Keira Christina Knightley ( born 26 March 1985) is an English actress and model. She began her career as a child and came to international prominence in 2003 after co-starring in the films Bend It Like Beckham and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
Knightley has appeared in several Hollywood films and earned nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her role as Elizabeth Bennet in Joe Wright's 2005 adaptation of Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice. Two years later she again was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, as well as the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in Atonement.
In 2008, Forbes claimed Knightley to be the second highest paid actress in Hollywood, having reportedly earned $32 million in 2007, making her the only non-American on the list of highest paid actresses.
In the late spring of 2007, Knightley shot The Edge of Love with Cillian Murphy as her husband, Matthew Rhys as her childhood sweetheart, Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, and Sienna Miller as Thomas' wife Caitlin Macnamara. She received positive reviews for her role.[30] The 2008 release was penned by Knightley's mother, Sharman Macdonald, and directed by John Maybury. She then filmed The Duchess, based on the best-selling biography, Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman, in which she played Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire; the film was released in cinemas on 5 September 2008 in the U.K.
Knightley appears in the drama Last Night, in which she co-starred with Eva Mendes, Sam Worthington, and Guillaume Canet; it was directed by Massy Tadjedin. In April 2009, Knightley began work on an adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's dystopian novel, Never Let Me Go with Andrew Garfield and Carey Mulligan. Filming took place in Norfolk and Clevedon.
Knightley is filming under the direction of David Cronenberg in the feature film A Dangerous Method, where she plays the role of Sabina Spielrein, the real-life psychoanalyst who worked with Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender and Vincent Cassel will be co-starring.She is slated to appear in The Emperor's Children with Eric Bana and Richard Gere. The film, a dark comedy, will be directed by Noah Baumbach. Knightley will star in London Boulevard with Colin Farrell, written by William Monahan, who will also make his directing debut.
