Keira Knightley
Knightley in 2011, photo by Featureflash / Shutterstock.com
Birth Name: Keira Christina Knightley
Place of Birth: Richmond Upon Thames, Surrey, England, U.K.
Date of Birth: 26 March, 1985
Ethnicity: English, Scottish, Welsh
Keira Knightley is a British actress. She is known for her films Pirates of the Caribbean, Love Actually, King Arthur (2004), Domino, Pride & Prejudice, Never Let Me Go, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, Anna Karenina (2012), The Imitation Game, and Silent Night (2021), and television’s Doctor Zhivago (2002).
Keira is the daughter of actress and playwright Sharman MacDonald and actor Will Knightley (Kevin William Knightley). Her father is English. Her mother, who was born in Glasgow, Scotland, is of Scottish and Welsh ancestry. Her brother, Caleb Knightley, has also worked in film. Keira is married to musician James Righton, with whom she has two children. She has also been known as Keira Christina Righton.
She was meant to be named Kiera, after Russian figure skater Kira Ivanova. Her mother misspelt the name when registering her birth.
Keira’s paternal grandfather was William Knightley (the son of Frederick William Knightley and Caroline Margaret Pepper). Keira’s grandfather William was born in West Ham, Essex, England. Frederick was the son of Charles Knightley and Sarah Ann Astle. Caroline was the daughter of John Pepper and Bridget.
Keira’s paternal grandmother was named Violet Grace Jones.
Keira’s maternal grandfather was Joseph Henry Hosgood MacDonald (the son of William Hearson H. MacDonald and Mary McDonald). Joseph was born in England, and had Scottish ancestry.
Keira’s maternal grandmother was named Janet Rewat Williams. Janet had Welsh ancestry.
Sources: Genealogies of Keira Knightley – http://www.geni.com
http://gw.geneanet.org
Marriage record of Keira’s paternal grandparents, William Knightley and Violet Grace Jones – https://www.familysearch.org
Death record of Keira’s paternal grandmother, Violet Grace (Jones) Knightley – https://www.familysearch.org
Article about Keira’s mother’s family – http://www.dailymail.co.uk
She’s not VERY dark, and her skin is pale.
She doesn’t look “exotic” at all
So you have to be ‘dark’ to be considered exotic???!!! Exotic is anything that is opposite to the way you look. For example if you were Japanese living in Tokyo & you saw a blonde haired, blue eyed person, wouldn’t they be considered exotic as they would be in a minority in their looks if they were in Japan.
It does my head in how people always say to be considered exotic you have to be dark skinned, dark haired, etc. Anybody can be considered exotic if there in a part of the world where there looks are rare.
> i think keira knightley has also med roots
Well, according to several anthropologists there is a Mediterranean influence in the British Isles, so that is not a big deal.
She is a Gaelic beauty.
She has stated that she has Irish descent. She is also Scottish Gaelic (from the MacDonald clan), so technically that really counts as ”Irish descent” far enough back too because Scottish Gaelic people were Irish settlers.
She looks Gaelic. Should put on some more meat though.
When has she ever stated she has Irish descent? I know she has Irish cousins, but she has never said she has Irish descent?
Just because she has Irish cousins does not make her biologically Irish
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/sharman_macdonald/biography.php
http://www.pxdrive.com/album/KEIRAKNIGHTLEY_pictures_giigpic/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0531930/bio
http://celebies.com/page/keira-knightley-biography
Keira’s mother Sharman Macdonald is actually of Scottish and Irish ancestry. This would explain why Keira has Irish cousins.
Just because she has Irish cousins dose not make her biologically Irish
Keira’s mother is half Irish not half Welsh.
Actually I could be wrong as there are many sites saying that Sharman Macdonald is half Welsh so it is confusing. I’ll try to research more.
One of her Irish cousins is Sound Engineer Andy Knightley so that would be on her father’s side.
her mother is half Scottish half Welsh her dad is one quarter English one quarter Scottish and half Irish she defiantly has Irish ancestry but it hasn’t been proven yet.