On this date in 1985, Keira Christina Knightley was born in London to a playwright mother and actor father. She had an agent by age 6 and in 1993 had a brief role in an episode of the British TV series “Screen One.” Subsequent TV film roles included Natasha Jordan in “A Village Affair” (1995), a princess in “The Treasure Seekers” (1996), young Judith in “Coming Home” (1998) and Rose in “Oliver Twist” (1999). Knightley earned international recognition for her role as Sabé, the decoy to Natalie Portman’s Queen Amidala, in “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace” (1999).
She played Robin Hood’s daughter, a starring role, in Disney’s 2001 production of “Princess of Thieves.” In 2002 she acted in a remake of “Doctor Zhivago,” “Pure” and “Bend It Like Beckham.” She starred with Johnny Depp in “Pirates of the Caribbean” (2003), with Emma Thompson, Colin Firth, Liam Neeson and Hugh Grant in “Love Actually” (2003) and with Adrien Brody in “The Jacket” (2005).
Also in 2005, Knightley played Elizabeth Bennet in “Pride and Prejudice,” a role which earned her Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations. She had roles in two 2006 “Pirates of the Caribbean” sequels and was nominated for a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award for 2007’s “Atonement.” She appeared in “The Edge of Love” (2008) and “The Duchess” (2008).
Roles followed in “Last Night”and “Never Let Me Go” (both in 2010), “A Dangerous Method” (2011), “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World” (with Steve Carell in 2012), “Anna Karenina” (2012), “Begin Again” (2013), “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit” and “The Imitation Game” (2014) and “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” (2017). She was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance on the London stage in “The Misanthrope,” her theatrical debut.
In addition to her acting life, Knightley has used her celebrity to raise funds and awareness for Amnesty International, WaterAid, the American Library Association, Comic Relief, Women’s Aid and The Spinal Muscular Atrophy Trust. She married musician James Righton in 2013. Their daughter, Edie, was born in 2015.
