'Natural flaws' inspired Chanel to make Knightley its new face

She is an Oscar-nominated actress who conquered Hollywood as a teenager and is often counted among the most glamourous women in the world. Yet it was Keira Knightley's "natural flaws" that inspired Chanel to pick the British actress to become the next face of its Coco Mademoiselle perfume.

Jacques Helleu, the artistic director of the fashion house, said it was only after seeing Knightley in the latest film adaptation of Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice, in which she apparently wore no make-up and had her hair pinned back in a bun, that he noticed her unadorned beauty. "Her natural flaws were visible ... Keira wore no make-up. She wore lengths of fabric as dresses. She had almost no hairstyle, just a little bun behind her head. She was a Cinderella in the making!

"For me, Keira embodied perfection itself. She was remarkable without any kind of decoration. And I thought that if this is how she was bare, then I could imagine how wonderful she would be embellished," he said.

The image of a sultry Knightley, who is shown naked but for a strategically placed bowler hat and bottle of perfume, will replace that of Kate Moss, who has been the face of Coco Mademoiselle perfume for the past five years. Mr Helleu added that the concept for the new advertising campaign, which will be launched in September, followed the successful profile that Kate Moss - who is more than a decade older than Knightley - gave to the perfume.

This is not Knightley's first foray into modelling. She was the celebrity face of the luxury goods brand Asprey, as well as Lux haircare products in Japanese television commercials. Last year, she was confirmed as the new face of Coco Mademoiselle and featured on the front cover of Vanity Fair magazine in the nude and alongside Scarlett Johansson and Tom Ford.

For Knightley, 22, this latest modelling role can be seen to reflect her evolution into a Hollywood icon. The highly prized contract with Chanel also helped to cement the status of the actresses who were selected before her, including Nicole Kidman and Catherine Deneuve.

Since she appeared in her debut film role in Bend It Like Beckham at the age of 17, Knightley's waif-like figure has attracted both adulation and criticism, particularly during the recent "size-zero" debate in the fashion industry, including much speculation of increased weight loss, which she vehemently denied.

Knightley, who was born in Middlesex, is thought to have signed a one-year contract worth more than £500,000 to be the face of the scent.

Catherine Deneuve

1968

The original face of Chanel No 5, Deneuve caused sales of the world's most famous fragrance to soar. Having made her name in Luis Bunuel's Belle de Jour (1967), Deneuve was, in fact, more readily associated with Yves Saint Laurent. That didn't stop rival brand Chanel from recognising a good thing when it saw it, clearly.

Carole Bouquet

1978

A former Bond girl, Bouquet also caught the eye of Luis Bunuel, who cast her in That Obscure Object Of Desire. Later, the actress proved she had a sense of humour when she sent up her looks, alongside craggy partner Gerard Depardieu in Bertrand Blier's Trop Belle Pour Toi. Bouquet's career thrived throughout the next two decades.

Inès de la Fressange

1984

The embodiment of Parisian chic, de la Fressange (that's Marie Lætitia Églantine Isabelle de Seignard de la Fressange, thank you) was the first face of Coco, launched in 1984. She evoked aristocratic refinement and is suitably intimidating, which makes it unsurprising that today she is a fashion designer in her own right.

Vanessa Paradis

1991

Paradis, who made her name as a 14-year-old warbling Joe Le Taxi, starred swinging on a perch and being ogled by a large, white Persian cat. Inspired by an ornamental bird cage once owned by Mademoiselle herself, it's safe to say that the less than emancipated symbolism may well have caused the late designer to spin in her grave.

Kate Moss

2003

Aimed at a younger market, Coco Mademoiselle caused the powers that be to turn to a non-French model for the first time. Kate Moss in various states of undress - in a very little black dress, say, or wearing nothing but a string of pearls around her neck - was certainly a more risqué choice of muse which was, presumably, precisely the point.

Nicole Kidman

2004

Kidman is rumoured to have been paid between £2m and £6m to become the face of No 5 with an eye-wateringly expensive TV commercial courtesy of the Moulin Rouge director Baz Luhrmann to match. Kidman played a film star plagued by paparazzi.

SUSANNAH FRANKEL, FASHION EDITOR