Keira Knightley

Keira Christina Knightley OBE  born 26 March 1985 is an English actress. She is noted for her roles in both independent films and big-budget blockbusters, particularly in period dramas; for this, she is often admired and labeled the “Queen of Period Pieces”. Her accolades include nominations for two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and two British Academy Film Awards.

Knightley began acting as a child on television and made her feature film debut in 1995, before making her breakthrough with the 2002 sports film Bend It Like Beckham, for which she won the London Film Critics’ Circle Award for Best Newcomer. She achieved global stardom at age 18 for her role as Elizabeth Swann in the 2003 fantasy swashbuckler film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, as well as in subsequent films of the franchise.

Knightley received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress for starring as Elizabeth Bennet in Pride & Prejudice (2005). At age 20, It made her the second-youngest nominee in the category at the time. Knightley’s profile continued to grow with leading roles in several other period dramas, earning acclaim for her roles as Cecilia Tallis in Atonement (2007), Georgiana Cavendish in The Duchess (2008), and the titular characters in Anna Karenina (2012) and Colette (2018). She received her second Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of Joan Clarke in the historical film The Imitation Game (2014), as she continued to experiment with comedic and dramatic roles in the musical film Begin Again (2013), the adventure thriller Everest (2015), and the docudrama Official Secrets (2019).

On stage, Knightley appeared in Martin Crimp’s 2009 West End production of The Misanthrope, which earned her a nomination for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. 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 was appointed an OBE in the 2018 Birthday Honours for services to drama and charity.

Early life and background

Keira Christina Knightley was born on 26 March 1985 in the Teddington suburb of London, to theatre actors Will Knightley and Sharman Macdonald. Her father is English and her mother is Scottish. She was meant to be named “Kiera”, the anglicised form of “Kira”, after Kira Ivanova, whom her father admired. However, Macdonald misspelled the name when she went to register her daughter, writing the “e” before the “i”. Knightley has an older brother, Caleb. Macdonald also worked as a playwright after her career as an actress came to an end. She introduced her children to theatre and ballet very early. This furthered Knightley’s interest in acting, and she requested an agent at age three.

Knightley attended Teddington School. At age six, she was diagnosed with dyslexia but by the time she was 11, with her parents’ support, Knightley says, “they deemed me to have got over it sufficiently.” She is still a slow reader and cannot read out loud. Knightley said she was “single-minded about acting”. At age three, she expressed the desire for an agent like her parents and got one at six. This led to her taking a number of small parts in TV dramas. Knightley performed in a number of local amateur productions, which included After Juliet, written by her mother, and United States, written by her drama teacher. She focused on art, history, and English literature while studying at Esher College, but left after a year to pursue an acting career.

Career

1993–2002: Career beginnings and breakthrough

After getting an agent at age six, Knightley began working in commercials and small television roles. Her first on-screen appearance was in the 1993 Screen One television episode titled “Royal Celebration”. She then played Natasha Jordan, a young girl whose mother is involved in an extramarital affair, in the romantic drama A Village Affair (1995). After appearing in a spate of television films through the mid-to-late 1990s, including Innocent Lies (1995), The Treasure Seekers (1996), Coming Home (1998), and Oliver Twist (1999), Knightley landed the role of Sabé, Padmé Amidala’s handmaiden and decoy, in the 1999 science fiction blockbuster Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Her dialogue was dubbed over by Natalie Portman, who played Padmé. Knightley was cast in the role because of her close resemblance to Portman; even the two actors’ mothers had difficulty telling their daughters apart when they were in full makeup.

In her first major role, the 2001 Walt Disney Productions feature film Princess of Thieves, Knightley played the daughter of Robin Hood. To prepare for the film, she trained for several weeks in archery, fencing, and horse riding. Concurrently, she appeared in The Hole, a thriller that received a direct-to-video release in the US. The film’s director Nick Hamm described her as “a young version of Julie Christie”. Knightley also took on the role of Lara Antipova in the 2002 miniseries adaptation of Doctor Zhivago, to positive reviews and high ratings. In the same year, Knightley starred as a pregnant drug addict in Gillies MacKinnon’s drama film Pure. Co-starring Molly Parker and Harry Eden, the film had its world premiere at the 2002 Toronto International Film Festival. In a retrospect review for AboutFilm.com, Carlo Cavagna noted Knightley’s screen presence and wrote that ” doesn’t have half of Parker’s ability she has spunk and grit shines brightly in Pure“.

