Sonia Manzano Set To Retire From ‘Sesame Street’ After 44 Years

And just like that, another part of my childhood dies.

Actor and writer Sonia Manzano announced she’ll be leaving Sesame Street after 44 years on the show. Manzano played one of the most familiar characters on the show, Maria, who ran a repair shop in town. Across 44 years on Sesame Street, Manzano had become one of the more popular characters on the show, but some her best work actually happened off camera. As a writer for Sesame Street, Manzano racked up an impressive 15 Emmys for her work. Sonia’s departure leaves a pretty big hole for the show to fill, but she’s confident everyone will be just fine without her.

While she hasn’t announced any other projects that are in the works currently, she does have a Twitter account by which you can keep up with all her latest work.