Keira Knightley Biography :

Knightley began her acting career at the age of seven, making her television debut in Royal Celebration (1993) and also appearing on the television series, The Bill (1995). She appeared in several more made-for-television films in the mid to late 1990s, before being cast as Sab· Padm·Amidala's decoy, in the 1999 science fiction blockbuster Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace. Knightley was cast in the role due to her close resemblance to Natalie Portman, who played Padm· the two actresses' mothers had difficulty telling their daughters apart when they were heavily made up. Knightley's first starring role followed in 2001, when she played the daughter of Robin Hood in a made-for-television Walt Disney Productions feature, Princess of Thieves. During this time period, Knightley also appeared in The Hole, a thriller that received a direct-to-video release in the United States. She also appeared in a mini-series adaptation of Doctor Zhivago that was first aired in 2002.

Knightley's breakthrough role was in the English football-themed film, Bend It Like Beckham, which was a major success in its August 2002 UK release, and did fairly well at the box office upon its United States release in March 2003, grossing $32 million. After Bend It Like Beckham's UK release raised her profile, she was cast in the big budget action film, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, which was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and opened in July 2003 to positive reviews and a high box office gross, becoming one of the biggest hits of summer 2003 and cementing Knightley as a leading actress. Her Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, was released on July 7, 2006. She completed work on parts of Pirates of the Caribbean 3, to be release in May of 2007. She was also cast in a film entitled The Best Time of Our Lives, about the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, from a screenplay by her mother.

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