Dakota Blue

 Dakota Blue Richards (born 11 April 1994) is an English actress from England. at the age of 13, she made her debut on film in The Golden Compass as Lyra Belacqua, the main character. The role of April as a teenager who stumbles in Dustbin Baby, and Maria in The Secret of Moonacre in 2009 were also her leading roles. She played Franky Fitzgerald, a third-generation actor in the British teenager drama Skins in the year 2011. She has appeared in roles on film, television and on stage. Richards was born at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, Fulham Road, London. She was raised in Sussex by her family, who later moved to Newlands School. After attending St Paul's Primary School, she was a student at Blatchington Mill School, Hove, and KBis Theatre School, Brighton. She later stated that she wanted to play Lyra. The audition process had over ten thousand people applying, and Philip Pullman (author of the books) told the press, "As soon as I was able to see Dakota's test on screen, I realized that my search was over." Chris Weitz, the director who directed the film, said Richards "made what could have been an extremely difficult choice seem like a breeze.