Hope Lashee Cervantes (born August 19, 1984[2] in Dallas, Texas[3]) is an American actress. Cervantes is of mixed African American and Latin American descent.[4] At a young age, Cervantes was an actress on the children's television series, Barney & Friends, portraying as "Tosha" for the first three seasons of the show. Cervantes later reprised her role in the home video, Sing and Dance with Barney.
Career[]
Barney & Friends[]
Post-Barney[]
Following her time on Barney & Friends, Cervantes attended a mini reunion on the Barney & Friends set in Las Colinas in Irving, Texas with a few cast members from the first three seasons.
Following afterwards, Cervantes wrote and produced a one woman show titled Imagination Island: Surviving Reality, a show detailing how her childhood has affected who she is in the present with a few details recounting her time on Barney & Friends. The title is a nod to her time in the Barney Home Video, Imagination Island.[5] Imagination Island: Surviving Reality was performed at the Minnesota Fringe Festival.[6]
Personal Life[]
Barney[]
While appearing in the documentary I Love You, You Hate Me, Cervantes touched on a bit of her personal life. As a child, Cervantes was abused, but when she started being on Barney & Friends, she was introduced to warmth and love. After her time on Barney & Friends, she admitted that people would tease and make fun of her for acting in a show aimed at preschoolers.
Gallery[]
Barney[]
Behind the Scenes[]
Trivia[]
- Cervantes' favorite color is purple (which is her character's favorite color, as well as the color of Barney) and her favorite snack is a pickle (which is BJ's favorite snack).[7]
- Cervantes' initial opinion of Barney was that he resembled a dog, and didn't know what to make of him at first. She had also never heard of the Barney character or the Barney & The Backyard Gang video series prior to being casted as "Tosha". [8]
- In 1993, Cervantes was said to enjoy tumbling, jumping rope, and collecting both dolls and shells; she expressed a desire to one day become a scientist or a movie star.[9]
- Cervantes admitted that whenever she was filming the show, she sometimes believed that Barney was a real dinosaur, but she soon forgot that was actually a person inside of a costume.[10]
- Cervantes attended Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (from 1999-2002) which is also where Dean DeLuna, Todd Duffey, Victoria Lennox, Justice Moore, Reagan Rees, and Alex Saxon who portrayed, Jesse, Scooter McNutty, Tracy, Holly, Riley, and Meebeedeep respectively on Barney & Friends and on Barney Home Videos, attended.
Children's productions[]
- In 1994, Cervantes appeared in the religious-themed video Kids Telling Kids, which was directed by short-term Barney director Clark Santee.
References[]
- ↑ Hope is Esperanza October 16, 2016 Retrieved August 13, 2022.
- ↑ Hope Cervantes - Bio, Facts, Family | Famous Birthdays
- ↑ Posts Tagged Imagination Island: Surviving Reality
- ↑ rap from Backyard Gang kid Derek - Purple Tales Podcast Episode 15
- ↑ School Girls Cast - Jungle Theater Retrieved August 13, 2022.
- ↑ Hope is Esperanza Retrieved August 13, 2022
- ↑ Barney - Online Retrieved August 13, 2022.
- ↑ Hope Cervantes Interview 1993 Retrieved March 17, 2022.
- ↑ Barney shares spotlight with his young friends Retrieved December 22, 2024.
- ↑ Part 2 of How Barney Got That Way February 5, 1995 Retrieved April 30, 2025