Kiera is tall skinny and white. The world will always be an easy place for any woman with those attributes.
White women are the only race of women who get rewarded even if they are mediocre.

"Immensely talented"
I take it you've never seen some of her early roles? She may have become a good actress, but she was as wooden as hell in her early films.

Right after this, she landed pirates of the carribean which made her an overnight sensation in the US.

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All a matter of taste. I like Parminder a lot but IMO Keira is far more stunning.

Exactly! When BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM came out, it seemed like certain critics were more all agog over Keira Knightly and raving about her, and even though she was (and still is) a pretty good damn actress herself, I didn't get why she seemed to be getting more hype than Nagra, who was the actual star of the film, and even more beautiful, too! In fact,it seems like she should have gotten more leads after that, but she never got that push to be the next big thing that KK got, which was a shame. She's still working, though, and to a working actor, that's all that matters.

minority leads in mainstream films are incredibly rare unless funded by sources OUTSIDE Hollywood. that's just the bitter truth, doubly so for women of color. i don't think Parminder had a snowball chance in hell of becoming a major actress. it's not impossible for blacks,
BUT
they have too
look
a certain way.

Honestly, I suspect Parminder didn't become more famous because of her Indian heritage. Can anyone name an actor of South Asian or even West Asian heritage who has actually received a good amount of starring roles in Hollywood? I cannot even name one who has become an A-lister in the western world. Asians in general seem to be severely underrepresented in Hollywood.
Whenever I watch Bend It Like Beckham, I can't help but think Parminder is so much more beautiful than Keira. It shocked me to see that Keira became the more famous one.

There are definitely more roles for Keira. I mean she's mostly done period pieces, and unless Parminder goes to Bollywood, the same selection of leading roles or even supporting roles is not there for her.

But her face is to die for. When she smiles in Love Actually she practically stops my heart.

Please. That stupid skinny bitch has only got good face.

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Yeah, I remember thinking after the first time I watched Bend It Like Beckham, that if there was any justice in the world then Parminder would be an A list film star and Keira would be just another struggling actress. Admittedly Keira has slowly become the kind of actress that Parminder always was, but she did get by on her looks for the early part of her career.