Uniqua

**Uniqua** is a unique creature known as a Uniqua, and is the main protagonist of the series. She loves to have fun, tell jokes, and enjoys laughing with her friends. Uniqua is full of energy, eager to take the lead on her adventures, but she is sweet and will notice if you are happy or sad and will possibly say something about it because she cares about you.

Graceful, agile and light on her feet, Uniqua is not afraid of anything and can be quite the daredevil. She loves to run and climb and can ride her bike faster than anyone. Uniqua is her name and also her species - with her pink skin, dark pink spots, and dainty antennae, she doesn't look like any other creature on the planet.

She also happens to be very enthusiastic, and she loves to go on adventures or do dangerous things! Her best friend is Tasha, and they frequently play together. She was the first character to meet Sherman the Worman. Uniqua is smart, friendly, and owns many of the characteristics that come with the "daring" trait.

Uniqua is voiced by LaShawn Tináh Jefferies. Her singing voice, however, is provided by Jamia Simone Nash in seasons one through three and Avion Baker in the fourth season. For authorized public live productions after 2009, Jamia Nash (the singing voice for seasons one-three) potrayed Uniqua's voice, both speaking and singing.

## Personality

Uniqua is highly energetic and the sporty type. She is often the character to come up with new ideas for adventures, and if she's not, Uniqua will become a large part of the journey. Uniqua is best friends with Tasha, though she easily gets along with Pablo, Tyrone, and Austin as well. Compared to Tasha, she is the more tomboy-ish of the two, generally being seen with a more adventurous personality than Tasha, who tends to play more feminine roles. On rare occasions, Uniqua and Tasha may get into disagreements over small things, usually due to different opinions. But no matter what, Uniqua will usually find a way to end the quarrel and have a good laugh with her friend.

At her very core, Uniqua knows what it means to be a true friend and she has a heart full of compassion. If she noticed you had a problem, she's the one who would confront you with the honest truth and give you sound advice on what to do, even if you didn't ask for it. She has a strong sense of loyalty to her friends and she loves to help others. Uniqua is very optimistic, and she's determined to overcome any obstacle she faces on her adventures.

Uniqua is very intelligent and she likes to explore and discover new things and locations. Since she cannot go exploring real places without an adult, Uniqua pretends to visit these places and find these things in her imagination along with her best friends. Uniqua is really friendly, and will do almost anything to help a friend in need. Though not the most playful of the five, Uniqua often plays a major role in the adventure she is part of.

## Development

The character of Uniqua was designed by Dan Yaccarino, a popular children's book author, illustrator, and creator of another Nick Jr. television series titled *Oswald* that ran from 2001 to 2004, and her personality was decided on by the television series' creator.

The character's creator, Janice Burgess, describes Uniqua as "the child she wishes she was like as a child", meaning that Uniqua is a very likable character. About 27% of all Backyardigans fans have chosen Uniqua as a favorite Backyardigan, being the second most popular character in general.

Janice Burgess' favorite is also Uniqua, and her liking of her creation is probably what lead to Uniqua appearing in all 77 episodes of The Backyardigans. Most episodes Janice Burgess writes star Uniqua as the center character, for she never missed an episode!

## Looks

Her skin is pink (with big polka dots) with darker pink randomly placed spots around her body. She has white eyes with normal black pupils and her mouth is noticably wide. Her other most noticeable feature is probably her curled antennae at the very top of her head. Her eyebrows are a very dark red. She wears dark-gloom pink overalls with light pink spots, being a opposite of her skin. She also has two red-pink buttons, one for each strap.

## Fan-Made Series

Uniqua appears in every fan-made spin-off based on the show on this wiki as of 2013. She is the protagonist of *Love Bugs Me*.