While going to college at Carnegie Melon University, she originated the eponymous role of Sonia in the off-Broadway musical Godspell (appearing on its original cast album as well), and continued to play the role through her first year on Sesame Street. She has also written for the show and authored several books including a memoir Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx released in August 2015.īorn in Manhattan to Puerto Rican parents, Manzano attended the High School for the Performing Arts as a teenager.

June 12, 1950) is an actress who played Maria on Sesame Street from the show's third season in 1971 until her retirement in Season 45 in 2015. Making a 2002 promotional appearance at Stage Deli.