The actress we know for her role as Elizabeth Bennet in 'Pride and Prejudice': Who is Keira Knightley?

Her full name is Keira Christina Knightley, she was born on the 26th of March 1985 in Teddington, Middlesex, England. She was born as the second child of her mother, Scottish award-winning playwright and former actress Sharman Mcdonald, and her father, English stage and television actor Will Knigthley. Her father is English and her mother is of Scottish and Welsh descent. She has an older brother named Caleb. Her mother preferred to introduce her children to theater and ballet very early. This also inspired Knightley's interest in acting. Knightley began his education at Teddington School and attended Esher College.

Keira started her career at the age of seven after signing up with an agency at the age of six, and has since appeared in numerous commercials and television roles. Her first television movie role was in 1993's "Royal Celebration." She then played a young girl, Natasha Jordan, in the romantic drama "A Village Affair" (1995).

From the mid to late 1990s; she acted in many television movies such as Innocent Lies (1995), The Treasure Seekers (1996), Coming Home (1998) and Oliver Twist (1999). Later, Knightley starred in the blockbuster science fiction movie "Star Wars: Episode I–The Phantom Menace" (1999).

Knightley played Robin Hood's daughter in her first major role, the Walt Disney Productions television movie "Princess of Thieves" (2001). She took archery, fencing and horse riding training while she was preparing for the role. She also starred in "The Hole," a direct-to-video thriller in the US. Additionally, Knightley played the role of Lara Antipova in the mini-series adaptation of "Doctor Zhivago" (2002). The drama and its performance received positive reviews and high ratings.

Later in the year, Knightley landed a breakthrough role in Gurinder Chadha's sports comedy "Bend It Like Beckham" (2002). Knightley played Jules, a tomboy soccer player who struggles against social norms. The film received rave reviews for its plot, social context, and cast performances. Knightley and co-star Parminder Nagra garnered international attention for their performances, and they took three months of extensive soccer training to prepare for their roles.

Knightley then starred as Elizabeth Swann in the 2003 American fantasy pirate film "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." Despite star names like Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom and a big budget, the movie was expected to be a box office failure. However, the film opened at number one at the box office and grossed hugely worldwide, making it one of the top-grossing films of the year.

Knightley's only appearance in 2004 was in the historical movie "King Arthur," in which she played Guinevere, a warrior queen. For the role, she had to learn boxing, archery and horse riding. Although the film received many negative reviews, Knightley's reputation as an actress grew. Voted as the industry's most promising young star by readers of Hello magazine.

Knightley appeared in three films in 2005. The first of these was the psychological thriller "The Jacket," in which she co-starred with Adrien Brody. Her second film was Tony Scott's French-American action movie "Domino"(2005), based on the life of Domino Harvey. Knightley's third and most successful film of the year was "Pride & Prejudice," a period romantic drama based on Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice. The film was a huge commercial success worldwide when it was released and received positive reviews. The 20 year old Knightley earned "Best Actress in a Leading Role" nomination at the Golden Globe and Academy Awards for her performance. Thus, she became the 3rd youngest player in the world to be eligible for the award.

Knightley reprized the role of Elizabeth Swann in the second and third productions of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise in 2006. In the sequels, it allowed Knightley to learn the swordfight he had been trying to do since the first movie. Filming of the projects took place in 2005, and "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" was released in July 2006. The film became the biggest financial success of Knightley's career. The third installment in the series, "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," was released in May the following year.

Knightley continued her roles in period dramas, with versions of François Girard's "Silk" (2007) and Joe Wright's "Atonement" (2007), respectively. While her first project failed at the box office, the second was a critical and commercial success. Knightley's performance won the Empire Award for Best Actress. She was also nominated for the BAFTA and Golden Globe awards in the lead actor categories. The green dress that Knightley wore in the film's climax scene attracted great media attention and was subsequently considered one of the greatest costumes in film history.

Knightley starred alongside Sienna Miller, Cillian Murphy and Matthew Rhys in John Maybury's romantic war drama film "The Edge of Love" (2008). The film was a standard critical and commercial success upon its release. Knightley's performance and singing abilities were praised. Knightley later starred as Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire in the period drama film "The Duchess" (2008), based on Saul Dibb's bestselling biopic, Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. The following year, she was nominated for the British Independent Film Award for Best Actress.

Knightley started the new decade with three films. Two of the productions were Massy Tadjedin's romantic drama "Last Night" and William Monahan's black crime film "London Boulevard". The films received mixed reviews from critics and were among the lowest-grossing films of Knightley's career. Finally, Knightley's other film, "Never Let Me Go", based on Kazuo Ishiguro's novel of the same name, was more successful at the box office and received positive reviews. Knightley co-starred with Andrew Garfield and Carey Mulligan in the movie.

Knightley's only film in 2011 was David Cronenberg's historical drama "A Dangerous Method," in which she co-starred with Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender and Vincent Cassel. Knightley played Spielrein, the troubled but beautiful young psychoanalyst. To prepare for the role, she spent four months reading her character's behavior and discussing it with psychologists. While the film was well received, Knightley's performance also received generally positive reviews.

Knightley reunited with director Joe Wright to shoot their third production, "Anna Karenina," in which she starred as the lead character. Knightley considered this collaboration the highlight of her career. She received positive reviews for her performance. Then, her first musical, "Begin Again," directed by John Carney and starring Mark Ruffalo, was released in 2014.

Her career was followed by acting in Morten Tyldum's historical drama "The Imitation Game", based on the life of British mathematician Alan Turing and starring Benedict Cumberbatch. The film was a critical and commercial success with huge grosses. Knightley's only appearance in 2015 was as part of the cast in the biographical disaster movie "Everest." The film received generally positive reviews from critics. Knightly landed the role after turning down the project twice because she thought she wouldn't be able to play the role.

Knightley starred in the ensemble drama "Collateral Beauty" (2016) with Will Smith, Edward Norton, Kate Winslet and Helen Mirren. The film was critically acclaimed and earned the cast a Razzie nomination. In 2018, Knightley starred in the biographical drama "Colette" as the famous French writer. To prepare for the role, Knightley read several of Colette's novels, including The Vagabond and Chéri. The film received critical acclaim for Knightley's performance.

In 2019, Knightley co-starred with Alexander Skarsgård in "The Aftermath," based on Rhidian Brook's novel. She then appeared in the movie "Official Secrets"(2019), which received positive reviews. Knightley's first role of the decade was as feminist activist Sally Alexander in "Misbehavior" (2020), about the coronation of the first black contestant in the 1970 Miss World pageant. Following, she starred in the 2021 holiday comedy "Silent Night".

Knightley will star in the drama "Boston Strangler" written and directed by Matt Ruskin.

Private life

Knightley dated Jamie Dornan (2003–2005) and Rupert Friend (2005–2010). In February 2011, she began a relationship with James Righton, frontman of the rock band Klaxons. The couple got married on May 4, 2013 in Mazan, France. The couple has two daughters born in 2015 and 2019. Knightley lives with her family in Canonbury, Islington, London.

She does not have any social media profiles to protect her family's privacy. Knightley suggested in 2006 that she wanted to take a break from acting to travel and focus on her personal life. In 2018, Knightley revealed that she first suffered a mental breakdown and was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder as she struggled to adjust to her sudden rise to stardom.

Additionally, Knightley was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in his 2018 Birthday Honors for his services to drama and charities.