Despite having appeared in over a dozen film and television roles, Knightley struggled to get a breakthrough. That changed in 2002, when she starred in Gurinder Chadha’s sports comedy film Bend It Like Beckham, which was a smash hit both in the UK and in the US, grossing over $76.6 million. It also surprised film critics who were laudatory of its “charming” and “inspiring” nature, social context and the cast’s performances. Knightley and her co-star Parminder Nagra, who played the central roles of aspiring footballers, attracted international attention for their performances in the film. To prepare for their roles, they underwent three months of extensive football training under the English football coach Simon Clifford. Knightley, who was initially skeptical of the project, went on to win the London Film Critics’ Circle for Best Newcomer and the Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Breakthrough Performance. In an interview with Tracy Smith she said, “I remember telling friends I was doing this girls’ soccer movie And nobody thought that it was gonna be any good.” Film critic James Berardinelli, who was largely laudatory of the film and the “energetic and likable” cast, noted that Knightley and Nagra brought “a lot of spirit to their instantly likable characters”.

2003–2007: Pirates of the Caribbean and worldwide recognition

Following the success of Bend It Like Beckham, Knightley landed the role of Elizabeth Swann, in the 2003 American fantasy swashbuckler film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. The film, which was based on the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at Disney theme parks, saw Knightley, Orlando Bloom, and Johnny Depp play the roles of 18th-century pirates. Despite boasting the names of Hollywood stars like Depp and Bloom and a hefty $135 million budget, Pirates was not the most anticipated release of the year, and was expected to fail at the box office. Knightley herself was not optimistic about its prospects: “I remember being on set just sort of going, ‘OK, what is this? Is this any good?” However, against expectations, the film opened at number one on the box office, and went to become one of the highest-grossing releases of the year, with worldwide revenues of $654 million.

Also in 2003, Knightley appeared in Richard Curtis’ Christmas-themed romantic comedy Love Actually, featuring an ensemble cast, which included her childhood idol Emma Thompson. Knightley’s sole release of 2004 was the historical film King Arthur, where she played Guinevere, a warrior queen and the wife of the titular character. The role required her to learn boxing, archery, and horse-riding. Although the film garnered unfavourable reviews, Knightley’s stature as a performer grew; she was voted by the readers of Hello magazine as the industry’s most promising teen star, and featured in Time magazine’s article, which stated that she seemed dedicated to develop herself as a serious actor rather than a film star.

Knightley appeared in three films in 2005, the first of which was the psychological thriller The Jacket, co-starring Adrien Brody. In a mixed review for Empire, Kim Newman wrote that the role was unlike the ones she had previously taken up : “getting out of period gear and talking American, tries to broaden her range and is arguably well-cast”. Knightley next played the titular character in Tony Scott’s French-American action film Domino, based on the life of Domino Harvey. The film’s release was delayed on multiple occasions, and upon its eventual release in November, it garnered negative reviews and performed poorly at the box-office.

Knightley’s most successful release of the year was Pride & Prejudice, a period drama based on Jane Austen’s novel of the same name. Knightley, who admired the book from a young age, said of her character, “The beauty of Elizabeth is that every woman who ever reads the book seems to recognise herself, with all her faults and imperfections.” Upon release, the film became a huge commercial success, with total collections of around US$120 million worldwide, and garnered positive reviews from critics. Derek Elley of Variety wrote highly of her performance and screen presence: “Looking every bit a star, Knightley, who’s shown more spirit than acting smarts so far in her career really steps up to the plate here”. He regarded her “luminous strength” to be reminiscent of a young Audrey Hepburn. Knightley earned Best Actress nominations at the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards for her performance at age 20, becoming the third-youngest nominee for the latter. BAFTA’s failure to provide her with a nomination drew criticism from the film’s producer Tim Bevan.

Knightley was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, among other artists in 2006. Later that year, she reprised her role as Elizabeth Swann in the second and third productions of the Pirates of the Caribbean series. The two sequels were conceived in 2004, with the writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio developing a story arc that would span both films. Filming for the projects took place in 2005; the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, released in July 2006. With the worldwide collections of $1.066 billion, it became the biggest financial hit in Knightley’s career. The third instalment in the series, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, was released in May, the following year.

Knightley’s continued association with period dramas yielded varying results, as seen with two of her 2007 releases, François Girard’s Silk, and Joe Wright’s Atonement, the feature film adaptations of the novels by Alessandro Baricco and Ian McEwan respectively. While the former project failed at the box office, the latter became a critical and commercial success. Knightley garnered widespread acclaim and such accolades as the BAFTA and a nomination for the Golden Globes for her portrayal of Cecilia Tallis, the elder of the two Tallis sisters. In preparing for the film, where she was seen opposite James McAvoy, she studied the “naturalism” of the performance as seen in the films from 1930s and 1940s, such as In Which We Serve (1942) and Brief Encounter (1945). Critic Richard Roeper, who thought the lead duo were “superb” in their respective roles, was puzzled by their failure to garner Academy Award nominations.

