Keira Knightley voted as sexiest woman in UK

Chanel has selected "Pride & Prejudice" star Keira Knightley as the new face of its Coco Mademoiselle fragrance. The 21-year-old actress will appear in Chanel ads beginning in 2007, the company announced Wednesday.

Knightley succeeds Kate Moss, whose contract expired last October. The 32-year-old British supermodel had starred in the Coco Mademoiselle ads since 2002.

Moss lost several high-profile modeling contracts last year after a tabloid published pictures of her allegedly using cocaine in a west London music studio.

"Keira Knightley is a bright, young actress who has already made her mark in a diverse portfolio of films, including her Oscar-nominated performance in `Pride & Prejudice,'" said Chanel artistic director Jacques Helleu in a statement.

He also said Knightley's elegance, beauty and modernity parallel some of the brand's other previous famous faces, including Catherine Deneuve and Nicole Kidman, who represented Chanel No. 5.

"(I am) really proud to have been asked to work with such an iconic house as Chanel, and thrilled to follow the extraordinary women who have been associated with it before," Knightley said in a statement.

Knightley's upcoming films include "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," which is set for release this summer.