From her first appearance in the 2002 movie Bend it Like Beckham, where we saw her playing the role of a tomboy who loved football, so many things have been changed for the British actress Keira Knightley, who is now one of the most acclaimed Hollywood stars.
After watching her in the latest Lynn Sheltos movie Laggies (released on the 24th of October) we now can’t wait to see her starring in the brand new Morten Tyldum movie The Imitation Game alongside Benedict Cumberbatch and Matthew Goode (the movie will be released on the 28th of November).
And that’s not all: she will also star in the ambitious and adventurous Jan Hall’s movie Everest (on the big screen from 18th September 2015).
So, while we wait to watch her on the big screen, Swide delved into the secret life of Keira and found 15 facts you probably still don’t know about her.
At the age of six she already had an agent
At age of three she requested an agent from her parents (they both had one since her father is a stage actor and her mother a playwright.). They persuaded her to wait a few years and she signed with an agent at age of six. “That was the kind of precocious little brat I was,” she told PEOPLE.
Make up artists painted her breasts for the movie The Pirates of the Caribbean
In order to give her a generous bosom for The Pirates of the Caribbean, make-up artists painted her breasts to make them appear bigger. She later commented, “I loved it, completely loved it. Because it was the first time in my life I had big t**s, and I didn’t even need surgery.”
She’s terrible at dancing
Keira Knightley once admitted she’s not a very skilled dancer. For her role in Anna Karenina, she did “intensive 12-hour a day” sessions, but she admitted she’s still “terrible at it.” She much prefers to “more jump up and down and kinda head-bang a bit.”
She was the decoy for Queen Amidala in Star Wars prequels
A very young Keira starred in the new Star Wars trilogy. She played Padmé’s handmaiden and bodyguard, Sabé. It seems that when in make-up, even Keira Knightley’s and Natalie Portman’s mothers couldn’t distinguish them.
She took lots of intensive lessons for the movie King Arthur
In preparation for the movie King Arthur, she took boxing, fighting, archery and horse riding lessons for four days a week for three months.
Pride and Prejudice is one of her favourite books
Pride & Prejudice is one of the books Keira loved since she was seven. And that’s not all: with her first cheque for acting she bought a doll’s house of the hero’s mansion.
She loves football
Do you remember the movie Bend it Like Beckham, where she was a football addict and player? Well, this was actually not so far from reality if you think that Keira is a passionate fan of the English football club West Ham United and The Metro website confirmed she “used to be a season ticket holder in the East Stand.”
She got married…for fun
When her husband, James Righton, asked Keira to marry him, she admitted she accepted because it seemed like a fun thing to do, ”When James proposed I just thought, ‘Well, I’ve never done that before.’ It seemed like a fun thing to do.”
Sienna Miller is Keira’s BFF
Did you know the actress Sienna Miller and Keira were best friends? After filming The Edge of Love in 2008, they became inseparable!
Keira wasn’t so popular in high school
Keira Knightley once admitted she wasn’t so popular at the high school. “I didn’t have any boyfriends at all when I was in school,” she told PEOPLE.
Keira suffered from dyslexia
Keira Knightley had dyslexia but she overcame it with the helps of her parents. “My mom said, ‘If you come to me with a book in your hand and a smile on your face all summer, I’ll get you an agent,'” she told Vogue.
Keira is a really talented singer
Click here to view the embedded video.
Did you know Keira was a really talented singer? Even if she would never admit it, she has music in her soul. She sang in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End but also in The Edge of Love and in Begin Again. Listen to believe it!
Keira is a real feminist
Keira posed topless in a Interview issue, on the only condition that she not be photoshopped, this in order to draw attention on how “women’s bodies are a battleground and photography is partly to blame.” In 2009, she also appeared in the video Cut shot for Women’s Aid in order to raise awareness of domestic abuse.
She starred in Five’s video Don’t Wanna Let You Go
Probably not all of you would remember (and even recognize) her, but in 2000 Keira appeared in Five’s video Don’t Wanna Let you Go. Here are the proofs:
Click here to view the embedded video.
She swore Orlando Bloom is a very good kisser
Talking about her experience in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, she said about her co-star Johnny Depp, “Lovely, lovely, lovely, lovely, lovely. He’s very cool. He’s a gorgeous guy. Eye candy.” And About Orlando Bloom, “I can report that he’s a very good kisser,” she added.