List of Barney characters

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Barney is a children's educational media franchise that originated with the 1988 direct-to-video series Barney & the Backyard Gang by Sheryl Stamps-Leach and Kathy O'Rourke-Parker. Barney consists of three series—Barney & the Backyard Gang (1988–1991), which consists of only eight videos, Barney & Friends (1992–2010), a television series that ran on PBS Kids, and Barney's World (2024), a fully animated series set to air on Cartoon Network's Cartoonito, and which is currently streaming on Max[1] and is currently distributed by 9 Story Media Group, under license from Mattel Television.

The Barney franchise follows the titular character Barney, an anthropomorphic purple Tyrannosaurus rex who conveys educational messages through songs and small dance routines with a friendly, huggable and optimistic attitude.[2][3][4][5]

Overview

More information Characters, Main television series ...
Characters Main television series Animated television series Film
Barney & the Backyard Gang Barney & Friends Barney's World Barney's Great Adventure
Season
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Barney (costume) David Voss (Videos 1–6)
David Joyner (Videos 7, 8)[6]
David Joyner[6][7][8] David Joyner
Josh Martin (Episodes 14–16, 18–20)
Maurice Scott (Episode 17)
David Joyner Carey Stinson[9]
Maurice Scott (Episode 4 (one scene))
Carey Stinson Carey Stinson
Maurice Scott (Episodes 3–4 (white screen scenes))
Carey Stinson David Joyner[6]
Barney (voice) Bob West Dean Wendt Jonathan Langdon Bob West
Baby Bop (costume) Dao Knight Jenny Dempsey Jeff Ayers Jeff Ayers
Jennifer Romano (Episode 1)
Jeff Brooks (Episode 9)
Jeff Ayers
Jennifer Romano (Episode 20)
Jeff Ayers Jennifer Barlean
Jeff Ayers (Episode 2)
Lauren Mayeux Lauren Mayeux (New material)
Jeff Ayers
Jeff Ayers
Baby Bop (voice) Julie Johnson Bryn McAuley Julie Johnson
BJ (costume) Jenny Dempsey Jeff Brooks Jeff Brooks
Adam Brown (Episode 20 (some scenes))
Jeff Brooks Kyle Nelson Jeff Brooks
BJ / Billy (voice) Patty Wirtz Jonathan Tan Patty Wirtz
Riff (costume) Adam Brown Jerad Harris
Jeff Ayers (Episodes 6, 7, 10)
Jerad Harris Jerad Harris (New material)
Adam Brown
Riff (voice) Michaela Dietz
Booker T. Bookworm / Bartholomew Bookworm Earl Fisher (puppet and voice) Anthony Sardinha (voice)
Tina Jessica Zucha
Luci Leah Gloria
Amy Becky Swonke
Jason Salim Grant
Michael Brian Eppes
Kim Danielle Vega
Angela Demi Lovato
Gianna Selena Gomez
Jamal Peyton Alex Smith Peyton Alex Smith
Debby Debby Ryan
Bridget Madison Pettis
Joshua Jaren Lewison
Jill Mikayla Abdalla
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Main

Dinosaurs

Barney

Quick facts Barney, First appearance ...
Barney
Barney character
First appearance
Portrayed by
  • David Voss (1998–1990)
  • David Joyner (1991–2001)[6][7][8]
  • Josh Martin (1997)
  • Maurice Scott (1997–2004)
  • Carey Stinson (2002–2010)[9]
Voiced by
In-universe information
SpeciesTyrannosaurus rex
GenderMale
Close

Barney is the main character of the Barney franchise. He is an anthropomoprhic purple Tyrannosaurus rex with a green stomach in stuffed animal likeness, who comes to life through the children's imaginations. His theme song is "Barney is a Dinosaur", whose tune is based on "Yankee Doodle". Barney often quotes things as being "Super dee-duper". Episodes frequently end with the song "I Love You", sung to the tune of "This Old Man". Despite being a carnivorous type dinosaur, Barney does not have a carnivore's fearsome teeth. He likes many different foods such as fruits and vegetables, but his main favorite is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a glass of milk.

