Spotlight on Keira Knightley

British beauty Keira Knightley takes the lead as Georgiana in The Duchess.

Name: Keira Christina Knightley
Hometown : Teddington, Middlesex
Age: 22
Film debut: Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace where she played Sabe, Decoy Queen to Natalie Portman's Queen Amidala.
Memorable film moments: Either tearing around the football pitch in Bend It Like Beckham or flashing her bits in The Hole.
Quote: "The most exercise I do is turning on the television."

 

Ten things you didn't know about Keira:

1.  During the making of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) Keira and Natalie Portman's mothers had difficultly telling their daughters apart as they looked so alike once in makeup.

2. Keira supports West Ham United.

3. Keira's mother is actress-turned-author Sharman Macdonald, who wrote 'When I Was A Girl I Used To Scream And Shout' and 'The Winter Guest'.

4. Tatler announced that Keira was the most desirable single woman of 2004 in the UK.

5. Keira has dyslexia and had to wear special glasses when at school to help her read.

6. Glamour magazine's chose Keira as the "Most Glamorous Film Actress" in 2004.

7. She did her first topless scene at the age of 15, in The Hole (2001), whilst the film was released in 2001 it was filmed in 2000. For legal reasons due to her age her mother had to agree and the set was closed.

8. At age 20, she was the third-youngest woman in Oscar history to be nominated for Best Actress.

9. Her 21st birthday party cost more than $30,000. Actors, designers, and other industry types attended.

10. Her first name means 'dark'.

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