Name: Keira Knightley
Birthdate: March 26, 1985
Birthplace: Teddington, London, UK
Claim to fame: She achieved international fame in 2003 after appearing as Elizabeth Swann in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie.
What we can see her in next: Knightley was recently in Toronto at the TIFF 14 festival to promote two movies she has coming out — Imitation Game and Laggies. Laggies opens in theatres everywhere on September 26 and Imitation Game comes out on November 21.
Interesting fact: She had her cleavage painted on for her role as Elizabeth Swann in Pirates of the Caribbean.
Best quote: “I didn’t know this about myself, but when Pirates of the Caribbean came out I realized that I didn’t enjoy a huge amount of recognition. I didn’t react to it well, but I think life is about finding out who you are and what you like, so I started doing independent movies and art-house films instead.” — on her difficulty handling fame early on in her career.
Why we love her: I remember the first time I ever saw Keira Knightley on screen. It was in the Doctor Zhivago miniseries. I kept thinking to myself, “Who is that girl? Who is that girl?” I’m pretty sure I actually went and Googled the show to figure out that information immediately afterwards. That was my first experience with Keira Knightley, which I’m sure isn’t much different than the next guy’s. Then, not surprisingly, a couple years later her face was everywhere after she starred in the first installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean. Keira Knightley is our crush this week because she’s that pretty face who has turned out to be a pretty good actress as well.
Knightley has been a hot commodity in Hollywood since the early 2000’s — right around the time she starred in the soccer movie Bend it like Beckham (2002), then a year later in 2003 getting her massive break with the first pirates movie. Since then, she has become known for starring in period dramas. She was nominated for an Oscar for her role in Pride and Prejudice (2005), as well as nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her performance in Atonement (2007). Definitely not bad for a girl got her cleavage painted on for her breakout role and has been plagued throughout her career as just a “pretty face” without any real bona fide talent.
While I initially started loving Knightley for her gorgeous face and appeal on screen, she has since shown that she’s a serious talent who makes good movies. Her latest movie, Laggies, is set to premiere on September 26 and sees her as the lead in a comedy, which is a scarcity for her. She also treats us with an American accent in this role, which is often a dangerous path for a British actress to follow! We’ll see how she does with it (apparently she hasn’t used it often in her career for a reason).
Keira Knightley is our crush this week because we still can’t seem to shake Doctor Zhivago and Pirates of the Caribbean from our mind, and that was over a decade ago, now that’s an impressive feat.
Her new movie, Laggies, hits theatres everywhere on September 26.
