Keira Knightley - Knightley 'Paralysed With Shyness' At Parties

The Pirates of the Caribbean star admits she is hopeless at socialising since she began making movies as a young girl and missed out on spending time with people her own age.

She tells Britain's Elle magazine, "I had an amazing time (starring in films), it was extraordinary, but the difference was between my age and experience. I'd experienced a lot, work-wise, but as far as normal progression... I'd never sat in pubs with friends, I'd never been out clubbing. Any of the things you normally do at uni, I'd bypassed. So on one level I was very grown-up and on another level with the whole social thing, I was really far behind."

Now Knightley dreads attending parties - because she struggles to make conversation and ends up looking like an "ice queen".

She adds, "Going into a room full of people at a party I find one of the most terrifying things in the entire world. I normally last about 10 minutes. I'm a complete failure. I went to one the other day. Standing in the corner, couldn't find anything to say, just ran out. Awful. My friends are like, 'What are you - an idiot? What's the matter with you?' I just can't. I get completely paralysed with shyness, just totally paralysed.

"One of my friends was like, 'You turn into an ice queen. What is it? You just turn into a b***h.' And I don't mean to look like a b***h, but I just don't know what to say. This is the problem with a shy person being famous."