Keira Knightley attends the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival, April 26, 2014 in New York City.

The actress who has garnered fame and fans from tentpole blockbusters (the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series) and period costume dramas ("Pride & Prejudice," "Atonement," "The Duchess," "Anna Karenina") said to CBS News' Mark Phillips, "I was actually told that in the last five years I made 10 films and I died in seven of them! So, I sort of thought at the end of 'Anna Karenina' that I should maybe do something that had at least a little hope in it."

Which led her to the new romantic comedy "Begin Again," playing a young singer whose collaboration with a producer may lead to more than just record sales.

By CBSNews.com senior producer David Morgan

Left: Keira Knightley in the 1995 British TV movie "A Village Affair," as a young girl whose mother begins an affair with another woman.

Knightley was born in 1985 to Sharman MacDonald, a Scottish actress and playwright, and actor Will Knightley. It didn't take long for the acting bug to bite; at an age when most children ask for toys, Knightley wanted an agent.

But she had trouble in school and was diagnosed with dyslexia when she was six. Dangling the carrot of an agent encouraged Knightley to work harder at her studies. "I had to come to her with a book in my hand and a smile on my face every day through the summer holidays when I was 6. And, at the end, I was allowed an agent," she told CBS News' Tracy Smith in 2007.

Following such TV productions as "Oliver Twist," Knightley appeared in her first big feature film role - as Sabe, in "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace" (left).

Keira Knightley costarred with Thora Birch, Desmond Harrington and Laurence Fox in "The Hole," a horror tale about four students who come across a mysterious underground chamber. Not all come out alive.

Knightley's first brush with international stardom came at age 16, in a low-budget film about the lives of girls on a teenage soccer team.

"I remember telling friends I was doing this girls' soccer movie called 'Bend It Like Beckham,'" Knightley told Tracy Smith. "And everybody laughed. It was sort of quite embarrassing, really. And nobody thought that it was gonna be any good."

Good? "Bend It Like Bechkam:" was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Picture (Comedy or Musical), and grossed more than $75 million worldwide.

Parminder Nagra (left), Keira Knightley (center) and Shazney Lewis arrive at the premiere of "Bend it Like Beckham," April 11, 2002 in London.

Kaira Knightley starred as Lara in the 2002 TV miniseries based on Boris Pasternack's "Doctor Zhivago," co-starring Sam Neill and Hans Matheson.

Knightley said another film job that prompted doubts was "Pirates of the Caribbean" (left, with Johnny Depp).

"I said it was based on a Disney theme park ride. And everyone just went, 'Oh, that sounds good. Yeah. Good luck with that one!'"

Knightley said she was among those who wondered whether the film would work or not: "I remember being on set just sort of going, 'OK, what is this? Is this any good?'"

She also doubted being able to keep her job; she was so convinced that she wasn't going to last that she flew out to the "Pirates" location with only a week's worth of clothes.

Keira Knightley arrives at the world premiere of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" on June 28, 2003 at Disneyland in Anaheim, California.

In the omnibus film "Love Actually" (2003), Keira Knightley stars as a young bride who is the secret infatuation of her husband's best man (Andrew Lincoln).

This is not your grandfather's Guinevere: Keira Knightley as the warrior princess in the 2004 adventure "King Arthur."

Actors Mads Mikkelson and Keira Knightley, director Antoine Fuqua and actor Hugh Dancy attend the world premiere of "King Arthur" at the Ziegfeld Theatre June 28, 2004 in New York City.

Actress Kerira Knightley attends the Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2005 in Park City, Utah.

In "Pride & Prejudice" (2005), Keira Knightley starred as Jane Austen's heroine Elizabeth Bennet, who tries (and fails) to resist the attraction of a certain Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen).

Knightley's performance earned her Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress.

Actress Keira Knightley attends the gala premiere of "Pride & Prejudice" at Roy Thomson Hall during the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2005 in Toronto, Ontario.

Keira Knightley participates in a press conference for the film "Pride & Prejudice" during the Toronto International Film Festival September 11, 2005 in Toronto, Ontario.

Knightley told Tracy Smith that, unlike some actors in Hollywood, she never felt like she needed to change the way she looked, "which is quite amazing, because I've got wonky teeth. And I keep hearing about everybody going to Hollywood and, you know, their agents going, 'Straighten your teeth,' or, 'Whiten your teeth,' but nobody's ever said anything about my teeth. They're not straight, apparently. But nobody's ever said anything, which is quite nice, I suppose."

Actress Keira Knightley arrives for the 78th Academy Awards at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, Calif., March 5, 2006. The burgundy taffeta silk Vera Wang gown she wore was later put up for auction to help drought victims in East Africa.

Keira Knightley played a bounty hunter in the Tony Scott actioner "Domino" (2005).

Keira Knightley arrives at the premiere of "Domino" at the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on October 11, 2005 in Hollywood, California.

Keira Knightley reprised her role as "Elizabeth Swann in two "Pirates of the Caribbean" sequels, filmed back-to-back and released as "Dead Man's Chest" (2006) and "At World's End" (2007).

Geoffrey Rush, Keira Knightley and Johnny Depp in "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End."

In "Atonement," adapted from the novel by Ian McEwan, Keira Knightley (left, wearing what became the film's iconic costume) played a haughty socialite ultimately transformed by love and duty as a nurse during World War II.

