Keira's a future legend

Teenage British star Keira Knightley has topped a list of young actresses tipped to become Hollywood legends.

The star of Bend It Like Beckham and Pirates Of The Caribbean is ranked with other British stars including Londoners Kate Beckinsale, Sophia Myles and Rachel Weisz.

Knightley, 19, who also appeared in Love Actually, finished ahead of major new Hollywood faces including Scarlett Johansson, Naomi Watts and Charlize Theron.

Theron, 28, earns praise for her Oscar-winning performance in Monster from the authors of the top 20 up-and-coming actresses league. They say it puts her in the running for other meaty roles, but she has not yet emerged as a box office favourite to rival established names such as Julia Roberts.

Knightley, who still lives at her family home in Teddington, tops the list in the latest issue of Film Review because she has that elusive appeal that makes stars popular with audiences of all ages and both sexes. The magazine concluded that her youth means she has a potentially lengthy and lucrative Hollywood career ahead, with a sequel to Pirates Of The Caribbean already announced. In fifth place, Naomi Watts, 35, is the second-highest British-born actress, although she grew up in Australia. She struggled for years in Hollywood but has broken through with an Oscar nomination for the gritty 21 Grams.

Pearl Harbor star Kate Beckinsale, 30, makes the top 10 thanks to a string of action roles including Van Helsing and Underworld.

Beckinsale split from her partner, actor Michael Sheen, last year. They appeared together in Underworld, but shortly after announcing their split she began a romance with the film's American director Len Wiseman, whom she is to marry next month.

One place below at No 8 is Sophia Myles, 24. She is tipped for stardom thanks to her role as Lady Penelope in the forthcoming big-screen version of Thunderbirds.

Rachel Weisz, 33, also makes the top 10 with a number of roles. Her role in heist drama Confidence "showed she can do better than a mere screaming side-kick for the boys", says Film Review.