2008–2013: Independent films and London stage

Knightley appeared alongside Sienna Miller, Cillian Murphy, and Matthew Rhys in John Maybury’s 2008 wartime drama The Edge of Love. The film had her play the role of Vera Phillips, a childhood friend of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas and his wife Caitlin Macnamara. Sharman Macdonald, wrote the screenplay with Knightley (her daughter) as Macnamara in her mind. After Knightley was signed to portray Phillips, the character’s role was increased with the film focusing on her romance and marriage with a British soldier. She based her performance on Marlene Dietrich, and was to mime to her prerecorded voice, prior to being told by Maybury to sing live. Knightley initially felt embarrassed while singing live: “I was shaking like a leaf”, but eventually went through with the plan. Upon release, the film became a moderate critical and commercial success. Knightley’s performance and singing abilities were praised by such film critics as Ray Bennett who wrote; “the film belongs to the women, with Knightley going from strength to strength (and showing she can sing!)”.

Knightley then starred as the 18th-century English aristocrat Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire in Saul Dibb’s widely praised period drama The Duchess (2008), based on the best-selling biographical novel, Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman. Although multiple media reports suggested that the use of parallels between the central character’s life to that of Diana, Princess of Wales was being used as a marketing strategy for the project, Knightley denied any such connection. Gabrielle Tana, the film’s producer said the film was repeatedly delayed as they could not find the right actor for the role; she added that with Knightley “it all happened very, very quickly”. Tana also said Knightley added a “brought an instinctive understanding” of such aspects of Georgiana’s life as the celebrity issue and being thrust into the spotlight as she had herself experienced the same. The following year, she was nominated for a British Independent Film Award for Best Actress. A film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s tragedy King Lear set to star Knightley and Anthony Hopkins was cancelled due to recession.

Knightley made her West End debut with Martin Crimp’s version of Molière’s comedy The Misanthrope. Starring Knightley, Damian Lewis, Tara Fitzgerald, and Dominic Rowan, the play was staged at London’s Comedy Theatre in December 2009. Knightley decided to act in a theatre production as she felt that “if I don’t do theatre right now, I think I’m going to start being too terrified to do it”. While she described it as an “extraordinary and incredibly fulfilling” experience, she was sceptical of her performance. Charles Spencer of The Daily Telegraph described her performance as revealing “both power and poignancy” and Paul Taylor of The Independent called it “not only strikingly convincing, but, at times, rather thrilling in its satiric aplomb”. However, The Guardian‘s Michael Billington noted that due to the nature of the role, “one could say that she is not unduly stretched”. In recognition of her theatre debut, Knightley was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and an Evening Standard Award.

Knightley appeared in three films in 2010; she said her work during the period helped her “empathise with people or with situations that I don’t necessarily find it easy to empathise with”. Two of the productions, Massy Tadjedin’s romantic drama Last Night and William Monahan’s crime noir film London Boulevard opened to mixed response from critics and rank among the lowest-grossing films in Knightley’s career. Knightley’s other release, Never Let Me Go, an adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel of the same name fared better at the box office and received positive reviews. Knightley described the script as unique, one that made the reader think. Co-starring Andrew Garfield and Carey Mulligan, the film was shot in Norfolk and Clevedon in Somerset. She appeared in a video installation by artist Stuart Pearson Wright titled Maze.

Knightley starred in a 2011 revival of The Children’s Hour by Lillian Hellman at the Comedy Theatre in London. Knightley’s only film of 2011 was David Cronenberg’s historical drama A Dangerous Method, co-starring Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender, and Vincent Cassel. Based on writer Christopher Hampton’s 2002 stage play The Talking Cure and set on the eve of World War I, the film depicts the turbulent relationships between fledgling psychiatrist Carl Jung, his mentor Sigmund Freud and Sabina Spielrein. Knightley portrayed Spielrein, the troubled but beautiful young psychoanalyst who comes between Jung and Freud. The costume film premiered at the 68th Venice International Film Festival to a positive reception, while Knightley earned generally favourable reviews by critics, with Andrew O’Hehir of Salon.com noting her “the real star of this film”.

