As little girls watching TV, it was a riot seeing Susie Carmichael because she looked just like us: brown skin and her black hair in braids, swinging about with barrettes on the end. We had already adored viewing the world through the curious minds of the babies on Rugrats. With the addition of Susie, the optimistic heroine against Angelica Pickles‘ antagonistic girl-child wrath (though we loved her too), the increased diversification of the program also felt natural.

Susie and her family first appeared during the second half of episode 18 on season 2 in 1993. She was voiced for the entire run of the Emmy Award-winning cartoon by actress Cree Summer (whose voice overs are incredibly recognizable. You’ve also heard her as Penny on Inspector Gadget, Elmyra on Tiny Toon Adventures, and Cleo the Poodle on Clifford the Big Red Dog, amongst her 100+ credits in voicing fun…