Fatima Ptacek

Fátima Ptacek is an American film and television actress and model, and a human rights activist working with UN Women's #HeForShe campaign for gender equality. She is best known as the lead actor in the 2012 Academy Award winning film Curfew (2012) and its 2014 full-length feature film version Before I Disappear (2014). She has lent her voice as the lead role of "Dora" in Nickelodeon's animated television series Dora the Explorer (2000) since 2010 and Dora and Friends: Into the City! (2014) since 2014. She is a gymnast, competing at United States of America Gymastics Level 7, and takes part in English equestrian riding; as of 2010, she noted that she was hoping to qualify for the Olympic Games. In 2010, she noted that she was aiming for a scholarship to Harvard or Yale, and was enrolled in an academy for intellectually gifted children; that year, she suggested she may be too old to act by that point. In 2013, she was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society. She has expressed interest in transitioning from acting to a career in law someday. Her childhood dream was to be elected President of the United States; and her remarks led to her being invited to view the New York State Assembly and New York State Senate debate in person. She was acknowledged by Assemblyman Francisco Moya on the floor of the Assembly and recognized for her contributions to the arts. In 2013, Ptacek was recognized for her academic, professional, and philanthropic success by the New York City Council with a Proclamation from then Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Council Member Daniel Dromm. In addition to being fluent in English and Spanish, Ptacek has been studying Mandarin Chinese since childhood. As a child actress, Ptacek appeared in more than 70 television commercials, and on the covers of numerous national magazines. She was also one of the few child models who had the privilege of walking the runway at Bryant Park during the annual Fall Fashion Week in New York City. Discovered by Wilhelmina Models, then represented by New York's Abrams Artists Agency during her child acting and modeling career, the critical acclaim she received for her role in the Oscar-winning film Curfew led to efforts by the "Big Four" talent agencies - Creative Artist Agency (CAA), United Talent Agency (UTA), William Morris Endeavor (WME), and International Creative Management (ICM) - to recruit her, and ultimately, she chose to work with ICM. Ptacek was one of the highest-paid child models in the world, earning approximately $250,000 annually as of 2010, when she had appeared as the "face of" Ralph Lauren, and worked in major campaigns for high end designers like Bonnie Young, Miss Sixty, Monna Lisa, and Siviglia, and fashion houses like Guess, The Gap, H&M, and Benetton. One of her most notable campaigns was for Macy's in 2009, when she revived Natalie Wood's childhood role of "Virginia" in Macy's Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus -themed campaign for the holiday season, which saw Ptacek's appearance in a series of full page advertisements in each of New York's major newspapers, TV commercials with celebrities, such as Queen Latifah, Donald Trump, Martha Stewart, and Carlos Ponce, and public appearances on behalf of Macy's that sought to raise support for the literacy organization, Reading is Fundamental (RIF). She also appeared on the cover of Newsweek. Her parents told her that they were paying for people to photograph her, as opposed to vice versa. Fátima volunteers as a "Celebrity Ambassador" for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, and has done work for the Make-A-Wish Foundation in conjunction with the Macy's Believe Campaign, and the Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital. Given her joy of reading, Ptacek has done work with SAG Foundation's BookPALS (Performing Artists for Literacy in Schools), and Reading Is Fundamental. The Latino Commission on AIDS named Ptacek their 2013 Youth Ambassador at its Cielo Latino benefit gala.