Happy Birthday, Keira Knightley

Born on March 26, 1985, and raised in London by her playwright mother and actor father, Knightley expressed an early interest in acting. However, before she could embark upon a career in stage and screen, she first had to struggle with dyslexia. Her hard work to surmount this obstacle paid off, and at the age of seven, she began appearing in small productions and made-for-television movies. Read more of the film phenom’s past in the incredibly in-depth biography provided by Tiscali.

Find more pictures, news and biographical facts about the actress at Keira Knightley Wavefront, a Web site run by her devoted fans.

The actress’s breakout performance came with her portrayal of soccer player Jules in the 2002 film “Bend it Like Beckham.” After that role brought her considerable attention, Knightley was invited to join “The Curse of the Black Pearl,” the first installment of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” trilogy. The box-office success of the series skyrocketed the young actress to the Hollywood A list. Knightley followed this success up with appearances in a slew of films, most notably “Pride and Prejudice.” Her star turn as the story’s heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in 2005. Find all of Knightley’s appearances on the big and small screen at IMDb. 

She gained more recent acclamation, including a Golden Globe nomination, with her appearance in the 2007 film “Atonement,” an adaption of Ian McEwan's bestselling book. People.com offers more pictures, articles and award information for Knightley.

As fame and fortune continue to grow for the young star, it seems her ego has not. As Knightley revealed in an interview with Elle magazine, she’s still not too confident about her acting. "I still have nightmares about that film," she said of "Pride and Prejudice." I wake up thinking, Oh shit, I should have played it like that or I should have done this like that. I can't watch it because I'll just be going, "Why did you do that?" Read the full interview at Elle.com.

The latest challenge tackled by Knightley? Recording three songs for the soundtrack for “The Edge of Love,” a Fall 2008 movie about the life of Dylan Thomas, penned by Knightley’s mother and costarring fellow Brit icon Sienna Miller.