always Been a Snob About Qualifications.
Do You Know That on All the Sets I’ve Been On, Nobody Has Ever Made a Pass at Me?
I’m a Tomboy Beanpole? I Can’t Use a Computer, so Maybe I’m a Bit Out of the Loop. I Don’t Know Whether to Be Flattered or Not Flattered. the Beanpole Bit, Is That Good? Can You Be a Sexy Beanpole?
Katharine Hepburn and Vivien Leigh Are My Heroes. Not Because of Their Ability, but Because of Their Perseverance.
When in Doubt, Faint.
I Know for a Fact the Work Is Going to Dry Up, and People Will Get Bored of Me. That’s Not Bitterness, Just the Truth.
I Don’t Think I Can Call Myself an Actress Yet. I Just Don’t Think My Skill Level Is That High. I Hope That with Every Job It Gets Better. but Until I’m Good, I Can Say I’m Trying to Be an Actor, but I Don’t Think I’ve Completely Made It.
As a Moviegoer and a Woman, I Want to See That, so It’s Great to Get to Play Parts Like That. but Guinevere Is a Terrifying Creature. If I Saw a Battle, I’d Run in the Other Direction. I’m Not Strong in That Way at All. but I’m Certainly Someone Who Has Always Known What I Wanted and Tried to Get It.
In This Business, Fame Lasts for a Second. You Can Be Blown up and Be Blown Down. People Keep Losing Interest in Faces Because New Ones Come Along Every Single Second. I’m One at the Moment. Tomorrow, I Won’t Be. That’s Cool. I’m Not Saying That When It Does End, I’ll Be Like, Yay! It’s Ending. but I’ll Move on and Do Something Else Because That’s What Has to Be Done. It’s About Survival. If You’re Sad About It, Then You’re in the Wrong Job.
Acting Requires Me to Be Very Observant, Which Means Being Able to Sit in Cafes for Hours and Watch People.
I Don’t Have a Problem with My Body. I’m Not Just Going to Strip off All My Clothing, but If the Part Calls for It and I Don’t Think There’s Any Way Round, I’m Absolutely Fine.
I’m a Bit of a Tomboy so the Action Stuff Was Fantastic.
It’s Also Strange When People Recognise You in the Street and They Know You but You Don’t Know Them. It’s a Little Weird, but Nothing to Complain About.
I Don’t Think About Nutrition. the Very Thought of a Diet Makes Me Want Chips and Ice Cream. and I Just Hate Going to the Gym. I Cannot Stand It.
The Fact That We Haven’t Focused on the Love Triangle Between Arthur, Lancelot and Guinevere Was Actually One of the Things That Made Me Want to Do the Film. It’s Interesting to Tell It in a Completely New Way.
Every Part I’ve Ever Got, I Always Thought It Was Completely Ridiculous That I Was up for It. with Pirates, I Only Packed for a Week Because I Was Sure That I Was Going to Get Sacked. I Thought They’d Made the Hugest Mistake.
We’re All Fans of Cinema, You Know. Forget About Being an Actor, I Love Watching Films. I Really Do. That’s What I Love Doing, as a Hobby. I Find the Whole Process Fascinating, as Do My Parents, They Go to the Cinema a Lot.
I Don’t Do a Thing to Keep Fit, I Just Cannot Make Myself Work Out. My Abs Are Just Luck – My Mum Has Good Ones so It’s a Family Trait.
I Don’t Read Any Magazines or Newspapers Any More, Because I Find It Really Scary and I Get Really Scared When I’m Followed by Photographers. I Have, on Many Occasions, Broken Down in Tears Because I Find It Terrifying. I Dropped Out of School When I Was 16 so There’s Nothing Else That I Can Do.
I Don’t Like Parties Very Much. I’m Not a Very Sociable Being.
I’ve Always Been Quite Tomboyish.
In L.A., I’m Twice the Size – Height and Everything Else – of Most of the Other Actresses Who Are Going for an Audition.
Three Years After That I Was Diagnosed as Dyslexic, and We Struck a Deal: I Was Allowed to Start Acting on Condition That I Would Read Constantly and Get Good Grades at School.
I Always Feel Like I’m the One with Everything to Prove.
I Paint and Draw, but Very Badly.
On Her Possibly Being Anorexic: I’ve Got a Lot of Experience with Anorexia. It Was in My Family. My Grandmother, and My Great-grandmother Suffered from It and I Had a Lot of Friends at School Who Suffer from It so I Don’t Think It’s Anything to Be Taken Lightly.
A Newspaper Here Voted Me One of the Scruffiest People in Britain. I’m Quite Proud of That. It’s Completely True.
I Suppose I’m More of a Tomboy Than the Girly-girl, Which Is Why I Can’t Walk on Stilettos Very Well.
I Do Remember, at Six, Thinking I Should Be Earning My Own Living. My Mum Says I Was Born 45.
The Most Fantastic Date I’ve Ever Had Was Going Bowling, Because I Don’t Bowl and I’m Awful.
There Are Pressures to Conform to a Certain Type, Tall, Blonde, Thin, Big Breasts, You Know – the Type.
