Joshua Dela Cruz (born March 23, 1989) is an American actor. He plays a fictional version of himself as the host in ''

Blue's Clues & You! ''Blue's Clues & You!'' is an interactive educational children's television series developed by Traci Paige Johnson and Angela C. Santomero for Nickelodeon. Combining live-action and animation, it is a revival of the 1996–2006 ''Blue's Clu ...

''. He is the third main host of the franchise, after

Steve Burns Steven Michael Burns (born October 9, 1973) is an American actor, musician and television host. He portrayed a fictional version of himself as the host of the children's television series ''Blue's Clues'' from 1996 until 2002, for which he was ...

and Donovan Patton.

Early life and education

Dela Cruz was born in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

to Filipino parents of Bicolano and Ilocano descent. He was raised in

New Milford, New Jersey New Milford is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 16,923, an increase of 582 (+3.6%) from the 2010 Unit ...

. He graduated from New Milford High School in 2007 and from

Montclair State University Montclair State University (MSU) is a public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Clifton and into Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, the second largest public un ...

in 2011.

Career

After graduating from Montclair, Dela Cruz performed in several

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

and

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

productions, including ''

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; , , ATU 561, 'Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original ...

'', ''

Here Lies Love ''Here Lies Love'' is a concept album and rock musical made in collaboration between David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, about the life of the former First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos along with the woman who raised her—Estrella Cumpas� ...

'', ''The King and I'' and '' Encores!: Merrily We Roll Along''. On September 13, 2018,

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

announced that Dela Cruz would be ''

''s host after auditioning over 3,000 actors. Growing up in New Jersey, Dela Cruz watched the original show with his younger sister and is the first Asian-American to host ''Blue's Clues''.

, the first host of the original series, participated in the casting process. Dela Cruz also portrayed Josh in two guest appearances in '' The Tiny Chef Show''.

Personal life

Dela Cruz met his wife Amanda while they both attended Montclair State University. In 2015, he proposed to her in

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

while filming a dance duet to

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

's "

You Make Me Feel So Young "You Make Me Feel So Young" is a 1946 popular song composed by Josef Myrow, with lyrics written by Mack Gordon. It was introduced in the 1946 musical film '' Three Little Girls in Blue'', where it was sung by the characters and performed by Vera-E ...

Credits

Television

* ''

'' – Josh * ''

Bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not Castration, castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e. cows proper), bulls have long been an important symbol cattle in r ...

'' – Adam Bunson * '' Time After Time'' – Box Office Attendant * '' The Tiny Chef Show'' – Josh * '' Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent'' - Jerome Abalos

Film

* '' Blue's Big City Adventure'' – Josh

Theater

* ''Waterfall: A New Musical'' – Noppon (2023 production) * ''

'' – Ensemble, Aladdin (understudy, 2013-2018) * ''

'' – (2013 production) * '' Encores!: Merrily We Roll Along'' – (2012 production) * ''The King and I'' – Lun Tha (2011 and 2012 productions)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dela Cruz, Josh 1989 births Living people Male actors from New Jersey American male stage actors American male television actors Montclair State University alumni New Milford High School (New Jersey) alumni People from New Milford, New Jersey Actors from Bergen County, New Jersey American male actors of Filipino descent