Sonia Manzano, a "Sesame Street" legend who played Maria, the toaster-repair expert at the Fix-It Shop, is retiring from the show after nearly 45 years on-the-air.
Manzano announced her retirement at the
American Libraries Annual Conference earlier this week, according to Variety. The conference tweeted a photo of her speech as her fans lamented at the news.
"Sesame Street" has yet to officially announce the departure of its beloved star, but Manzano has already begun to console her disappointed fans.
“Maybe I'll go back for the 50th anniversary and make a
guest appearance," she told one fan, according to E! Online.
The 65-year-old began her "Sesame Street" career in 1971 playing a teenager, and later grew up on the show, later winning 15 Emmys for her writing on "Sesame Street."
“I was able to use things that really happened to me into scripts by breaking complex emotions like love, marriage, childbirth into something a 4-year-old could understand,”
Manzano told the Archive of American Television in a 2004 interview.
Television has played a large role in Manzano’s life, even before the onset of her acting career.
“When I was raised in the South Bronx as a little girl, I watched an awful lot of television, and it was a big influence on my life," she said in the interview. "I saw this black and white world, and I used to wonder where I would fit in this world that didn't seem to see me, so I think it's really interesting that I grew up to be sort of what I needed to see on television."
A look at the Latino actress’ Twitter account indicates that she has achieved her goal of being what children “needed to see on television,” as her fans regard her as a symbol of their childhood:
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