Keira Knightley

At the early age of 20 British actress Keira Knightley is already a movie star known all over the world. Everyone who has worked around this young woman is in awe of her classic talent and beauty, pretty much as everyone who has seen her on screen. No wonder why her carreer has been in rising for the last few years and is still getting bigger. Yet her success is not overnight. Daughter of actor Will Knightley and actress turned playwright Sharman MacDonald, Keira has been trying to get in the business since the tender age of three. That was when she first asked her parents to find an agent for her. They didn’t take it seriously coming from a baby, but they couldn’t refuse a few years later. She got her first agent at age six as a reward for overcoming her dyslexia. Even today one of the qualities Keira admires more even of her actor idols is “perseverance”.

A year afterwards she landed her first role, on TV’s “Royal Celebration”. The following year she did even better playing Natasha Jordan in “A Village Affair”. She continued to do small parts on TV movies and miniseries until her first breakthrough. That breakthrough didn’t truly put her name in the spotlight but did land her in a major film for the first time. It was a small part as Sabé the Queen's decoy in “Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace”. She landed the role for her resemblance to Natalie Portman; once in make up not even their mothers could tell them apart. On the movie promotion it was said Natalie played both parts not to ruin any surprise, though. Yet still nowadays Keira loves being compared to Natalie.

After that she went on with TV movies including “Princess of Thieves” and when she was sixteen she filmed “The Hole” making her first topless scene. That particular movie made her go through more rough times much like those when kids would laugh at her for not reading well. She recalls, “A couple of the popular girls at school said, quite loudly, 'She's in a crap movie, so it doesn't count.' It was rude and I was upset, but if you let that stuff bother you, you're going to be in for a tough time. I wasn't popular at school. I learned to let those comments wash over me. I toughened up quite quickly." She was quite right in not listening, it was “The Hole” that got her into her real breakthrough: “Bend It Like Beckham”.

Originally a “very, very, very, very low budget film”, but it turned out into a #1 box-office hit for several weeks in the UK and even more surprisingly, did great in the USA too. Keira who had never imagined such success when filming it, credits it to how it makes people smile and states soccer has nothing to do with the core of the movie because it’s really all about pursuing your dreams. If Keira’s dream was to be a full time actress she’s certainly living it now. After “Beckham” she got into a heretic schedule filming six movies in-between this and her big Hollywood role, Elizabeth Swan on Disney’s Jerry Bruckheimer movie “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl”.

Even before the release of “Pirates” and its tremendous success, producer Bruckheimer had cast her for his following movie “King Arthur”. Knightley excitedly recognizes, “You can't really get much bigger than a Jerry Bruckheimer film.” Yes indeed, she got two. By the time “Pirates” was being released she also had out “Love Actually”, with co-stars such as Huge Grant. This settled her celebrity status, but she claims she isn’t totally aware of it and its madness. “I learned pretty early on never to read anything written about you. I don't know most of it and that's the way I like it kept." Keira’s latest movies includes the thriller “The Jacket”, full time action “Domino”, the classic “Pride and Prejudice” and two sequels of “Pirates”, showing the multi-talents of this lady, just as well as her great performances and recognition from cast and crew members show she’s got a brilliant career ahead.