Knightley was born in Teddington, Middlesex England, the daughter of Sharman Macdonald, an award-winning playwright, and Will Knightley, a theatre and television actor. Her father is English and her mother is Scottish and of half Welsh ancestry. She has an elder brother, Caleb, who was born in 1979. Knightley lived most of her life in Richmond, attending Teddington School and Esher College. Knightley has dyslexia, but nevertheless was successful in school and was thus permitted to acquire a talent agent and pursue an acting career. She requested an agent as early as the age of three but got one when she turned six, from her mother as a reward for studying hard. Knightley has noted that she was "single-minded about acting" during her childhood. She performed in a number of local amateur productions including After Juliet (written by her mother) and United States (written by her then drama teacher, Ian McShane, no relation to the Deadwood actor).Knightley, who currently lives in London, was dating her Pride and Prejudice co-star Rupert Friend. There were rumors that they were engaged to be married, but Knightley has stated she has no plans to be married in the near future. She has previously dated Northern Irish fashion model Jamie Dornan, as well as actor Del Synnott, who, according to some reports, attempted suicide after their relationship ended, although Synnott and Knightley deny these claims.
She has denied rumors she is anorexic (she also claimed recently in Vanity Fair magazine her slim physique was due to the Rhubarb diet), although after her appearance at the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest premiere led to media speculation that her extremely slender figure was due to an eating disorder, she noted that her family has a history of anorexia. Keira then sued the Daily Mail after they claimed she lied about having anorexia; the article said that a teenage girl died from anorexia, indicating that Knightley's physical appearance may have influenced her in some way. She was awarded a settlement for it. In July 2006, Knightley said she has become a workaholic, detailing that "the last five years have blended into one. I can't tell you what was last year and what was the year before" and specifying that she is "working too much" and is "quite frightened that if I continue at this rate I will start to hate what I love." As a result, Knightley may take a one year break from acting to travel and focus on her personal life.
Knightley is a lifelong supporter of football team West Ham United F.C., and watches games in her local pub whenever possible. She has said that her favorite book is War and Peace and her favorite film is All About Eve. She is also a big fan of the British soap opera Emmerdale.
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