Kathleen Herles (born November 13, 1990[1]) is an American voice actress best known for being the original voice of Dora on Dora the Explorer for the first four seasons.

Kathleen Herles
Herles at GalaxyCon Columbus in 2023
Born (1990-11-13) November 13, 1990 (age 33)
Queens, New York, U.S.
OccupationVoice actress
Years active1997–present
Known forOriginal voice of Dora the Explorer

Career

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Herles was born in the Queens borough of New York City. Her parents are from Lima, Peru. She has studied ballet, tap, jazz, drama, and voice.[2] She takes piano lessons. She was discovered by talent manager Shirley Grant of Shirley Grant Management at a talent and modeling convention when she was 4 years old.[3]

In 2007, Herles retired from providing the voice for Dora in order to attend college. She was replaced by Caitlin Sanchez. However, her voice for the character would still be used in various media for another two years. Herles' final time providing the voice of Dora was in the episode, Diego and Dora Help Baby Monarch Get to the Festival from season 4 of Go, Diego, Go!, which aired on November 25, 2009.[4][5]

She graduated from Pace University in 2012.

Awards and nominations

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In 2007, Herles was nominated for an Imagen Award for Best Television Actress.[6]

She was nominated in 2007[7] and 2008[8] for an NAACP Image Award for NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Series or Special.

Filmography

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Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2000–07;
2019
Dora the Explorer Dora,[9] Squirrel Chorus, Classroom Student, Robot Butterfly, Cinderella 102 episodes
2005–07;
2009
Go, Diego, Go! Dora, Turtles, Flowers, 7 episodes
2016 Dora and Friends: Into the City! Camp Counselor Episode: "Kate and Quackers"
2024 Dora Mami[10]
2024 Pinocchio Pinocchio, Young Geppetto 1 episode

Video games

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Year Title Role Notes
2002 Dora the Explorer 3D Driving Adventure Dora
Dora the Explorer 3D Backpack Adventure
Dora the Explorer: Backpack Adventure Dora[9]
Dora the Explorer: Lost City Adventure
2005 Dora the Explorer: Dance to the Rescue
Dora the Explorer: Journey to the Purple Planet
2006 Dora the Explorer: Dora's World Adventure
2008 Dora the Explorer: Dora Saves the Mermaids Dora, Silly Sea Creatures[9]

References

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  1. ^ Kathleen Herles [@kathleenherles] (November 14, 2022). "I was 31 in this photo, but now I'm 32. #Birthday #November13". Retrieved August 22, 2023 – via Instagram.
  2. ^ Parents from Lima, studied ballet, tap, etc. Archived February 11, 2009, at the Wayback Machine Accessed December 1, 2008,
  3. ^ "Interview with Kathleen Herles, Voice of Dora the Explorer | Voices.com". March 2, 2009.
  4. ^ 2008 graduate of Deer Park High School, appeared in school productions... Archived February 11, 2009, at the Wayback Machine Accessed December 1, 2008,
  5. ^ Deer Park High School 2008 Senior Class Archived June 26, 2008, at the Wayback Machine Accessed June 24, 2008,
  6. ^ "'Ugly Betty' Tops 22nd Annual Imagen Awards - BuddyTV". August 7, 2007.
  7. ^ "Lipstick Alley". Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  8. ^ "39th NAACP Image Awards Show 2008 - Yahoo Voices - voices.yahoo.com". Archived from the original on July 29, 2014. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  9. ^ a b c "Kathleen Herles (visual voices guide)". behindthevoiceactors.com. Retrieved February 28, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  10. ^ "Paramount+ | Dora | About". paramountpressexpress.com. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
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