Dafne María Keen Fernández (born 4 January 2005) is a British-Spanish actress. She made her debut starring as Ana "Ani" Cruz Oliver on the television series '' The Refugees'' from 2014 to 2015, before her breakthrough starring as Laura in the 2017 superhero film ''

Logan Logan may refer to: Places * Mount Logan (disambiguation) Australia * Logan (Queensland electoral district), an electoral district in the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Logan, Victoria, small locality near St. Arnaud * Logan City, local gov ...

'', in which she received widespread critical acclaim for her acting. She received several awards, including an Empire Award for Best Newcomer, and nominations for a Critics' Choice Award and a

Saturn Award The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...

. In 2019, she began starring as Lyra Belacqua in the television series ''

His Dark Materials ''His Dark Materials'' is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman consisting of '' Northern Lights'' (1995; published as ''The Golden Compass'' in North America), '' The Subtle Knife'' (1997), and '' The Amber Spyglass'' (2000). It follo ...

'', for which she was nominated for a

BAFTA Cymru BAFTA Cymru (or BAFTA in Wales or WAFTA) is the Welsh branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and was founded in 1987.

Early life

Keen was born in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. She is the daughter of British actor

Will Keen Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

, and Spanish actress, theatre director, and writer María Fernández Ache. Her paternal great-grandfather was Edward Curzon, 6th Earl Howe;Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage, 148th edition, Debrett's Peerage Ltd, 2011, p. 799 her aunts are poet Alice Oswald and writer

Laura Beatty Laura Mary Catherine Beatty (née Keen; born 1 May 1963) is a writer awarded the Authors' Club First Novel Award for her 2008 novel '' Pollard'', also shortlisted for the Ondaatje Prize. She has also written two biographies, the first about Lil ...

Career

2014–2016: Acting debut

Keen began acting in 2014, starring alongside her father in the BBC television series '' The Refugees'', where she played Ana "Ani" Cruz Oliver. The show ended in 2015 after one season. Dafne Keen Press Conference Logan Berlinale 2017 02

Dafne Keen Press Conference Logan Berlinale 2017 02

2017–present: Breakthrough

Two years after her screen debut, and after several auditions, Keen was cast by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in ...

in a big-budget Hollywood production; she co-starred with Hugh Jackman in the 2017

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

film ''

'' as the

mutant In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It ...

Laura, the child clone of

Wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a musc ...

. The film opened to critical and financial success, and is considered to be one of the best superhero movies of all time. Keen's performance received critical acclaim, and she received several awards and nominations for her performance, which include winning an Empire Award for Best Newcomer, and receiving nominations from the

Chicago Film Critics Association The Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA) is an association of professional film critics, who work in print, broadcast and online media, based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The organization was founded in 1990 by film critics Sharon LeM ...

, the

Saturn Awards The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...

, and more. In 2019, Keen was cast in the lead role of Lyra Belacqua in the BBC/ HBO

television adaptation An adaptation is a transfer of a work of art from one style, culture or medium to another. Some common examples are: * Film adaptation, a story from another work, adapted into a film (it may be a novel, non-fiction like journalism, autobiography, ...

of the ''

'' trilogy, where she co-stars along with actress Ruth Wilson; her father is also a cast member of the series. The series has a positive reception, and Keen received praise for her performance, with

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...

writing "...this effort nails much of what makes the books pop, and both the special effects and a star-studded cast led by Dafne Keen and Ruth Wilson are in fine form." For the role, she was nominated for a

BAFTA Cymru Award BAFTA Cymru (or BAFTA in Wales or WAFTA) is the Welsh branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and was founded in 1987.

for Best Actress in 2020. In 2020, Keen starred alongside Andy García in the

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film ''Ana''; the film was originally announced in 2017, but was delayed until 2020. The film opened to mixed reviews, although Keen's performance received praise. Film critic Amari commenting on her "charisma and presence" and wrote how Keen and Garcia "enhance each other's presence to the point you can forgive the film’s shortcomings." In November 2022, Keen joined the cast of the

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...

series ''

The Acolyte ''The Acolyte'' was a science fiction fanzine edited by Francis Towner Laney from 1942-1946 (a total of 14 issues), dedicated to articles about fantasy fiction, with particular emphasis on H. P. Lovecraft and his circle. (Laney's essay, "The Cthu ...

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Audio

Music videos

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Keen, Dafne 2005 births Living people Spanish child actresses Spanish film actresses Spanish television actresses 21st-century Spanish actresses English child actresses English film actresses English television actresses 21st-century English actresses Spanish emigrants to the United Kingdom Spanish people of English descent Spanish people of Galician descent English people of Spanish descent