Maya Rudolph
Maya Khabira Rudolph (born July 27, 1972) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. She first gained prominence in the mid-1990s as a member of the alternative rock band The Rentals, before joining The Groundlings improv troupe later in the decade. In 2000, Rudolph became a cast member on the NBC late-night sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live and subsequently appeared in supporting roles in films such as 50 First Dates (2004),[2] A Prairie Home Companion (2006), and Idiocracy (2006).[3]
Maya Rudolph | |
|---|---|
 Rudolph in 2012 at the Paley Center for Media | |
| Born | July 27, 1972 Gainesville, Florida, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of California, Santa Cruz |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 1996–present |
| Partner(s) | Paul Thomas Anderson (2001–present)[lower-alpha 1] |
| Children | 4 |
| Parent(s) | Richard Rudolph Minnie Riperton |
After leaving Saturday Night Live in 2007, Rudolph appeared in various films, including Grown Ups (2010) and its 2013 sequel, Bridesmaids (2011), Inherent Vice (2014), Sisters (2015), CHiPs (2017), Life of the Party (2018), and Wine Country (2019). She also lent her voice to the animated films Shrek the Third (2007), Big Hero 6 (2014), The Angry Birds Movie (2016) and its 2019 sequel, The Emoji Movie (2017), and The Willoughbys (2020).
In addition to her film appearances, Rudolph starred as Ava Alexander in the NBC sitcom Up All Night (2011-2012), and co-hosted her own variety series Maya & Marty (2016) with Martin Short. Since 2017, she has voiced various characters in the Big Mouth animated series. Since 2018, Rudolph has appeared in the NBC fantasy comedy series The Good Place, for which she received three Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.
Early life
Rudolph was born in Gainesville, Florida, to singer-songwriter Minnie Riperton and composer Richard Rudolph.[4][5][6] Her mother was African-American and her father is Ashkenazi Jewish. Her paternal grandfather was Sidney Rudolph, a philanthropist who once owned all of the Wendy's and Rudy's restaurants in Miami-Dade County, Florida.[7] Her great-grandfather was born in Vilnius, Lithuania, changed his surname from "Rudashevsky" to "Rudolph", and was one of the founding members of Congregation Beth Shalom, a Conservative Jewish synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[8]
Rudolph's parents moved to Los Angeles, California, when she and her brother Marc were very young, and they grew up primarily in the Westwood neighborhood.[9] Near the end of the song "Lovin' You", Riperton can be heard singing "Maya" over and over again. Riperton incorporated this into her performance of the song on The Midnight Special.[10] Riperton died of breast cancer on July 12, 1979, at age 31, when Maya was just two weeks shy of her 7th birthday.[9] Rudolph's godmother was R&B singer Teena Marie.[11] In 1990, Rudolph graduated from Crossroads School in Santa Monica, California, where she befriended with fellow students Gwyneth Paltrow and Jack Black,[12] and continued her education at the University of California, Santa Cruz, in whose residential college Porter College she lived, graduating in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in photography.[13]
Career
Saturday Night Live
In May 2000, Rudolph joined the cast of Saturday Night Live as a featured player for the final three episodes of the 1999–2000 season, after a stint as a member of The Groundlings improv troupe, where she met future Saturday Night Live cast member Will Forte.[9] Rudolph's musical talents were frequently employed on Saturday Night Live. She sang as Beyoncé Knowles in the Prince Show sketches, as the "Space Creature" in the Gays in Space sketches, except for the one on the season 31 episode hosted by Peter Sarsgaard, because it aired around the time Rudolph was on maternity leave. Forte substituted for her during that episode. Her ability to change her looks and her command of many accents also led to her playing an unusually wide range of ethnicities on the show, often with only a change of wigs. As "Nuni Shoener", Rudolph, along with Fred Armisen, created a couple from an unspecified Scandinavian country, who have unplaceable accents and bewilderingly foreign manners. Rudolph was also able to play male characters such as Scott Joplin, Justin Guarini, and Mario Vazquez.
