Keira Knightley is an English actress. She has worked in both the British and American film industries, and has starred in such films as Pirates of the Caribbean, Bend It Like Beckham, Love Actually, and Pride & Prejudice. Knightley was born on March 26, 1985, in Teddington, England. She is the daughter of actress Sharman Macdonald and actor Will Knightley. Knightley began her acting career on stage, and made her screen debut in the made-for-television film Innocent Lies (1995).
Her first major film role was in the thriller The Hole (2001), in which she played a student who becomes caught up in a mystery surrounding a missing classmate. Knightley’s breakout role came in the 2003 film Bend It Like Beckham, in which she played a young woman who defies her traditional Sikh parents in order to play soccer. The film was a critical and commercial success, and Knightley’s performance earned her numerous awards and nominations.