Dakota Blue

 Dakota Blue Richards (born 11 April 1994) is an English actress. Her first film role at 13 years old was in The Golden Compass, as the main character Lyra Belacqua. Other lead roles include the reckless teenager April in Dustbin Baby and Maria in the 2009 film The Secret of Moonacre. She was Franky Fitzgerald, a third generation cast member of the British teenage drama Skins in 2011. She has also played parts in film, TV as well as on stage.Richards was born in the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in the Fulham Road, London. The family relocated to Sussex where she went to Newlands School. She attended St Paul's Primary School in Brighton and later Blatchington Mill School in Hove and KBis Theatre School in Brighton.After seeing the stage adaptation of His Dark Materials at the National Theatre, she says she "just wanted to play Lyra". Ten thousand people applied for the auditions. Philip Pullman, the author of the book, said that "As shortly as I saw Dakota's screen test, I knew that I had found my answer." Chris Weitz, director, said Richards took what could be a difficult choice easy.