Her final episode as a cast member was on November 3, 2007, with host Brian Williams and musical guest Feist, the last episode before the writers' strike. She returned on October 25, 2008, in a featured guest appearance as Michelle Obama and sang a duet with Kenan Thompson about Amy Poehler's newborn. She also appeared in the 2008 Christmas episode, where she reprised her role in the sketch Bronx Beat, with Amy Poehler. She also appeared in two sketches in the 2008–09 season finale with Will Ferrell. She appeared in a Weekend Update Thursday sketch during the fall 2009–10 season as Oprah Winfrey speaking on behalf of Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics. She also appeared on the show in May 2010 to perform in skits including "The Manuel Ortiz Show" with Betty White. She returned to Saturday Night Live for the season 36 premiere, hosted by Amy Poehler, performing the "Bronx Beat" sketch and that same season for episode 700, hosted by Tina Fey.[14] On February 18, 2012 she returned to Saturday Night Live as a host for the first time and reprised her roles in sketches such as "Bronx Beat". She once again returned to SNL for the Christmas episode hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler on December 19, 2015, reprising her role in the "Bronx Beat" sketch.[15] She appeared on the 41st-season finale (hosted by Fred Armisen) as Dilma Rousseff on Weekend Update. Since the 45th-season premiere, she appeared in a town hall sketch as Senator and presidential/vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris (D-CA).[16]
Characters
Rudolph's characters on the show have included "Attorney Glenda Goodwin" and "Megan" from the "Wake Up, Wakefield!" sketches. Rudolph did a number of celebrity impressions on Saturday Night Live during her tenure, including Amanda Byram, Ananda Lewis, Barbra Streisand, Bern Nadette Stanis (as Thelma Evans on Good Times), Beyoncé, Charo, Christina Aguilera, Condoleezza Rice, Darcel Wynne, Diana Ross, Dilma Rousseff, Donatella Versace, Donna Fargo, Emily Robison, Fredricka Whitfield, Free, Gayle King, Orda Khan, Griselda Blanco, Halle Berry, Ivanka Trump, Ja'net Dubois (as Willona Woods on Good Times), Jennifer Lopez, Joyce "Fenderella" Irby, Justin Guarini, Kara Saun, Kamala Harris, La Toya Jackson, Lisa Kudrow, Lisa Ling, Liza Minnelli, Lucy Liu, Lynda Lopez, Macy Gray, Mario Vasquez, Mary Roach, Maya Angelou, Melinda Doolittle, Melissa Stark, Michelle Obama, Mýa, Nelly Furtado, Omarosa Manigault, Oprah Winfrey, Paris Hilton, Patti LaBelle, Phylicia Rashad (as Clair Huxtable on The Cosby Show), Rocsi, Scott Joplin, Teresa Heinz, Tera Patrick, Tina Turner, Tyra Banks, Valerie Simpson, Vanessa Hudgens (as Gabriella Montez from High School Musical 3), Wanda Sykes and Whitney Houston.
Recurring characters
- Appreciante
- Britanica of Gemini's Twin
- Casey
- Charli Coffee
- Cocktail Waitress
- Donatella Versace
- Glenda Goodwin
- Jackie
- Jodi Deitz (one of the co-hosts of "Bronx Beat")
- Leilani Burke
- Megan (one of the co-hosts of "Wake Up, Wakefield!")
