Dakota Blue Richards (born 11 April 1994) is an English actress. Her debut was in the film The Golden Compass, as the lead character Lyra Belacqua. She was cast as the lead of two other films, Dustbin Baby and The Secret of Moonacre, the latter of which was released February 2009. She also played the character Franky Fitzgerald in the third generation of the E4 teen drama Skins.

Biography

Richards resides in Brighton. In her free time she enjoys making art, especially in modern and abstract style. She is said to appreciate the photographer Christian Coigny, Tracey Emin's and Damien Hirst's works, Hayao Miyazaki, and Studio Ghibli films. In music, she has often declared herself to be a big fan of Lady Gaga.

She has revealed how she suffered torment at the hands of school bullies after she dyed her hair red for her role in The Golden Compass. In 2008, she attended a two-week camp in the Lake District organised by the Equality and Human Rights Commission which aimed to bring together teenagers from different backgrounds to discuss discrimination.

Since 2010 she supports Action for Children, the first charity in UK to help vulnerable youth break through injustice and deprivation, also supported by many celebrities like Annie Lennox and Yoko Ono. In 2011 she fronted an advertising campaign to promote the new charity project.

Richards also backs The Young Actors Group, an acting school in Brighton opened in 2014 that gives children and teenagers the training to work professionally in stage and screen.

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