In the period dramas her name has become synonymous with, Keira Knightley's costumes seldom give much away about what lies beneath. So it was probably quite liberating for the Oscar-nominated actress to strip to the bare essentials for a recent photoshoot.
22-year-old Keira Knightley poses in stilletos and little else Miss Knightley, who at 22 is the country's most successful young actress, posed for this thrilling shoot with just knickers, black stilettos and the flimsiest of tops to cover her modesty. One image, where she arches her back seductively, half-balancing on a chair, appears to have been arranged just to accentuate her curves.
Keira says she doesn't believe in role models Keira's slender frame has in the past attracted comment. Yet in this picture her clothes have been styled to give her a much more voluptuous appeal, by accentuating her muscular legs and giving her a billowing bust. In another of the shots, taken by celebrated photographer Sam Taylor-Wood, Keira's top half is naked apart from a pair of black braces and long black gloves. In both images, Miss Knightley of course mouths that ever-present pout.
Speaking to America's Interview magazine, which carries the pictures, Keira, who has frequently spoken of her exasperation at the media's obsession with her weight, again talks about her body image. Asked whether she felt responsible for girls becoming anorexic, she answered: "No because I have no control over it. You could say 'You're responsible for girls being anorexic because you are thin', but I can't be anything I'm not. "I don't believe in role models. I don't believe that any person can be put up there as being better than any other person. "Personally, I think I have the right to make as many mistakes as I like without having to feel guilty about a young girl going 'Wow, you're making that mistake, so should I'. People are cleverer than that." She clearly is not happy taking on the responsibility of her position - though she is yet to complain about the size of the paycheques rolling in.
Bang on: Keira tried a new hairstyle at the premiere of Atonement in Los Angeles last night