Keira Knightley
Keira Christina Knightley was born on the 26th of March 1985 in the southwestern London suburb of Teddington. Her father Will Knightley worked as a stage actor while her mother Sharman Macdonald wrote plays. The family faced substantial financial difficulties following the birth of her brother Caleb. Macdonald once described their situation by saying they were broke and had to bet a child for the sale of a script. Despite these struggles, the parents introduced their children to theatre and ballet very early. This exposure inspired Knightley's interest in acting from a young age.
At the age of six, Knightley received a diagnosis of dyslexia. By the time she turned eleven, her parents felt she had overcome the condition sufficiently enough to function normally. She remained a slow reader who could not read out loud. The school classified her as having special educational needs which made her feel discouraged. Her parents used the promise of acting to encourage her to work harder. At age three she requested an agent like her parents and secured one at six. This led to small parts in television dramas and local amateur productions.
Knightley landed a breakthrough role when she starred in Gurinder Chadha's sports comedy film Bend It Like Beckham in 2002. She portrayed Jules a tomboy football player struggling against social norms. The film surprised critics who were laudatory of its charming and inspiring nature. Knightley and her co-star Parminder Nagra attracted international attention for their performances. They underwent three months of extensive football training under the English football coach Simon Clifford. Knightley was initially sceptical of the project but it became a box office hit in both the U.K and U.S.
In 2003 she appeared in Richard Curtis's Christmas-themed romantic comedy Love Actually. She played Juliet a woman whose fiancé's best man is secretly in love with her. Megan Conner of The Guardian remarked that the film turned Knightley into a household name. That same year she took on the role of Elizabeth Swann in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. The producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Gore Verbinski cast her for her indescribable quality reminiscent of motion picture stars from Hollywood's heyday. The film opened at number one on the box office and earned worldwide revenues of $654 million.
Knightley reprised her role as Elizabeth Swann in two sequels released between 2006 and 2007. Filming for these projects took place in 2005 and involved studying sword-fighting which she had sought to do since the first film. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest released in July 2006 with worldwide collections of $1.066 billion. This became the biggest financial hit of Knightley's career. The third installment At World's End was released in May 2007. A.O Scott termed her performance a vision of imperial British pluckiness.
In November 2006 it was reported that Knightley did not want to participate in any further sequels. By 2010 both Knightley and Orlando Bloom had repeatedly been quoted saying they wanted to move on. She eventually returned for a cameo appearance in 2017's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales after test audiences repeatedly inquired about her character. Despite boasting names like Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom and a budget of $135 million the original film was expected to fail at the box office before its massive success.
Knightley appeared in three films during 2005 including the psychological thriller The Jacket and the action film Domino. Her most successful release that year was Pride & Prejudice based on Jane Austen's novel. Director Joe Wright cast her for her tomboyish nature combined with a lively mind and sense of humour. On release the film became a huge commercial success with total collections of around US$120 million worldwide. Critics praised her performance as beauty delicacy spirit and wit. She earned Best Actress in a Leading Role nominations at the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards for her performance at age 20.
In 2007 she starred in Atonement playing Cecilia Tallis who struggles with a wartime romance. The green dress worn by Knightley during the film's climactic scene garnered substantive press attention and was subsequently regarded as one of the greatest costumes in film history. Her performance won the Empire Award for Best Actress and earned nominations for the BAFTA and the Golden Globes awards. In 2008 she played Georgiana Cavendish Duchess of Devonshire in The Duchess which told the story of her rise in society after her marriage disintegrated.
Knightley made her West End debut with Martin Crimp's version of Molière's comedy The Misanthrope in December 2009. She portrayed Jennifer an American film star courted by an analytical playwright. Paul Taylor of The Independent remarked that Knightley was not only strikingly convincing but rather thrilling in its satiric aplomb. In recognition of her theatre debut she was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. She also appeared in a 2011 revival of The Children's Hour where she portrayed Karen Wright an engaged schoolteacher accused of lesbianism.
In October 2015 Knightley made her Broadway debut playing the title role in Thérèse Raquin at Studio 54. She took the role after turning down the project twice because she thought herself incapable of playing it. Of her performance Alexandra Villarreal of The Huffington Post wrote that she fumes rages and withdraws while you watch her psychological evolution from stifled wife to impassioned mistress to haunted murderer. This production marked a departure from passive supporting roles into a dark active part.
In 2014 Knightley starred in The Imitation Game portraying cryptanalyst Joan Clarke who decrypted German intelligence codes during World War II. The film became a critical and commercial success grossing over $233.6 million. For her performance she received her second Academy Award nomination and BAFTA Award nomination all for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. In 2018 she starred as the titular French author Colette in the biographical drama Colette which saw social ascent through provocative novels. Manohla Dargis of The New York Times praised her vibrance and expressive physicality.
Knightley has worked extensively with Amnesty International Oxfam and Comic Relief. In 2004 she travelled to Ethiopia alongside Richard Curtis on behalf of Comic Relief charity. She posed for photos for WaterAid in 2005 and donated her dress from the 2006 Academy Awards to Oxfam where it raised £4,300. In July 2014 she travelled to South Sudan on behalf of Oxfam to meet refugees of the South Sudanese Civil War. In September 2017 she traded stocks on behalf of the spinal muscular atrophy charity SMA Trust.
During the 2000s Knightley faced an extraordinary amount of vitriol from the press regarding her appearance and success. The Guardian wrote that if she is not too pretty to be worthy of her success she is too posh or too thin. Despite multiple successful films and award nominations the criticism affected her deeply. She felt that she did not know her trade during this period. Media scrutiny decreased as her career progressed and she began spacing out public appearances to maintain attention on her films.
In 2018 Knightley revealed that she had a mental breakdown at age 22 and was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. She struggled to adjust to her sudden rise to stardom and recounted how she did not leave her home for three months up until early 2008. She needed hypnotherapy to prevent panic attacks to enable her to attend that year's BAFTA Awards where she was nominated for Atonement. She also won a libel case against the Daily Mail in 2007 after it falsely claimed she had an eating disorder.
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Common questions
When was Keira Knightley born and where did she grow up?
Keira Christina Knightley was born on the 26th of March 1985 in Teddington, a southwestern London suburb. Her parents introduced her to theatre and ballet early despite facing substantial financial difficulties following the birth of her brother Caleb.
What role gave Keira Knightley her breakthrough success in 2002?
Keira Knightley landed a breakthrough role when she starred as Jules in Gurinder Chadha's sports comedy film Bend It Like Beckham in 2002. The film became a box office hit in both the U.K and U.S after she underwent three months of extensive football training under coach Simon Clifford.
How much money did Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest earn for Keira Knightley?
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest released in July 2006 with worldwide collections of $1.066 billion. This production became the biggest financial hit of Keira Knightley's career while she reprised her role as Elizabeth Swann alongside Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom.
Which costume from Atonement is considered one of the greatest in film history?
The green dress worn by Keira Knightley during the climactic scene of Atonement garnered substantive press attention and was subsequently regarded as one of the greatest costumes in film history. Her performance won the Empire Award for Best Actress and earned nominations for the BAFTA and the Golden Globes awards.
What mental health challenges did Keira Knightley face at age 22?
Keira Knightley revealed that she had a mental breakdown at age 22 and was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. She struggled to adjust to her sudden rise to stardom and recounted how she did not leave her home for three months up until early 2008.