Keira beats Americans in beauty poll

When it comes to looks, you can no longer rely on an American beauty, it seems. Half the world's most stunning female celebrities are British, according to a new survey.

Top of the list is 'girl next door' Keira Knightley, the 19-year-old star of Pirates Of The Caribbean and King Arthur. The Teddington-born actress fended off the likes of US pin-ups Halle Berry and Cameron Diaz.

British men fared well too, with Robbie Williams and Lord Of The Rings heart-throb Orlando Bloom classed alongside Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp.

Thousands of women aged 25 to 35 voted in New Woman magazine's 50 Most Beautiful Celebs, naming the stars they would most like to be and the men they would most like to date.

'Keira looks equally stunning in jeans and T-shirt as she does glammed up for a premiere,' said New Woman editor Claire Baylis.

'She is the ultimate contemporary beauty - natural and fresh. That she has become so successful so fast sends her role model status off the scale.'