After entertaining and educating generations of younger viewers – and adults – as Sesame Street's Maria, actress Sonia Manzano has announced her retirement from the show.
The 65-year-old, who has played Maria for 44 years, made the announcement at an address at the American Library Association Annual Conference in San Francisco.
Manzano joined Sesame Street in 1971 and also became one of the writers on the show.
As part of Sesame Street's writing team she has won 15 Daytime Emmy Awards.
She published a children's book, No Dogs Allowed, in 2004, and her memoir, Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx, is due to be published next month.
After 45 years on Sesame Street, @SoniaMManzano will no longer appear on the next season. #alaac15 pic.twitter.com/Jiz7tn9dAI
— American Libraries (@amlibraries) June 29, 2015
