Fatima Ptacek, Voice of Dora the Explorer and Queens Native, Wins a 2015 NAACP Image Award

Fátima Ptacek, the 14-year-old Queens native who voices the iconic Latina heroine Dora the Explorer, is the winner of the 2015 NAACP Image Award in the category of Outstanding Performance by a Youth in a Youth/Children’s Program.

Fatima Ptacek 

Fátima Ptacek, the 14-year-old voice behind the iconic Latina heroine Dora the Explorer, is the winner of this year’s NAACP Image Award in the category of Outstanding Performance by a Youth in a Youth/Children’s Program. It was announced Friday, Feb. 6 that Ptacek won the award for her role on Nickelodeon’s hit pre-school series, Dora and Friends: Into the City!

In addition to her work on Dora and Friends and Dora the Explorer, Ptacek is known for her starring role in the Academy Award-winning short film, Curfew. The New York City native is also an accomplished fashion model, an ambassador for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and youth ambassador for the Latino Commission on AIDS.

Dora and Friends is an animated pre-school series featuring Dora living in a city, going to school, and at the center of a group of close friends that works together to give back to their community. Set to a contemporary soundtrack of Latin-influenced pop music, the series features an interactive curriculum focusing on community service, problem solving, emotional skills, Spanish language, and Latino culture.

A brand new episode of Dora and Friends airs Friday, Feb. 13, at 12:30pm on Nickelodeon.