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Date of Birth: January 20th 2009
25th March 1985, Keira Christina Knightley was born in Teddington, Middlesex to Sharman MacDonald, a Scottish actress turned award-winning playwright, and Will Knightley, an English theatre and television actor.
Keira lived most of her life in Richmond upon Thames, attending Park Road Secondary School and Esher College.
Keira was cast as Sabé, Padmé Amidala's decoy, in the 1999 science fiction blockbuster Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace. Keira was cast due to her close resemblance to Natalie Portman, who played Padmé.
After Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl became of the biggest hits of the 2003 summer it cemented Keira as a leading actress.
Despite her good looks, Keira Knightley says she wasn't exactly Miss Popularity in high school. "I didn't have any boyfriends at all when I was in school".
Though Keira Knightley had dyslexia, she overcame it with encouragement from her parents. "My mum said, 'If you come to me with a book in your hand and a smile on your face all summer, I'll get you an agent'".
Keira Knightley has a sentimental streak. She keeps souvenirs from her movies, including Lara's coats from Doctor Zhivago and Elizabeth Bennett's striped socks from Pride & Prejudice.
At age 20, she was the third-youngest woman in Oscar history to be nominated for Best Actress.
Said auditioning for the role of Christine in The Phantom of the Opera (2004) was the singularly most embarrassing moment of her life because "I knew I couldn't sing it." The role eventually went to trained opera singer Emmy Rossum.
Keira was paid $5million for her role in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007).