Kate McCafferty

Kate McCafferty was an Irish dancer and voice-over actress who became known to American audiences in 2015 after she voiced the role of Oona on the animated series "Puffin Rock" (Netflix, 2015- ). Born and raised in the Northern Ireland city of Derry, McCafferty took a rather unlikely path to acting. A gifted young dancer, McCafferty became obsessed with the dance moves of Michael Jackson at a very young age. She may have been born in 2004, 22 years after Jackson released his iconic Thriller album, but the young Irish girl was enthralled with the American pop star's moves. She started listening to Jackson's songs for hours, while also practicing his dance moves for her family. It wasn't long before her mother realized that little Kate had a knack for performing. By 2012 McCafferty was dancing to Jackson's songs in front of audiences in Ireland. One such video became a viral hit in 2012, which soon led to McCafferty being profiled by the BBC. The Irish actor Chris O'Dowd, of "Bridesmaids" (2011) fame, became award of McCafferty through her viral web videos and thought she would be perfect to voice the lead role of Oona, a girl puffling, in a new animated series he was developing for Irish TV. After meeting with McCafferty O'Dowd's instincts proved right and he cast her as the lead on the series. "Puffin Rock" debuted on Ireland's RTEjr in January of 2015, and was soon picked up for distribution by Netflix to be shown in the United States. The show was an instant success with young viewers. In addition to voicing the role of Oona, McCafferty also sang the show's theme.