Sonia Manzano, better known as Maria on PBS’s long-running Sesame Street, has announced she’ll be leaving the series at the end of the current season.

Manzano made the announcement at the ALA’s annual conference earlier this week in San Francisco. She confirmed the news with a series of retweets on her personal Twitter account in which longtime fans bid her farewell.

The actress and writer, who turned 65 years old earlier this month, joined Sesame Street in 1971 and went on to win 15 Emmy Awards for her work on the show’s writing team.

Here’s a clip from an older episode of Sesame Street in which Manzano plays a rhyming game with Big Bird:

As for her favorite characters on Sesame Street? You probably wouldn’t have guessed:

Sesame Street launched in November 1969 and has gone on to produce over 4,300 episodes. The series is considered one of the best educational programs on television for children.

Manzano published a children’s book titled No Dogs Allowed in 2004.