Meet Doc McStuffins
what's up, doc?
Ever wondered who's behind some of your pre-schoolers' best loved TV cartoon characters? We talk to 13-year-old Kiara who stars in a new series on Disney Junior - Doc McStuffins
Kiara Muhammad is just 13 years old yet she's already an old hand at fronting up to the cameras. Known as "Fufu" to family, Kiara's "electric" personality made an impression even before she could talk. By three she was mimicking actors and dancers on TV and before she moved to New York at the age of seven she had done photo shoots for Reebok and Nike. She has since co-starred onCurb You Enthusiasmand appeared onHannah Montana.
She can dance, sing and act, and now she's starring in Doc McStuffins (screening daily on Disney Junior at 9.15am and 3.15pm) as the voice of a six-year-old girl who can talk to her stuffed animals and also mends them if their stitching has come loose, their batteries are low or they have sprung a leak (in the case of blow-up toys).
In her backyard clinic she's joined by Stuffy, an overly proud dragon, Lambie, her cuddly best friend and Hallie, a jolly and caring hippo nurse, among others.
"It's a fun show," says Kiara, "she [Doc McStuffins] helps the toys whenever there's a problem and there's lots of music.
"It teaches you how to have a healthy lifestyle, doing things like washing your hands and exercising.
"When I first read the script I thought, 'This is really different.' It shows you how to do these things in a really kind way and a really fun way. It's cute."
Kiara, who admits to a crush on Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio, says she's a very girlie girl, and has been since very young. She loves shopping, especially for shoes, but she's also serious about her career - and so are her parents.
By the time she was 10 years old she had lived in nine cities and attended eight different schools. Originally from Boston, she and her family moved to Los Angeles for the sake of Kiara's acting career.
At the time OHbaby! spoke to her she was appearing in a Yoplait commercial in the US and was looking forward to her appearance on TV inNCIS, starring as the daughter of Rocky Carroll's character Leon Vance.
In the future she's got her sights set on the world of movies so expect to see her on our screens again in the years to come.
