Keira was born to Will Knightley (also an actor)
and Sharman MacDonald (actor-turned-playwright) on the 22nd of
March, 1985.
She first asked her parents for an agent at the tender age of
three, but they refused, not wanting their daughter to follow
them onto the stage. Keira kept at them, and they finally gave
in when she was six. However, her parents still had a few tricks
up their sleeves. As part of the deal, Keira, who is dyslexic,
had to study through the school holidays, and she was only permitted
to work on productions if they didn't interfere with her education.
In 1994, at the age of nine, she completed her first movie, starring
as Natasha Jordan in Moira Armstrong's 'A Village Affair'. Following
this, she played a number of small roles in other productions.
Her first high profile role came in 1999, when she played the
part of Sabe, the decoy queen in Star Wars Episode I. Her part
in the film was kept secret in the lead up to the much anticipated
release, and Natalie Portman was promoted as having played the
roles of both the real and decoy queens so as not to spoil the
surprise. A lot of fans still think Portman played both roles.
Since then, she has completed an impressive array of films, including
the made-for-TV movie 'Princess of Thieves', the series 'Oliver
Twist', and the thriller 'The Hole'. She also played a small role
in 'Deflation'.
Keira's 'breakthrough' role came with Gurinder Chadha's 'Bend
It Like Beckham', which was an unexpected hit worldwide. In order
to play the part, she endured 20 weeks of tough football practice
- her coach, who had trained top players, declared her more naturally
talented than Michael Owen.
With the success of Bend It Like Beckham came a flurry of roles.
She stepped into Julie Christie's shoes for the controversial
remake of the classic 'Dr. Zhivago', played << ? >>
in 'Pure', and filmed 'Love, Actually' alongside Liam Neeson and
Hugh Grant. Next up is the big-budget Disney production, 'Pirates
of the Carribean', to be released in theatres soon; and 'King
Arthur', currently filming in Ireland, in which she will play
the role of Guinevere.
The good news for Keira's fans is that her roles just keep getting
bigger and bigger, and her star brighter and brighter. Rest assured
that we will be seeing a lot more of Keira in the future.
