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Knightley was born in Teddington, London, England to Sharman Macdonald, a Scottish actress of part Irish descent, turned award-winning playwright, and Will Knightley, an English theatre and television actor. 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 suffers from dyslexia, but nevertheless this shortcoming never hindered her from being was successful in school which permitted her to acquire a talent agent and pursue an acting career. 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).