It's easy to forget how young Keira Knightley really is. Still only 22, the London-born actress has already made more than 30 films for cinema and television. Given that she began acting at the age of seven, this may not seem all that impressive - until you realise that most of her credits have come in the past five years, at an average of three films every year.
Knightley's career began early. The daughter of actor Will Knightley and writer Sharman MacDonald, she's supposed to have asked for an agent at three (she had to wait until she was six before her wish was granted). Although her first part came in Royal Celebration (1993), her first notable role was in an adaptation of Joanna Trollope's A Village Affair when she was nine. Having balanced acting and education throughout her teens (she got good grades, despite being dyslexic), she left school for good when she was offered the role of Larissa in a remake of Dr Zhivago for British television.
Her movies are a diverse bunch, featuring blockbusters (Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, King Arthur), low-budget indie flicks (Bend it Like Beckham, The Hole), romantic comedies (Love Actually), mystery thrillers (The Jacket), costume dramas (Dr Zhivago), Shakespeare (an adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream called The Seasons After) and that rarest of genres, the lesbian-model-turned-bounty-hunter tale (Domino).
Knightley's portrayal of Elizabeth Bennett in Pride & Prejudice earned her an Oscar nomination, and her portrayal of another Elizabeth in the two Pirates of the Caribbean films helped smash box-office records.
At World's End, the third instalment in the Pirates franchise, is only the start of what looks likely to be her most successful year, artistically and commercially. Towards the end of it, she'll star in adaptations of Ian McEwan's Atonement and Alessandro Baricco's Silk.
All this has helped make Knightley a bona fide A-list star. Yet although life in the public spotlight has toughened her prematurely (she speaks passionately on the subject of media intrusion), she has retained remarkable enthusiasm for her life and career.