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Her mother's friends encouraged her to go to drama school, which she declined for financial and professional reasons. Knightley began studying her A-Levels at Esher College, but left after a year to pursue an acting career. She acted in a number of local amateur productions, which included After Juliet, written by her mother, and United States, written by her drama teacher. This led to her taking a number of small parts in television dramas. At age three, she requested to obtain an agent like her parents and secured one at six. Knightley has said she was 'single-minded about acting'. She was diagnosed with dyslexia at age six, but by the time she was eleven, with her parents' support, she says, 'they deemed me to have got over it sufficiently.' She is still a slow reader and cannot read out loud. This inspired Knightley's interest in acting. Macdonald introduced her own children to theatre and ballet very early. However, her parents' varying degrees of success did not deter Knightley's curiosity about the profession. Knightley's parents encountered substantial financial difficulties following the birth of her brother her father, a 'middling' actor, agreed to a second child only if her mother sold a script first. Macdonald worked as a playwright after her acting career came to an end. Her father is English and her mother is of Scottish and Welsh descent.

She was meant to be named 'Kiera', the anglicised form of 'Kira', after the Soviet figure skater Kira Ivanova, whom her father admired however, Macdonald misspelled the name when she registered her daughter's birth certificate, writing the e before the i. Keira Christina Knightley was born on 26 March 1985 in the London suburb of Teddington, to stage actors Will Knightley and Sharman Macdonald.

2.4 2014–present: Biographical and political roles.

2.3 2008–2013: Independent films and stage work.

2.2 2003–2007: Pirates of the Caribbean and worldwide recognition.

2.1 1993–2002: Career beginnings and breakthrough.

She is married to musician James Righton and they have two daughters. Knightley is known for her outspoken stance on social issues and has worked extensively with Amnesty International, Oxfam, and Comic Relief. She also starred as the eponymous heroine in the 2015 Broadway production of Thérèse Raquin. On stage Knightley has appeared in two West End productions: The Misanthrope in 2009, which earned her an Olivier Award nomination, and The Children's Hour in 2011. Knightley returned to historical films playing Joan Clarke in The Imitation Game (2014), earning her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and starred as the eponymous writer in Colette (2018). She forayed into contemporary dramas, appearing as an aspiring musician in Begin Again (2013) and a medical student in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014). She starred in a number of more period pieces, portraying a complex love interest in Atonement (2007), tastemaker Georgiana Cavendish in The Duchess (2008), and the titular socialite in Anna Karenina (2012).

She appeared in the romantic comedy Love Actually (2003) and was labelled a promising teen star.įor her portrayal of Elizabeth Bennet in the period romance Pride & Prejudice (2005), Knightley was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

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Her breakthrough came when she portrayed a tomboy footballer in the sports film Bend It Like Beckham (2002) and achieved global stardom for playing Elizabeth Swann in the swashbuckler fantasy series Pirates of the Caribbean, beginning in 2003. She had a minor role as Sabé in the space opera Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999). īorn in London to actors Will Knightley and Sharman Macdonald, Knightley obtained an agent at age six and initially worked in commercials and television films. In 2018, she was appointed an OBE at Buckingham Palace for services to drama and charity. Known for her work in both independent films and blockbusters, particularly period dramas, she has received several accolades, including nominations for two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, and a Laurence Olivier Award. Keira Christina Righton OBE ( / ˈ k ɪər ə ˈ n aɪ t l i/ née Knightley, born 26 March 1985) is an English actress.