Kathleen Herles

Kathleen Herles (born November 13, 1990) is an American voice actress known for being the original voice of Dora on Dora the Explorer for the first four seasons from 2000–2007 and Go, Diego, Go!. She was born in the Queens borough of New York City and her parents are from Lima, Peru. Herles has studied ballet, tap, jazz, drama, and voice, and 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. Herles graduated from Pace University in 2012. In 2007, she retired from providing the voice for Dora the Explorer and was replaced by Caitlin Sanchez. Herles' final time providing the voice of Dora the Explorer, along with the original cast of Go, Diego, Go! was in the feature-length TV special, Diego's Great Polar Bear Rescue, which aired on September 18, 2009. In 2007, she was nominated for an Imagen Award for Best Television Actress.