Keira Knightley

Keira Christina Knightley (ˌkɪərə_ˈnaɪtli; born 26 March 1985) is an English actress. She began acting as a child on television and made her film debut in 1995. After having worked in supporting roles in various films, Knightley gained recognition with the 2002 comedy drama Bend It Like Beckham. She achieved international fame after landing the role of Elizabeth Swann in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. One of the highest-paid actresses of Hollywood, Knightley has won an Empire Award, and has garnered multiple nominations for the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes. Knightley became known for starring in period dramas such as Pride & Prejudice (2005), for which she earned nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress; Atonement (2007), for which she was nominated again for a Golden Globe; Silk (2007); The Duchess (2008); A Dangerous Method (2011); and Anna Karenina (2012). She has also appeared in a variety of other genres, including the romantic comedy Love Actually (2003), as Guinevere in the historical action King Arthur (2004), the psychological thriller The Jacket (2005), biographical action Domino (2005), the historical romantic drama The Edge of Love (2008), the film noir London Boulevard (2010), the dystopian science fiction Never Let Me Go (2010), the romantic drama Last Night (2010), and the dark comedy Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012). In its 2008 list, Forbes identified Knightley as the second-highest-paid actress in Hollywood, with reported earnings of US$32 million in 2007, making her the only non-American on the list of highest-paid actresses that year. In 2014, she was nominated for a Golden Globe, a SAG, a BAFTA Award, and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the historical drama The Imitation Game. In October 2015, Knightley made her Broadway debut in the title role of Thérèse Raquin.