- Mrs. Denmont
- Nuni Schoener
- Patti Sylviac
- Rebecca
- Space Creature
Television and film
In addition to her work on Saturday Night Live, Rudolph has appeared on other television shows, including the CBS medical drama series City of Angels and Chicago Hope. She had small parts in Chuck & Buck, Gattaca, As Good as It Gets, Duplex and Duets; she was also a music supervisor for Duets. Her first prominent film role came in 2006 with A Prairie Home Companion. Earlier, she had costarred with Luke Wilson in the 2005 Mike Judge sci-fi comedy Idiocracy, although that film was shelved until September 2006 and then only given a limited release. She also guest-starred as Rapunzel in the DreamWorks animated film Shrek the Third. She guest-starred as Julia in The Simpsons episode "The Homer of Seville". Rudolph guest-starred as character Athena Scooberman in NBC's Kath & Kim, and starred in the film Away We Go with The Office star John Krasinski. In 2010, she appeared in Grown Ups starring Adam Sandler, where she played the wife of Chris Rock's character. In 2011, she appeared in Bridesmaids with Saturday Night Live colleague Kristen Wiig, and in 2013 she played a supporting role in The Way, Way Back as the girlfriend of Sam Rockwell's character. She co-starred in the NBC sitcom Up All Night, with Christina Applegate and Will Arnett. Rudolph's self-titled variety show television pilot aired on May 19, 2014,[17] but the show did not go beyond that. It was later announced that she would star in an NBC variety series Maya & Marty with Martin Short,[18] which debuted on May 31, 2016. Her next series, Forever, premiered on September 14, 2018 on Amazon Video.[19]
Also in 2018, she began doing Ruby Tuesday and Seventh Generation commercials. In 2019 she appeared as the mother in The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part.
Music
Prior to joining Saturday Night Live, Rudolph was a backing singer (1995–99)[3] and briefly a keyboardist in the band The Rentals, with whom she toured for a short time.[9] She also appears in the music videos of the songs "Waiting" and "Please Let That Be You". She sang backing vocals for "Barcelona" and "My Head Is in the Sun", both from the album Seven More Minutes. In 2004, she recorded a track with The Rentals frontman Matt Sharp, including a cover of Tegan and Sara's "Not Tonight". Rudolph also performed "Together In Pooping" and "Little Roundworm" with Triumph the Insult Comic Dog (Robert Smigel) on his album Come Poop With Me. She is in a Prince cover band called Princess with her friend Gretchen Lieberum.[20]
Personal life
Rudolph has been in a relationship with Paul Thomas Anderson since 2001.[21] They live together with four children.[22]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | As Good as It Gets | Policewoman | |
| Gattaca | Delivery Nurse | ||
| 2000 | Chuck & Buck | Jamilla | |
| Duets | Karaoke Hostess | ||
| 2003 | Duplex | Tara | |
| 2004 | Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie | Kanshasha X | |
| 50 First Dates | Stacy | ||
| 2006 | A Prairie Home Companion | Molly | |
| Idiocracy | Rita | ||
| 2007 | Shrek the Third | Rapunzel (voice) | |
| 2009 | Away We Go | Verona De Tessant | |
| 2010 | MacGruber | Casey Fitzpatrick | |
| Grown Ups | Deanne McKenzie | ||
| 2011 | Beastie Boys: Fight for Your Right (Revisited) | Skirt Suit | Short film |
| Bridesmaids | Lillian Donovan | ||
| Zookeeper | Mollie (voice) | ||
| Friends with Kids | Leslie | ||
| 2013 | The Way, Way Back | Caitlyn | |
| Grown Ups 2 | Deanne McKenzie | ||
| Turbo | Burn (voice) | ||
| 2014 | The Nut Job | Precious (voice) | |
| Inherent Vice | Petunia Leeway | ||
| Big Hero 6 | Aunt Cass (voice) | [23][24] | |
| 2015 | Strange Magic | Griselda (voice) | |
| Maggie's Plan | Felicia | ||
| A Very Murray Christmas | Lounge Singer | ||
| Sisters | Brinda | ||
| 2016 | Mr. Pig | Eunice | |
| The Angry Birds Movie | Matilda (voice) | ||
| Poppy (voice) | Uncredited | ||
| Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping | Deborah | ||
| My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea | Verti (voice) | ||
| 2017 | CHiPs | Sergeant Gail Hernandez | |
| We Don't Belong Here | Joanne | ||
| The Emoji Movie | Smiler (voice) | ||
| The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature | Precious (voice) | ||
| 2018 | Life of the Party | Christine Davenport | |
| The Happytime Murders | Bubbles | ||
| 2019 | The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part | Mom | |
| Booksmart | Motivational Voice | ||
| Wine Country | Naomi | ||
| The Angry Birds Movie 2 | Matilda (voice) | ||
| 2020 | The Willoughbys | Nanny (voice) | |
| Connected | Linda Mitchell (voice) | ||
| TBA | Hubie Halloween | Post-production | |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996–1997 | Chicago Hope | Nurse Leah Martine | 5 episodes; Guest (Season 3) |
| 1997 | The Devil's Child | Holly | Television film |
| 2000 | Action | Phina | Episode: "Dead Man Floating" |
| City of Angels | Nurse Grace Patterson | 15 episodes; Main (Season 1); Recurring (Season 2) | |
| 2000–present | Saturday Night Live | Various roles | 153 episodes; Main (2000–2008); Guest: (2008–present) |
| 2005 | Mega Man Powered Up | Elec Man | RPG |
| 2006 | Campus Ladies | Professor Theresa Winslow Fabre | Episode: "All Nighter" |
| 2007 | The Simpsons | Julia (voice) | Episode: "Homer of Seville" |
| 2008–2009 | Kath & Kim | Athena Scooberman | 5 episodes; Guest (Season 1) |
| 2009 | The Mighty B! | Cherry (voice) | Episode: "The Dragonflies" |
| 2011–2012 | Up All Night | Ava Alexander | 35 episodes; Main (Season 1-2) |
| 2012 | Saturday Night Live | Herself (host) | Episode: "Maya Rudolph/Sleigh Bells" |
| 2014 | Portlandia | Anita | Episode: "Bahama Knights" |
| The Maya Rudolph Show | Herself | Variety special; also producer | |
| Family Guy | JoAnne Shalit (voice) | Episode: "The Book of Joe" | |
| 2014-2015 | The Awesomes | Lady Malocchio (voice) | 9 episodes; Recurring (Seasons 2-3) |
| 2015 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | Herself | Episode: "Maya Rudolph Wears a Black Skirt and Strappy Sandals" |
| The Spoils Before Dying | Fresno Foxglove | 4 episodes; Main (Mini-Series) | |
| Drunk History | Griselda Blanco | Episode: "Miami" | |
| 2016 | Mike Tyson Mysteries | Dilma Rousseff (voice) | Episode: "Yves Klein Blues" |
| Angie Tribeca | Jackie Wilder | Episode: "Organ Trail" | |
| Maya & Marty | Herself (co-host) | 6 episodes; Main (Season 1); Also writer and producer | |
| Brooklyn Nine-Nine | U.S. Marshal Karen Haas | Episodes: "Coral Palms, Part 1" & "Coral Palms, Part 2" | |
| Documentary Now! | Anita | Episode: "Final Transmission" | |
| The Grinder | Jillian | 4 episodes; Recurring (Season 1) | |
| 2017 | Michael Bolton's Big, Sexy Valentine's Day Special | Herself | Variety special |
| Nobodies | Herself | Episode: "Mr. First Lady" | |
| Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt | Dionne Warwick | Episode: "Kimmy Does a Puzzle!" | |
| Tour de Pharmacy | Lucy Flerng | Television film | |
| The Gong Show | Herself (judge) | Episode: "Megan Fox/Andy Samberg/Maya Rudolph" | |
| 2017–present | Big Mouth | Diane Birch / Connie the Hormone Monstress / Various Voices | 31 episodes; Main |
| Big Hero 6: The Series | Aunt Cass (voice) | 26 episodes; Main | |
| 2017 | A Christmas Story Live! | Mother Parker | Television Film |
| 2018–2020 | The Good Place | Judge Gen | 12 episodes; Recurring (Seasons 2-4) |
| 2018 | Forever | June Hoffman | 8 episodes; Main (Season 1) |
| Mike Tyson Mysteries | Kimber Smallman & Gracela (voice) | Episode: "Real Bitches of Newport Beach" | |
| 2019 | The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience | Val Gal | Variety special |
| Nailed It! | Guest host | Episode: "A Classic Christmess" | |
| 2019–present | Bless the Harts | Betty Hart (voice) | 13 episodes; Main |
| 2020 | Mapleworth Murders[25] | Upcoming series |
