‘Sesame Street’ veteran retires
“Sesame Street” is about to be less A-OK. Sonia Manzano, who has played the role of Maria on the groundbreaking kid show since 1971, is retiring.
Manzano, 65, broke the news earlier this week at the American Library Association Annual Conference. She said she wouldn’t be part of Sesame Workshop’s new “Sesame Street” season.
A beloved resident of Sesame Street since she was a teenager, the character Maria owned the neighborhood repair shop with husband Luis (played by Emilio Delgado, who remains on the show).
Manzano also served as a writer for the show, sharing in 15 Emmy Awards as a member of the writing team. She also has written children’s books.
Born in a Puerto Rican neighborhood of the Bronx that resembled the city world “Sesame Street” would later embrace, Manzano attended Manhattan’s High School of Performing Arts and then Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
In 1971, she auditioned for “Sesame Street,” then only in its third year. As Maria, she and Luis became the masters of repair including a large quantity of toasters, as co-owners of the Fix-It Shop. The characters of Luis and Maria wed in 1988.
In confirming Manzano’s retirement, Sesame Workshop said, “She will always be a part of the fabric of our neighborhood. During her 44year career as the iconic ‘Maria,’ and the first leading Latina woman on television, she was a role model for young girls and women for generations.”
Sesame Workshop did not say how her absence would be explained.