Last Year, I Went to the Vanity Fair Party After the Oscars and I Stood in the Corner and Had a Lot of Champagne. It’s Very, Very Scary.
I’m Dyslexic, and at Six Years Old, They Realized I Couldn’t Read a Word and Had Been Fooling Them. My Mum Said to Me: If You Come to Me with a Book in Your Hand and a Smile on Your Face Every Day Through the Summer Holiday, I’ll Get You an Agent..
I Don’t Court Attention, Which Is Why I’ve Never Been to Nightclubs Like Chinawhite.
I’m Not a Social Person, so I Really Have Very Few Friends in the Business.
Little-known facts about Keira Knightley — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
During the filming of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace 1999, Knightley and Natalie Portman’s mothers could not tell them apart once in makeup due to their similar looks.
Knightley’s birth name was intended to be Kiera, but her mother made a typo on the birth certificate.
At age 20, she was the fifth-youngest woman in Oscar history to be nominated for Best Actress.
She auditioned for the role of Christine in The Phantom of the Opera 2004 and called it the most embarrassing moment of her life because she knew she could not sing it.
Knightley fell asleep during the premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End 2007 due to exhaustion and has never seen the complete film.
Her role as the decoy queen in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace 1999 was kept secret to not spoil the surprise.
In January 2007, the Daily Mail published an article suggesting Knightley was anorexic; she successfully sued for libel and donated the damages to an eating disorder charity.
She performed her first topless scene at age 15 in The Hole 2001, which required her mother’s consent and a closed set.
Knightley has dyslexia and wore special glasses in adolescence to help her read.
By age 23, Forbes ranked her as the second highest-paid actress in Hollywood with estimated earnings of $32 million in 2007.
She and husband James Righton have daughters Edie b. 2015 and Delilah b. 2019.
Her hero is her Pirates of the Caribbean co-star Geoffrey Rush.
Bend It Like Beckham 2002 became the first Western film to be screened on North Korean television in 2010.
She is close friends with Carey Mulligan, having met on the set of Pride & Prejudice 2005.
She was considered for the role of Selina Kyle / Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises 2012, but Anne Hathaway was cast.
She was originally cast as Mary Boleyn in The Other Boleyn Girl 2008 but dropped out before filming.
When auditioning for The Jacket 2005, she had food poisoning, but the filmmakers liked her sickly appearance for the role.
Her father is English from Essex; her mother is of Scottish and Welsh descent, born in Glasgow.
The green satin gown she wore in Atonement 2007 was voted the public’s favorite film costume of all time.
Her first name means dark.
Johnny Depp is one of her favorite actors; they worked together on three Pirates of the Caribbean films.
In a 2004 Royal Shakespeare Company poll, fans voted Knightley and James Marsters as their dream Romeo and Juliet.
She attended Teddington School in the London Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames.
She was considered for the role of Peggy Carter in Captain America: The First Avenger 2011, but Hayley Atwell was cast.
At age 16, she studied at Esher College but quit to take the role of Lara Antipova in Doctor Zhivago 2002.
She debuted on the Forbes 100 Most Powerful Celebrities in 2007 at #71.
As of 2006, she planned to remain living in London and not move to Los Angeles.
She was awarded the TCFF North Star Award for Excellence for performances in The Laggies and The Imitation Game.
She was voted the second sexiest voice behind Sir Sean Connery in a UK poll by the Royal National Institute for the Blind.
She married James Righton in a private ceremony in Mazan, France, with only 11 guests.
She trained four days a week for three months for King Arthur 2004, including weight lifting, boxing, and horseback riding.
She was in a relationship with Rupert Friend from December 2005 to December 2010.
She auditioned for and was accepted to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art LAMDA.
She returned to work nine months after giving birth to her daughter Edie to film Collateral Beauty 2016.
She ranked #1 on the Independent Critics list of 100 Most Beautiful Faces in 2006 and 2007.
She was in a relationship with Jamie Dornan from August 2003 to August 2005.
She took elocution lessons at the beginning of her career.
She is the face of Chanel’s fragrance Mademoiselle.
She was awarded the OBE in the 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours List.
She suffers from dentophobia fear of dentists.
She campaigned for the lead female role in The Rum Diary 2011 but lost to Amber Heard.
She was two months pregnant with Delilah while filming Misbehaviour 2020 and returned to work six months after giving birth.
She is the daughter of actor Will Knightley and actress/playwright Sharman Macdonald.
Her mother wrote the plays When I Was a Girl, I Used to Scream and Shout and The Winter Guest.
The first time she met David Cronenberg for A Dangerous Method 2011 was via Skype, which froze repeatedly.
The Daily Mirror named her Actress of the Year in December 2005.
She was named Most Beautiful Woman and Most Beautiful Face by Independent Critics.
She returned to work five months after giving birth to Edie to perform in the Broadway production of Thérèse Raquin.
She was originally cast as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady but dropped out; Carey Mulligan took over.
She is a supporter of West Ham United F.C. Women.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Keira Knightley.
Celebrities similar to Keira Knightley — same craft, ranked by reach.
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