She told Tracy Smith that she fell in love with the character the first time she read the script. "I think every role is challenging, but I definitely wanted to do something that was very definitely a woman as opposed to a girl. And the fact that she was difficult and on edge I thought was very appealing."

From left: Actors James McAvoy, Saoirse Ronan and Vanessa Redgrave, director Joe Wright, and actress Keira Knightley arrive for the screening of "Atonement" during the 64th Venice International Film Festival at Venice Lido August 29, 2007.

Keira Knightley and Saoirse Ronan attend the "Atonement" photocall during Day 1 of the 64th annual Venice Film Festival on August 29, 2007 in Venice, Italy.

British acress Keira Knightley arrives September 4, 2007 for the U.S. premiere of "Atonement" in London.

Keira Knightley arrives at the Orange British Academy Film Awards, at the Royal Opera House, February 10, 2008 in London, England.

Keira Knightley is photographed as she walks towards the main stage at the O2 Wireless Festival in Hyde Park, London, June 16, 2007.

Loosely based on the life of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, "The Edge of Love" starred Keira Knightley as a former lover of Thomas' who rekindles their affair many years later.

In "The Duchess" (2008), a tale of adultery and 18^th century feminism amid the landed gentry, Keira Knightley starred as Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire, who endured the affairs of her husband, the Duke (Ralph Fiennes), and his contempt for her inability to produce a male heir.

Keira Knightley shares a joke with the film crew as they rehearse a scene on the film set of "The Duchess," November 15 2007 in Bath, England.

In the drama "Last Night" (2010), Keira Knightley and Sam Worthington (top) play a couple confronting the possibilities of infidelity. Below: Knightley with Guillaume Canet.

In the 2010 film version of Kazuo Ishiguro's dystopian novel, "Never Let Me Go," Keira Knightley, Carey Mulligan and Andrew Garfield play three former students of a unique boarding school who must come to terms with their preordained fates.

Carey Mulligan and Keira Knightley attend the photocall for "Never Let Me Go" at the 54th BFI London Film Festival, October 13, 2010 in London, England.

In David Cronenberg's "A Dangerous Method" (2011), about the fraught, competitive relationship between Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, Keira Knightley starred as Sabina Spielrein, a hysteria patient who becomes the lover of Jung (Michael Fassbender), and, ultimately, a psychoanalyst herself.

Actors Michael Fassbender, Sarah Gadon, director David Cronenberg, Keira Knightley, Vincent Cassel and Viggo Mortensen attend the premiere of "A Dangerous Method" during the 68th Venice Film Festival, September 2, 2011 in Venice, Italy.

"A Dangerous Method" costars Keira Knightley and Viggo Mortensen are pictured at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2011.

Keira Knightley and Steve Carell arrive at the premiere of  the comedy, "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World," at the 2012 Los Angeles Film Festival, June 18, 2012 in Los Angeles, California.

For her third collaboration with director Joe Wright, Keira Knightley starred in his highly-theatrical 2012 film of Leo Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina," with Knightley as the Russian aristocrat who has an ill-fated affair with Count Vronksy (Aaron-Taylor Johnson).

Keria Knightley in "Anna Karenina."

Keira Knightley participates in a Q&A session following a screening of "Anna Karenina," December 6, 2012 in Los Angeles.

Keira Knightley attends the premiere of "Anna Karenina" at the ArcLight Cinemas on November 14, 2012 in Hollywood.

In the Tom Clancy-based thriller "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit" (2014), Keira Knightley played a medical student and girlfriend of a CIA agent who joins in his undercover plot against a Russian tycoon (Kenneth Branagh).

Actors Keira Knightley and Chris Pine arrive at the Hollywood premiere of "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit" at the TCL Chinese Theatre, January 15, 2014 in Hollywood, Calif.

Keira Knightley attends the British premiere of "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit" on January 20, 2014 in London.

Mark Ruffalo and Keira Knightley in "Begin Again," about a washed-up record producer who discovers a new voice in the singer-songwriter played by Knightley.  Together they embark on recording an album.

"Begin Again" is a change of pace for Knightley, who's done many things in the movies, but never had to sing for a living, and for this film, from writer-director John Carney ("Once"), she had to fake playing a guitar.

"I learned how to play the right chords at about the right time," she told correspondent Mark Phillips. "I couldn't sing and play the chords at the right time. But at least it looked like I could actually play the songs, [which is] the thing about acting! Yeah, that's it in a nutshell," she laughed.

Keira Knightley and Sam Rockwell attend the premiere of "Laggies" at the Eccles Center Theatre during the Sundance Film Festival, January 17, 2014 in Park City, Utah.

Knightley plays a woman who, 10 years after graduating high school, has found it difficult to move on in her life - and winds up befriending yet another clique of teenagers.

Singer/actor Adam Levine and actress Keira Knightley attend the "Begin Again" press conference at the Crosby Street Hotel, June 26, 2014 in New York City.

Left: Keira Knightley and her husband, musician James Righton of the Klaxons, sit in the Royal Box on Centre Court before the Ladies' Singles final match at Wimbledon, on July 5, 2014 in London.

Actress Keira Knightley attends the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, January 18, 2014.

    
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By CBSNews.com senior producer David Morgan