<Tr> <Th> Occupation </Th> <Td> Actress </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Years active </Th> <Td> 2013--present </Td> </Tr> <P> Daisy Jazz Isobel Ridley (born 10 April 1992) is an English actress . She appeared in minor television roles and short films before being cast in the lead role of Rey in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, beginning with Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) and continuing in Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017). She portrayed Mary Debenham in Murder on the Orient Express, a 2017 film adaptation of Agatha Christie's detective novel . </P> <P> Daisy Ridley was born on 10 April 1992 in Westminster, London, and grew up in Maida Vale . She is the youngest of three daughters born to Louise Fawkner - Corbett, a banker, and Christopher Ridley, a photographer . She has two older sisters, Kika Rose and Poppy Sophia . Her mother's family, the Fawkner - Corbetts, were landed gentry with a military and medical background . Her great - uncle was Dad's Army actor and playwright Arnold Ridley . While growing up, her favourite film was Matilda (1996), an adaptation of Roald Dahl's children's story, with the title character (played by Mara Wilson in the film) a role model to her . Ridley won a scholarship to Tring Park School for the Performing Arts in Hertfordshire, which she attended between the ages of 9 and 18 . She then began reading classical civilisation at Birkbeck, University of London, before dropping out to concentrate on her acting career . Prior to being cast in The Force Awakens, Ridley worked as a bartender in two different pubs in London for nearly two years . In 2016 Ridley began studying for a Bachelor of Arts in social science through online courses with the Open University . </P>

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