Background
Manzano was born in Linwood, New Jersey, and was raised in South Bronx.
Manzano was born in Linwood, New Jersey, and was raised in South Bronx.
Manzano attended the High School of Performing Arts, where she began her acting career. She attended Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh on a scholarship.
She is best known for playing Maria on Sesame Street from 1971 until her retirement in 2015. Her parents came from Puerto Rico. 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 series.
On June 29, 2015, it was announced that Manzano would be retiring from the show after 44 years. She has performed on the New York stage, in the critically acclaimed theatre pieces The Vagina Monologues and The Exonerated.
In 1979, the Supersisters trading card set was produced and distributed. One of the cards featured Manzano"s name and picture.
Her children"s book Number 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. She is also the author of The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano (2014).
She has served on the March of Dimes Board.
The board of the George Foster Peabody Awards. And the board of a New York City theatrical institution, Symphony Space.
She was featured in the Learning Leaders (volunteers helping students succeed) poster, designed to encourage reading in New York City public schools.
She is a member of the board of advisors of the Project Sunshine Book Club.