Baby Bop

Quick facts Baby Bop, First appearance ...
Baby Bop
Barney character
First appearance
Created by
Portrayed by
  • Dao Knight (1991)
  • Jenny Dempsey (1992)
  • Jeff Ayers (1993–2008; 2010)
  • Jennifer Romano (1999; 2002)
  • Jeff Brooks (1999)
  • Lauren Mayeux (2009–2010)
Voiced by
In-universe information
NicknameSissy
SpeciesTriceratops
GenderFemale
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Baby Bop is an anthropomorphic green Triceratops wearing a pink bow and pink ballet slippers and always carrying a yellow security blanket along with her, which is referred to as her "blankey". First appearing in the Barney & the Backyard Gang video Barney in Concert, she was originally two years old; however, in the Barney & Friends episode "Look at Me, I'm 3!", she turned three years old. She sings the song "My Yellow Blankey" to show how much her security blanket means to her. She likes to eat macaroni and cheese and pizza.[13] She is the younger sister of BJ.

BJ (Billy)

Quick facts BJ, First appearance ...
BJ
Barney character
First appearance
Portrayed by
  • Jenny Dempsey (1993)
  • Jeff Brooks (1995–2000)
  • Adam Brown (2000)
  • Kyle Nelson (2002–2010)
Voiced by
  • Patty Wirtz (1993–2010)
  • Jonathan Tan (2024–2025)
In-universe information
AliasBilly
SpeciesProtoceratops
GenderMale
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BJ is a 7-year-old anthropomorphic yellow Protoceratops[14] who wears a red baseball cap and red sneakers. First appearing in the Barney & Friends episode "Look at Me, I'm 3!", he is the older brother of Baby Bop, whom he frequently calls "sissy" and occasionally calls by her name. He sings "BJ's Song", a song about himself. He lost his hat in the Barney & Friends episode "Hats Off to BJ!" Pickles are his favorite food, and he has tried them in various ways, such as on pizza. For Barney's World, for unknown reasons, the character was renamed to "Billy."

Riff

Quick facts Riff, First appearance ...
Riff
Barney character
First appearance
Last appearance
  • A-Counting We Will Go
  • 2010
Portrayed by
  • Adam Brown (2006–2007; 2010)
  • Jerad Harris (2008–2010)
  • Jeff Ayers (2008)
Voiced byMichaela Dietz
In-universe information
SpeciesHadrosaur
GenderMale
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Riff is a character who has only appeared in Barney & Friends from seasons 10 through 14 and in some Barney home videos. First appearing in "Welcome, Cousin Riff", he is a 6-year-old[citation needed] anthropomorphic orange Hadrosaur who wears green sneakers, and he is Baby Bop and BJ's cousin. His theme music is "I Hear Music Everywhere". Riff loves music and it is in almost everything he does. In the video Barney: Let's Go to the Firehouse, it was revealed that Riff also likes to invent different kinds of things; he created a four-sound smoke detector (the first three were different alarm sounds and the final one his voice). He is shown to have an interest in marching bands and parades.[citation needed] His most recent appearance is in A-Counting We Will Go, a Barney home video.[citation needed]

Children

Tina

Quick facts Tina, First appearance ...
Tina
Barney character
First appearance
Last appearance"On the Move" (1995)
Portrayed byJessica Zucha
In-universe information
GenderFemale
Family
  • Tina and Luci's Mom (mother)
  • Luci (sister)
Close

Tina is a character from the Barney franchise. First appearing in the Barney & the Backyard Gang video The Backyard Show, she also appeared in Barney & Friends, with her first appearance being "The Queen of Make-Believe". Tina lives with her big sister Luci, her mother, her cat Whiskers, and her frog Bouncer. She loves animals, bugs, sing songs in the car, square dance to country music, and climb trees. Her favorite food is macaroni and cheese.

Luci

Quick facts Luci, First appearance ...
Luci
Barney character
First appearance
Last appearance"The Exercise Circus!" (1993)
Portrayed byLeah Gloria
In-universe information
GenderFemale
Family
  • Tina and Luci's Mom (mother)
  • Tina (sister)
Close

Luci is a character from the Barney franchise. First appearing in the Barney & the Backyard Gang video The Backyard Show, she also appeared in Barney & Friends, with her first appearance being "My Family's Just Right For Me". Luci lives with her little sister Tina, and her cat Whiskers. She loves winter, playing the guitar, cartwheels and tap dancing. Her favorite food is salad.