Knightley co-starred with Steve Carell in the 2012 comedy drama Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. Later that year, she reunited with director Joe Wright to film their third production together, Anna Karenina, in which she starred as the title character. She deemed her collaboration with Wright as the most important of her career. Knightley garnered positive reviews for her performance, prompting early Oscar buzz. The 2013 Toronto International Film Festival saw the release of Knightley’s first musical film Begin Again with Mark Ruffalo. The film, which was directed by John Carney, had its theatrical release in 2014. Carney later repeatedly criticised Knightley’s performance in the film; saying she was not convincing enough in portraying a singer-songwriter and continuously describing her as a “model” rather than an actor. He later apologised to her on Twitter for his comments. Knightley revealed in July that music doesn’t “sink in” for her, and she is more interested in books and drama. Later that year, she appeared in Karl Lagerfeld’s short period film Once Upon a Time …

2014–present: Film resurgence and Broadway

Speaking to the press in July 2014, she explained that it felt like she had reached the end of the first stage of her career, and that making Begin Again was like “it’s beginning again”. 2014 began for Knightley with the spy thriller Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit alongside Chris Pine. It was based on novelist Tom Clancy’s fictional character Jack Ryan and was the fifth film in the Jack Ryan film series. The film received mixed critical reviews nonetheless strong box-office response. Knightley’s next film Laggies (2014), premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival prior to its US general-release on 24 October. A romantic comedy also starring Chloë Grace Moretz and Sam Rockwell, the film follows the life of Megan (played by Knightley), a 28-year-old underachiever going through a quarter-life crisis. Laggies opened to mostly positive reviews from critics, with Knightley’s performance being chiefly praised by critics. Inkoo Kaang of TheWrap wrote of her “delightfully uncouth” performance: “She’s a loose-limbed revelation as a pretty-but-normal-looking woman who just can’t take things seriously enough to pull her life together.”

It was followed by her appearance in Morten Tyldum’s historical drama The Imitation Game, a film based on the British mathematician Alan Turing (played by Benedict Cumberbatch). Knightley portrayed cryptanalyst and numismatist Joan Clarke, who decrypted German intelligence codes for the British government during World War II with Turing. The Imitation Game became a critical and commercial success grossing over $233.6 million. For her performance, Knightley received her second Academy Award nomination, for Best Supporting Actress. Though Lady Jean Forde, who worked with Clarke and Turing at that time felt Knightley was “too beautiful” to play Clarke and said: “She was nothing like Keira”.

Knightley’s sole release of 2015 was as part of the ensemble cast in the biographical disaster film Everest. The film was based on the 1996 Mount Everest disaster with Knightley portraying mountaineer Rob Hall’s wife. Everest opened to mixed review from critics. In October 2015, Knightley made her Broadway debut playing the title role in Helen Edmundson’s adaptation of Émile Zola’s Thérèse Raquin at Studio 54. Her performance received positive reviews. Alexandra Villarreal of The Huffington Post wrote: “She fumes, and rages, and withdraws, and you can watch her psychological evolution from stifled wife to impassioned mistress to haunted murderer”. In 2016 it emerged Knightley was set to star in a feature biopic about the 18th-century Russian empress Catherine the Great based on the top 2014 Black List script produced by Gil Netter and directed by Barbra Streisand. As of 2020 nothing has come out of these plans. Knightley then starred in the ensemble drama Collateral Beauty (2016), alongside Will Smith, Edward Norton, Kate Winslet, and Helen Mirren. The film was critically panned, and earned the cast a Razzie nomination. Despite previously stating on a number of occasions that she would never return to the Pirates of the Caribbean series, Knightley reprised the role of Elizabeth Swann with a cameo appearance in 2017’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.

In 2018, Colette premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. In an interview with Variety to promote the film, Knightley criticised the way women are portrayed in films set in the modern day, stating: “I don’t really do films set in the modern day because the female characters nearly always get raped. I always find something distasteful in the way women are portrayed, whereas I’ve always found very inspiring characters offered to me in historical pieces”. Knightley was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2018 Birthday Honours for services to drama and charity. The same year, she played the Sugar Plum Fairy in Disney’s adaptation of The Nutcracker, titled The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, directed by Lasse Hallström and Joe Johnston. The film received generally negative reviews.

In 2019, Knightley co-starred in The Aftermath, a film adaption of the novel by Rhidian Brook, alongside Alexander Skarsgård. While promoting it, Knightley said she chose to no longer appear nude in film after having a child. The film and Knightley received mixed reviews. The Boston Globe‘s Ty Burr praised Knightley for adding “conviction, grace, heart, and nerve” to the movie, while the Los Angeles Times‘ Katie Walsh felt Knightley and Skarsgård were too reserved. Knightley played Katharine Gun in Official Secrets, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on 28 January 2019 to positive reviews. The following year, she portrayed feminist activist Sally Alexander in Misbehaviour, a film about the crowning of the first black Miss World contestant at the 1970 Miss World competition. In 2020, Knightley was attached to star in and produce an Apple TV+ adaptation of English author Sarah Perry’s novel The Essex Serpent, but later dropped out due to concerns about access to childcare during the lockdown period of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Upcoming projects