Cosmopolitan Exclusive Interview

"A guy in the airport came up to me and said, 'Can I kiss you?' I let him." With three hit movies -- Bend It Like Beckham, Pirates of the Caribbean and Love Actually -- already under her belt and King Arthur out this month, Keira Knightley is the biggest English sensation since, well, Becks Hollywood is teeming with teen celebs these days, but Keira Knightley is hardly your average young starlet. That became apparent the moment the gorgeous 19-year-old walked into a coffee shop (on time) near her Richmond Upon Thames, England, home, wearing baggy jeans and an old, oversize sweater that didn't expose even a sliver of skin, her rich, chocolate-brown hair haphazardly thrown back in a clip. And then there's the new set of fringe framing her fine-boned face, which she explains is a last-ditch effort to cover up the spots (Brit-speak for acne) on her forehead. Keira's "Who cares?" approach to her appearance is a refreshing change from the usual Hollywood divadom. But what really makes her stand out is her ability to pick small projects that morph into huge, critically acclaimed hits. It was just over a year ago that she first scored with American audiences in the little soccer flick that could, Bend It Like Beckham. A few months later, she was back on the big screen opposite Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean, which was one of the highest-grossing movies of last summer. By Christmastime, she was starring with Hugh Grant in the holiday season's most adored comedy, Love Actually. No doubt her impressive résumé has something to do with the fact that acting talent -- and good luck -- is in her blood. The daughter of an actor father and playwright mother, Keira was born out of a bet. Her father made a wager with her mother: Sell a play and we can afford to have another child. (They already had her brother, Caleb, now 25.) Her mother sold a play, and shortly after, Keira was conceived. A precocious child, she begged her parents for an agent, and they got her one when she was six. At age 12, Keira landed a role in Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace as Natalie Portman's handmaiden, and she's been working steadily ever since. This month, she returns to her epic roots in King Arthur, playing Guinevere, a ravishing beauty who's no shrinking violet -- a description you can attribute to Keira herself. Keira is animated and open about everything except whether she has a boyfriend (it's been reported that she's dating Irish model Jamie Dornan), and she's always ready to laugh at her supposed flaws. And that makes her even more perfect in our eyes. Read Full Interview