Brunette beauty Keira Knightley was born in 1983 in Teddington, Middlesex
to thespian parents. She trained in dance from an early age and made
her film debut age the age of twelve in A Village Affair (1994). George
Lucas chose the 14-year-old Knightley for the part of the decoy Queen
in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) due to her resemblance
to Natalie Portman. She dropped out of college when offers poured in
and came to greater public attention in the school thriller The Hole
(2001). That same year, she gained her breakthrough role as a tomboy
footballer in Gurinder Chadha's
sleeper hit-comedy Bend
It Like Beckham (2002). Blockbuster, Pirates of the Caribbean: The
Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) thrust Knightley into the Hollywood
mainstream due to her memorable performance. She recently completed
Richard Curtis' latest romantic comedy, Love
Actually (2003).
