Keira Knightley freezes at parties

Keira Knightley gets "paralysed" by shyness at parties.

The 25-year-old actress admits she finds busy social events "terrifying" and finds it very difficult to talk to strangers.

She explained: "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 get completely paralysed with shyness, just totally paralysed."

Even though her friends warn Keira that she comes across as an "ice queen" in such situations, she insists that she can't help her inability to talk to people she doesn't know.

She added to Britain's Elle magazine: "One of my friends was like, 'You turn into an ice queen. What is it? You 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."

The stunning brunette - who is currently starring in London's West End theatre district in 'The Children's Hour' - blames her lack of social skills on the fact she sacrificed her personal life as a teenager to focus on becoming an actress and didn't go to university.

She said: "I'd experienced a lot, work-wise, but as far as normal progression . I'd never sat in a pub with friends, I'd never been out clubbing. Any of the things you normally do at university, 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."