Adam

Quick facts Adam, First appearance ...
Adam
Barney & the Backyard Gang character
First appearance
Last appearance
  • "Rock with Barney"
  • Barney & the Backyard Gang
  • 1991
Portrayed byAlexander Jhin
In-universe information
GenderMale
Family
  • Adam's Dad
Close

Adam is a character who appeared in seven of the eight videos of Barney & the Backyard Gang. In Campfire Sing-Along, he was replaced with Jeffrey because Alexander Jhin wasn't available at the time that video was filmed. Like Amy, Adam did not appear in Barney & Friends because Alexander Jhin was also unavailable in that series along with Becky Swonke.

Amy

Quick facts Amy, First appearance ...
Amy
Barney & the Backyard Gang character
First appearance
Last appearance
  • "Rock with Barney"
  • Barney & the Backyard Gang
  • 1991
Portrayed byBecky Swonke
In-universe information
GenderFemale
Family
  • Amy's Mom
  • Michael's Dad
  • Michael (brother)
Close

Amy is a character who appeared in all eight videos of Barney & the Backyard Gang.

Jason

Quick facts Jason, First appearance ...
Jason
Barney & the Backyard Gang character
First appearance
  • "The Backyard Show"
  • Barney & the Backyard Gang
  • 1988
Last appearance
  • "A Day at the Beach"
  • Barney & the Backyard Gang
  • 1989
Portrayed bySalim Grant
In-universe information
GenderMale
Close

Jason is a character who only appeared in the first three videos of Barney & the Backyard Gang. He is able to tap dance and likes animals. However, he can also make waves with his arms, which he likes to do as well.

Michael

Quick facts Michael, First appearance ...
Michael
Barney character
First appearance
Last appearanceSing & Dance with Barney (1999)
Portrayed byBrian Eppes
In-universe information
GenderMale
Family
  • Amy's Mom
  • Michael's Dad
  • Amy (sister)
Close

Michael is a character from the Barney franchise. First appearing in the Barney & the Backyard Gang video The Backyard Show, he also appeared in Barney & Friends, with his first appearance being "The Queen of Make-Believe". Michael lives with his little sister named Amy, his parents, and their dogs, Buster and Sparky. He likes to search for rocks when camping, meaning that he has a rock collection at home in a box. Michael is also a school crossing guard. In addition to his favorite food being cold watermelons, Michael is able to play the cello because he likes music; he is also known for playing soccer, however.

Kim

Quick facts Kim, First appearance ...
Kim
Barney character
First appearanceBarney's Sense-Sational Day (1997)
Last appearanceBarney's Beach Party (2002)
Portrayed byErica Rhodes
In-universe information
GenderFemale
Close

Kim is a character who appeared in various Barney episodes like with Barney & Friends episodes from Seasons 4 through 6. She lives with her parents, an older sister, and an adopted baby brother, and she has a friend named Kristen. Kim prefers to dance and sing. However, she also knows how to play the flute. Her favorite bear is the giant panda. In "A Picture of Health" it was revealed that Kim once accidentally damaged her foot and needed to head to the hospital for an X-ray.

Recurring

Mother Goose

Quick facts Mother Goose, First appearance ...
Mother Goose
Barney character
First appearance
Last appearance
  • "Mother Goose"
  • Barney & Friends
  • 2010
Portrayed by
  • Sandy Walper (1992–1993)
  • Michelle McCarel (1998)
  • Barbara Lowin (2000)
  • Julie Johnson (2006–2010)
In-universe information
GenderFemale
Close

Mother Goose is a character from Barney & Friends. Based on the fictional storyteller of the same name, she is an imaginary author who lives in the "Land of Mother Goose" (a land featuring her house, her garden, other characters from nursery rhymes, etc.) and prefers to speak in "rhyme". Mother Goose has been around for a large number of years for a quite long time and has a pet goose named Clarence (who appeared in "Honk! Honk! A Goose on the Loose!" and Barney's Big Surprise). Frequently, she already knows Barney's friends, as she knows the name of everyone who has ever read her rhymes.

References

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