Sonia Manzano

Sonia Manzano (born June 12, 1950) is a semi-retired American actress, screenwriter, author, speaker and singer-songwriter. She is best known for playing Maria on Sesame Street from 1971 until her departure in 2015. She is also best known for providing the voice-over narration in several animated segments in the English version of the Swedish television show Fem myror är fler än fyra elefanter. On Sesame Street VHS tapes and DVDs, she was the voice of "Visit Sesame Street on the web at www.sesamestreet.com." from 1998-2001. 2Early life and education Manzano was born in Linwood, New Jersey, and was raised in the South Bronx. Her parents came from Puerto Rico. Manzano attended the High School of Performing Arts, where she began her acting career. She attended Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh on a scholarship. 2Career In her junior year, she came to New York to star in the original production of the off-Broadway show Godspell. Manzano joined the production of Sesame Street in 1971, where she eventually began writing scripts for the serie