For 44 years, Sonia Manzano inspired, educated, and delighted children and families as "Maria" on Sesame Street. Throughout her career, she has continued to contribute to enriching diversity on television, on the stage, and in education. A first generation American of Latin descent, Manzano’s tale is one of perseverance and courage as she overcame countless obstacles to become one of the most influential Latinas in television.

Manzano was raised in the South Bronx, where her involvement in the arts was inspired by teachers who encouraged her to audition for the High School of Performing Arts. She was accepted there and began her career as an actress. A scholarship took her to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and in her junior year she went to New York to star in the original production of the off-Broadway show Godspell. Within a year, Manzano joined the production of Sesame Street, where she eventually began writing scripts for the series. 

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Manzano didn’t have a lot of resources as a child growing up in the South Bronx. Immensely talented, Sonia never gave up, and within a year of graduating college, Manzano found herself on Sesame Street. An equally impressive and captivating stage actress, she has appeared in several critically acclaimed theater performances, including "The Vagina Monologues,” “The Exonerated,” and “Love, Loss, and What I Wore.”

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An award-winning television writer and children’s book author, Manzano is a master storyteller.  Continuing to inspire children off screen, Manzano’s children’s book, No Dogs Allowed, was selected by the General Mills initiative "Spoonfuls of Stories" to become a children’s musical to encourage childhood literacy. Her first young adult novel, The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano, examines the Latino community during the Civil Rights Era through the eyes of a young girl coming of age in the midst of social upheaval in 1969 Spanish Harlem.

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Manzano's latest books are her memoir, Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx (Scholastic, 2015), and a Christmas picture book, Miracle on 133rd Street (Simon and Schuster, 2015).  Kirkus Reviews says, “Manzano lovingly details life-changing moments” with a “stark and heartbreaking contrast to her Sesame Street character.”

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Manzano inspires audiences with her passion, strength and insight into success. Whether speaking out for literacy, diversity, or addressing the issues children face in our media-saturated life, she is a familiar, engaging voice that brings new light to her roles and to our lives.