She started to follow in her parents' footsteps at an early stage,
making her film debut at the age of nine in A Village Affair (1994).
Her first major part was Sab? in The Phantom Menace, Padm? Amidala's
decoy. Knightley was presumably cast because of her resemblance to
headliner Natalie Portman.
Knightley is best known for her breakthrough roles in Bend It Like
Beckham and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
Bend It Like Beckham was especially physically demanding for Knightley
in terms of the intense football training she underwent but opened the
way for her into Hollywood. Her role in the blockbuster Pirates
cemented her up-and-coming position in international cinema.
While Knightley has recently appeared in the blockbuster King Arthur,
her dedication to developing herself as an actress rather than a movie
star was noted by Time magazine in a 2004 feature. In July 2004,
Knightley was voted by readers of Hello! magazine as the movie
industry's most promising teen star. Additionally, Knightley was voted
the sexiest movie star of all time by the readers of Empire magazine,
leaving behind others stars such as Angelina Jolie, Halle Berry,
Charlize Theron, Julia Roberts, Marilyn Monroe and Brigitte Bardot.
Beside acting, Knightley is currently modelling for Asprey, a British
luxury items company. She is trained in dancing and is a supporter of
West Ham United football team.
In 2005 Knightley starred as Domino Harvey, a famous British born
model-turned- L.A. bounty hunter in Tony Scott's fact based film
Domino and also as the lead Elizabeth Bennett in a film adaption of
Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice with Donald Sutherland and Matthew
Macfadyen. It recently opened at No.1 in the UK box office, her sixth
film to do so in her short but incredibly successful career.
She is currently filming the sequels to the immensely popular Pirates
of the Caribbean series, due for release in the summers of 2006 and
2007 respectively.
Filmography
2007 Pirates of the Caribbean 3 - Staring as Elizabeth Swann
2006 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - Staring as Elizabeth
Swann
2004 King Arthur - Staring as Guinevere
2003 Love Actually - Staring as Juliet
2003 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl -
Elizabeth Swann
And many more...