Name
Keira Knightley
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1985-03-26 (41 years old)
Place of Birth
Teddington, London, England, UK
Biography
Keira Christina Knightley (born 26 March 1985) is an English actress. She has starred in both independent films and big-budget blockbusters and is particularly noted for her roles in period dramas. Her accolades include two Empire Awards and nominations for two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, one Screen Actors Guild Award and one Laurence Olivier Award. Knightley was appointed an OBE in the 2018 Birthday Honours for services to drama and charity.
Born in London to actors Will Knightley and Sharman Macdonald, Knightley obtained an agent at age six and initially worked commercials and television films. She appeared as Sabé, Padmé Amidala's handmaiden, in the science fiction blockbuster Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999). Knightley had a break-through role portraying a tomboy footballer in the sports film Bend It Like Beckham (2002). She achieved global stardom with her portrayal of Elizabeth Swann in the fantasy swashbuckler series Pirates of the Caribbean. In the same year, she appeared in the Christmas romantic comedy Love Actually (2003) and was labelled a promising teen star.
For her portrayal of Elizabeth Bennet in the period romance Pride & Prejudice (2005), Knightley was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. At age 20, she became the third-youngest Best Actress nominee at the time. Knightley starred in a series of further 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 then forayed into contemporary dramas, appearing as an aspiring musician in Begin Again (2013) and a medical student in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014). Knightley returned to historical films by playing cryptoanalyst Joan Clarke in The Imitation Game (2014), earning her a second round of Academy Award and BAFTA nominations, and starred as the eponymous belle époque writer in Colette (2018) to critical acclaim.
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. She also starred as the eponymous heroine in the 2015 Broadway production of Thérèse Raquin. Knightley is known for her outspoken stance on social issues, and has worked extensively with Amnesty International, Oxfam, and Comic Relief. She is married to musician James Righton, with whom she has two daughters.
Known For
7.83
When wily pirate Captain Barbossa seizes Jack Sparrow’s beloved ship, the Black Pearl, a...
7.386
Captain Jack Sparrow’s got a blood debt to pay: he owes his soul to the legendary Davy J...
8.1
A story of love and life among the landed English gentry during the Georgian era. Mr. Benn...
7.277
After losing Captain Jack Sparrow to the locker of Davy Jones, Will Turner, Elizabeth Swan...
6.661
Thrust into an all-new adventure, a down-on-his-luck Capt. Jack Sparrow feels the winds of...
6.6
Anakin Skywalker, a young slave strong with the Force, is discovered on Tatooine. Meanwhil...
7.098
Eight very different couples deal with their love lives in various loosely interrelated ta...
- 2003 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl as Elizabeth Swann
- 2006 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest as Elizabeth Swann
- 2007 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End as Elizabeth Swann
- 2002 Bend It Like Beckham as Juliette 'Jules' Paxton
- 2001 The Hole as Frances 'Frankie' Almond Smith
- 2003 Love Actually as Juliet
- 2003 Below Deck: An Interactive History Of Pirates
- 1999 Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace as Sabé
- 2007 Atonement as Cecilia Tallis
- 2005 Pride & Prejudice as Elizabeth Bennet
- 2023 Boston Strangler as Loretta McLaughlin
- 2002 Thunderpants as Music School Student
- 2001 Princess of Thieves as Gwyn
- 2010 Last Night as Joanna Reed
- 2004 King Arthur as Guinevere
- 2008 The Duchess as Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire
- 2005 The Jacket as Jackie Price
- 2005 Domino as Domino Harvey
- 2008 The Edge of Love as Vera Phillips
- 2010 Never Let Me Go as Ruth C.
