Keira Knightley is an English actress who has also acted in several Hollywood movies. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her role in "Pride and Prejudice". She was also nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Actress as well as for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her work in "Atonement".
Keira Knightley was born on 26th March 1985 to Will Knightley, an actor, and Sharman Macdonald, a playwright, in London. She started her career in mid 90s as a child actress and appeared in several television films. She got her break when she was cast in "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace" an American space opera science fiction film written and directed by George Lucas. It was the fourth film in the Star war series. Her first title role came to her the next year with "Princess of Thieves". She played the daughter of Robin Hood, Gwyn.
But her breakthrough role is considered to be the one she played in the movie "Bend it like Beckham" in 2002 which was a success in UK. After its release she got her next movie "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" which was a huge box office success and became the biggest hit in the summer of 2003. She was noticed for her role and became the new "it girl" in the industry. In 2004, after the release of "King Arthur" she was voted for the most promising teen star by the Hello! Magazine.
"Pride and Prejudice" was released in 2005 which grossed over $100 million worldwide and she earned her Golden Globe nomination along with Oscar nomination. She became the third youngest performer ever to be nominated for Academy Awards. "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" released in 2006 became one of Knightley's biggest financial hit.
She also worked in theatre making her first debut in 2009 with "The Misanthrope" which earned her many positive reviews. For her role in this play she was nominated for the prestigious Laurence Olivier Theatre Award as Best Supporting Actress.
She was the face for the luxury goods products for Asprey, Shiatzy Chen, as well as Lux hair care products. She was also the face for Chanel's perfume Coco Mademoiselle.
She is also known for her charity work and is the face of Amnesty International campaign supporting human rights. Her earnings for lending her voice for the animation "Robbie the Reindeer" was donated to Comic Relief.
