Keira Knightley in 'King Arthur'. Photo Credit: Splash News

British beauty Keira Knightly has beaten loads of top actresses to be named the greatest ever movie starlet.

Keira was chosen ahead of Scarlett Johansson and movie legend Judy Garland in the survey of film fans.

The 21-year-old Pirates of the Caribbean actress already has one Oscar nomination under her belt for her performance as Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice.

The survey by Yahoo! Entertainment asked 1,600 movie fans to name their favorite starlets.

"A starlet is an actress who people instantly think of as being young, vivacious, stylish, popular and - most of all - talented. Scarlett may be the talk of Tinseltown but it's Keira's class that leads the pack," the Sun quoted a poll spokeswoman as saying.

Garland, whose films include The Wizard of Oz, Meet Me In St Louis and A Star Is Born, came in second, while Scarlett Johansson who is starring in The Black Dahlia was third. And Shirley Temple, child star of the 1930s, was fifth.

Natalie Portman and Lindsay Lohan also appeared in the list, along with Brooke Shields and Mia Farrow.

Top Movie Starlets

Keira Knightley
Judy Garland
Scarlett Johansson
Natalie Portman
Shirley Temple
Lindsay Lohan
Brooke Shields
Mia Farrow