Fátima Ptacek

Fátima Ptacek, born August 20, 2000, is an American film and television actress, model, and human rights activist. She is best known for starring as the lead character in the 2012 Academy Award-winning short film Curfew and its 2014 feature film adaptation Before I Disappear. She is also widely recognized for voicing the lead role of Dora Márquez in the Nickelodeon animated series Dora the Explorer from 2012 to 2019, as well as its spin-off Dora and Friends: Into the City! from 2014 to 2017. Outside of acting, Ptacek has served as a human rights activist working with UN Women's #HeForShe campaign for gender equality.

Ptacek was born and raised in New York City, residing there with her parents. Her mother is of Ecuadorian descent, while her father has Colombian, Czech, Irish, and Norwegian roots. She was enrolled in an academy for intellectually gifted children and was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society in 2013. Fluent in English and Spanish, she has also studied Mandarin Chinese since childhood. In addition to her academic pursuits, Ptacek competed in gymnastics at the United States of America Gymnastics Level 7 and participated in English equestrian riding. In 2018, she began attending Stanford University.

Discovered by Wilhelmina Models and represented by Abrams Artists Agency during her child career, Ptacek became one of the world's highest-paid child models, earning approximately $250,000 annually as of 2010. She appeared in over 70 television commercials, walked the runway at Bryant Park during Fall Fashion Week in New York City, and appeared on the cover of Newsweek as well as other national magazines. She served as the face of Ralph Lauren and modeled for major brands including Guess, The Gap, H&M, Benetton, and high-end designers. In 2009, she headlined a major Macy's holiday campaign as Virginia, appearing alongside various celebrities and helping raise support for Reading is Fundamental.

Ptacek's film career began with a role in the 2009 comedy film The Rebound, followed by appearances on television shows such as Saturday Night Live, Royal Pains, A Gifted Man, Body of Proof, and Sesame Street alongside Michelle Obama. In November 2010, she signed a contract to voice Dora Márquez in Dora the Explorer, making her debut in 2012 after competing against around 200 other auditioning girls. She continued voicing the character in the sequel series Dora and Friends: Into the City!, where she was permitted by producers to adjust dialogue for age accuracy, as well as in several televised specials.

Ptacek achieved significant critical acclaim for her performance in Shawn Christensen's short film Curfew (2012). The project won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film at the 85th Academy Awards, which Ptacek attended. Following this success, she was recruited by ICM Partners and returned to star in the 2014 feature-length adaptation, Before I Disappear. She also took on lead roles in feature films such as Tio Papi, A Little Game, Anything's Possible, and A Miracle in Spanish Harlem.

Throughout her career, Ptacek has earned numerous awards and nominations. For her role in Curfew, she won Best Young Actress at the 2012 Sapporo Short Fest, Best Actress at the 2013 Rincon International Film Festival, and Best Actress at the 2013 Vaughan Film Festival. For her voice work, she won an Imagen Award in 2012 for Best Young Actress - Television and an NAACP Image Award in 2015 for Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's TV Series. Additionally, Ptacek was recognized on the floor of the New York State Assembly for her contributions to the arts. She has served as a Celebrity Ambassador for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, the Latino Commission on AIDS youth ambassador, and a volunteer for organizations including the Make-A-Wish Foundation, SAG Foundation's BookPALS, and Reading Is Fundamental.