Sonia Manzano

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For the Ecuadorian writer and pianist, see Sonia Manzano Vela.

Sonia Manzano
Sonia Manzano - 2015 National Book Festival.jpg
Manzano at the 2015 Library of Congress National Book Festival in Washington, DC
Born
Linwood, New Jersey, U.S.
EducationCarnegie Mellon University (BFA)
Occupation
  • Actress
  • screenwriter
  • author
  • speaker
  • singer-songwriter
Years active1971–present
Known forMaria on Sesame Street
Board member ofMarch of Dimes
George Foster Peabody Awards
Symphony Space
Project Sunshine Book Club
Websitewww.soniamanzano.com

Sonia Manzano is an 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 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.

Early 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.[1][2][3]

Career[]

In her junior year, she came to New York to star in the original production of the off-Broadway show Godspell.[4][5] Manzano joined the production of Sesame Street in 1971, where she eventually began writing scripts for the series. On June 29, 2015, it was announced that Manzano would be retiring from the show after 44 years.[6][7][8] Manzano would, however, later reprise the role of Maria in the 2019 television special Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration.[9]

She has performed on the New York stage, in the critically acclaimed theatre pieces The Vagina Monologues and The Exonerated. She has written for the Peabody Award-winning children's series Little Bill, and has written a parenting column for the Sesame Workshop web site called "Talking Outloud".[10]

Her children's book No Dogs Allowed, published by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing in 2004, is one of five books selected by the General Mills initiative "Spoonfuls of Stories". As part of that effort, Manzano is working with General Mills and its nonprofit partner, First Book, to encourage children to read and to help children across the United States gain access to books. The book has been adapted as a stage play.[citation needed] She is also the author of The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano (2014).[11][12][13][14][15]

She has served on the March of Dimes Board; the board of the George Foster Peabody Awards;[16] and the board of a New York City theatrical institution, Symphony Space. She is a member of the board of advisors of the Project Sunshine Book Club. She was featured in the Learning Leaders (volunteers helping students succeed) poster, designed to encourage reading in NYC public schools.

In several episodes of the animated Nickelodeon series The Loud House, Manzano provides the voice of Bobby and Ronnie Anne Santiago's grandmother, Rosa Casagrande, a role she reprises in the spinoff The Casagrandes. She also portrays Judge Gloria Pepitone in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

On December 3, 2020, Deadline reported that Manzano would return to PBS to create a new animated television series titled Alma's Way.[17]

Honors and awards[]

Manzano was nominated twice for an Emmy Award as Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series.[18] As a writer for Sesame Street, Manzano won 15 Emmy Awards.[19]

In 1979, the Supersisters trading card set was produced and distributed; one of the cards featured Manzano's name and picture.[20] In 2004, she was inducted into the Bronx Hall of Fame.[clarification needed][citation needed] On April 7, 2016, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced that Manzano would receive the Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award at the May 1 awards ceremony.[18]

Manzano has received awards from the Association of Hispanic Arts, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the Committee for Hispanic Children and Families, the Hispanic Heritage Award for Education in 2003, and the "Groundbreaking Latina Lifetime Achievement" award from the National Association of Latina Leaders in 2005. She received a Doctor of Fine Arts degree from University of Notre Dame in 2005. As in Ms. Manzano's case, a D.F.A. is typically an honorary degree conferred to someone who has made a significant contribution to society in the arts.[21][citation needed] The Dream Big Initiative of the Bronx Children's Museum honored Manzano in 2014.[22]

Personal life[]

In the 1970s, Manzano was in a relationship with film director and producer Michael Winner and appeared in his 1974 film Death Wish.[23]

Manzano resides in the Upper West Side of Manhattan with her husband Richard Reagan, whom she married in 1986, and their daughter Gabriella.[24]

References[]

  1. ^ "'Sesame Street's' Maria, Sonia Manzano, is retiring". Telegram & Gazette. Retrieved July 2, 2015.[dead link]
  2. ^ Lindsey Bever (July 2, 2015). "'Maria,' surely the most-loved person on TV, is leaving 'Sesame Street'". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  3. ^ "Sesame Street's Sonia Manzano gets political with new novel". . Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  4. ^ "Sonia Manzano – Cast – The Show – Parents". Sesame Street. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  5. ^ Southern California Public Radio (July 2, 2015). "Sonia Manzano, who played Maria on 'Sesame Street,' retiring after 44 years". Southern California Public Radio. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  6. ^ "44 years after joining the show, Sesame Street's Maria is retiring". The A.V. Club. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  7. ^ "Sonia Manzano, Maria on 'Sesame Street,' to Retire After 44 Years". July 2, 2015.
  8. ^ American Libraries [@amlibraries] (June 29, 2015). "After 45 years on Sesame Street, @SoniaMManzano will no longer appear on the next season. #alaac15" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. ^ "Who is the 'Sesame Street' 50th anniversary special actually for?". The Los Angeles Times. November 9, 2019. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  10. ^ "Season 43 - Cast Bios - Sonia Manzano". Sesame Workshop. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  11. ^ BWW News Desk. "La Casa Azul Bookstore Celebrates 3-Year Anniversary and More This June". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  12. ^ "The We're the People Summer Reading List, Part II: Middle Grade Books". Times Union. June 9, 2015. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  13. ^ Sonia Manzano. "The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  14. ^ "ALA 2015: Summer of Love". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  15. ^ Steven Lane (September 10, 2014). "'Sesame Street' actor, writer discusses complexity of parenting in fundraising talk for YWCA". The Columbian. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  16. ^ "The Peabody Awards". Peabody Award. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  17. ^ Del Rosario, Alexandria (December 3, 2020). "'Alma's Way': PBS Kids Announces New Animated Series From Sonia Manzano & Fred Rogers Productions". Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  18. ^ Jump up to: a b "Sonia Manzano, 'Sesame Street's Maria, Set For Lifetime Achievement Daytime Emmy" (Press release). New York, NY: National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. April 6, 2016. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
  19. ^ Cruz, Gilbert (July 2, 2015). "Sonia Manzano, Maria on 'Sesame Street,' to Retire After 44 Years". The New York Times.
  20. ^ Wulf, Steve (March 23, 2015). "Supersisters: Original Roster". ESPN. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  21. ^ "Emmy® winner and author Sonia Manzano opens Joint Conference of Librarians of Color | News and Press Center". Ala.org. March 1, 2012. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  22. ^ "Bronx Children's Museum". Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  23. ^ Wendell, Eric (2018). Experiencing Herbie Hancock: A Listener's Companion. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 78. ISBN 978-1442258372.
  24. ^ "Author Sonia Manzano biography and book list". freshfiction.com. Retrieved July 2, 2015.

External links[]

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