- 2006 According to Plan: The Harrowing and True Story of Dead Man's Chest as Self
- 2007 Silk as Hélène Joncour
- 1993 Royal Celebration as Angela
- 2011 A Dangerous Method as Sabina Spielrein
- 2002 Pure as Louise
- 2010 London Boulevard as Charlotte
- 1996 The Treasure Seekers as The Princess
- 1995 Innocent Lies as Young Celia
- 2004 Stories of Lost Souls as Leah
- 2012 Anna Karenina as Anna Karenina
- 2012 Seeking a Friend for the End of the World as Penelope "Penny" Lockhart
- 2012 Stars in Shorts as Woman
- 2014 Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit as Cathy Muller
- 2014 The Imitation Game as Joan Clarke
- 2014 Begin Again as Gretta James
- 2014 Laggies as Megan Burch
- 2019 Berlin, I Love You as Jane
- 2019 Greed as Self
- 2015 Everest as Jan Arnold
- 2010 Steve as Woman
- 2007 Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lens as Self
- 2016 Collateral Beauty as Amy Moore
- 2025 The Woman in Cabin 10 as Laura 'Lo' Blacklock
- 2009 The Continuing and Lamentable Saga of the Suicide Brothers as The Fairy
- 2002 The Seasons Alter as Helena
- 2013 Once Upon a Time... as Gabrielle Chanel
- 2018 The Nutcracker and the Four Realms as Sugar Plum Fairy
- 1995 A Village Affair as Natasha Jordan
- 2001 Deflation as Jogger
- 2007 Robbie the Reindeer in Close Encounters of the Herd Kind as Em (voice)
- 2019 The Aftermath as Rachael Morgan
- 2017 Red Nose Day Actually as Juliet
- 2017 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales as Elizabeth Swann
- 2018 Colette as Colette
- 2002 New Year's Eve as Leah
- 2019 Official Secrets as Katharine Gun
- 2012 Wide-Awake as The Witch
- 2020 Misbehaviour as Sally Alexander
- 1998 Coming Home as Young Judith
- 2021 Silent Night as Nell
- Soon Conception
- 2022 Charlotte as Charlotte Salomon (voice)
- 2004 The Making of King Arthur
- 2024 The Sound Collector as Self - Narrator (voice)
- 2025 The Perfect Gift as Herself
- Soon The Worst as Holly
- 2004 Blood on the Land: The Making of a King as Self
- 2005 King Arthur: A Roundtable Discussion as Self
- 2003 The Ellen DeGeneres Show ( 3 episodes ) as Self
- 1996 The Daily Show ( 3 episodes ) as Self - Guest
- 2001 Friday Night with Jonathan Ross ( 1 episode ) as Self - Guest
- 1988 LIVE with Kelly and Mark ( 5 episodes ) as Self - Guest
- 1997 The View ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1992 The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ( 1 episode )
- 2001 Richard & Judy ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2002 American Idol ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1993 Late Night with Conan O'Brien ( 2 episodes ) as Self - Guest
- 2002 Doctor Zhivago ( 3 episodes ) as Larissa Ameliava 'Lara' Antipova
- 1999 Oliver Twist ( 4 episodes ) as Rose Fleming
- 2005 My Shot With ( 1 episode )
- 1953 The Oscars ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2019 My Grandparents' War ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2024 Black Doves ( 6 episodes ) as Helen Webb
- 2014 Late Night with Seth Meyers ( 2 episodes ) as Self - Guest
- 1989 Screen One ( 1 episode ) as Angela
- 1984 The Bill ( 1 episode ) as Sheena Rose
- 1997 The Wonderful World of Disney ( 1 episode ) as Gwyn
- 2011 Neverland ( 2 episodes ) as Tinker Bell (voice)
- 2005 The Reichen Show ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1981 Entertainment Tonight ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2007 The Graham Norton Show ( 5 episodes ) as Self
- 2009 Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen ( 1 episode ) as Self - Guest
- 2015 The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ( 1 episode ) as Self - Guest
- 1998 Coming Home ( 2 episodes ) as Young Judith
- 2014 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ( 2 episodes ) as Self - Guest
- 2016 Discovering Fashion ( 1 episode ) as Self (archive footage)
- 2014 Variety Studio: Actors on Actors ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1944 Golden Globe Awards ( 1 episode ) as Self - Nominee
- 1992 HBO First Look ( 1 episode ) as self
- 2003 Jimmy Kimmel Live! ( 1 episode ) as Self - Guest
- 2023 The Sound Collector ( 60 episodes ) as Narrator
- 1993 Late Show with David Letterman ( 2 episodes ) as Self - Guest
- 2014 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2026 Behind The Mic: The Making of The Harry Potter Full-Cast Audio Editions ( 2 episodes ) as Herself