Music videos
| Year | Title | Artist(s) | Role | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | "Dick in a Box" | The Lonely Island featuring Justin Timberlake | Girlfriend | |
| 2011 | "Make Some Noise" | Beastie Boys | Metal Chick | |
| 2020 | "Imagine (Quarantine Edition)" | Artists for We Are One | Herself | [26] |
Awards and nominations
Notes
- Rudolph refers to Anderson as her husband.[1]
References
- Marine, Brooke (September 14, 2018). "Maya Rudolph Reveals Why She Calls Paul Thomas Anderson Her "Husband" Even Though They Are Not Married". W. Condé Nast. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
- McCarthy, Todd (February 13, 2004). "50 First Dates". Variety. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
- "Maya Rudolph" (fee, via Fairfax County Public Library). The Complete Marquis Who's Who. Marquis Who's Who. 2010. Gale Document Number: GALE K2014901123. Retrieved September 24, 2011. Gale Biography In Context.
- "Hollywood Now: Interfaith Celebs Maya Rudolph, Lea Michele & - InterfaithFamily".
- "Maya Rudolph Biography (1972–)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
- "The Essence of Lucinda". Ocala Star-Banner. June 6, 2001. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
- "Sidney J. Rudolph, Philanthropist and Restaurant Owner". Miami Herald. December 23, 1992.
- Stated by Henry Louis Gates on the Finding Your Roots episode "In Search of Freedom," January 19, 2016, PBS
- Itzkoff, Dave (September 9, 2011). "Juggling a Comedy Series About Juggling Life's Tasks". The New York Times. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
- Minnie Riperton (1975). Minnie Riperton - Lovin' You (Live 1975). The Midnight Special (TV series). Event occurs at 03:07. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
Maya, Maya, Maya
- "Top 10 little known facts about Teena Marie". CNN Entertainment. December 28, 2010. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- Morris, Alex (May 8, 2014). "The New Carol Burnett: Maya Rudolph on Fulfilling Her Variety-Show Dream". Vulture. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
- "Maya Rudolph Biography". TVGuide.com. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
- McGlynn, Katla (May 8, 2011). "'SNL': Pregnant Tina Fey & Maya Rudolph Sing Duet About Doin' It". www.huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
- Adams, Char (December 20, 2015). "Amy Poehler Reunites with Maya Rudolph to Bring 'Bronx Beat' Back to SNL – and They Aren't Fans of Star Wars". People. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
- DeSantis, Rachel (September 30, 2019). "Kamala Harris Responds After Maya Rudolph Hilariously Spoofs Her on Saturday Night Live". People. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
- Collins, Scott (May 19, 2014). "Maya Rudolph looks to spice up NBC with a variety show". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
- Littleton, Cynthia (February 12, 2016). "NBC Greenlights Maya Rudolph-Martin Short Variety Show, Targets May Premiere (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
- Pederson, Erik (August 2, 2018). "'Forever' Trailer: Maya Rudolph, Fred Armisen, A Ski Trip & A Changed Life In Amazon Comedy". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
- "D'Angelo Performs Prince Tribute with Maya Rudolph and Gretchen Lieberum on Tonight Show". People. April 27, 2016.
- Stanhope, Kate (July 19, 2011). "It's a Boy for Maya Rudolph and Paul Thomas Anderson". TV Guide. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
- "Maya Rudolph Welcomes Fourth Child!". Us Weekly. September 10, 2013. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
- "Disney's 'Big Hero 6' Adds Maya Rudolph to Top-Secret Voice Cast (Exclusive)". April 28, 2014.
- "Cast Announcement: Six Reasons We Can't Wait to See Big Hero 6". Oh My Disney. July 13, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
- Porter, Rick (December 3, 2019). "Lorne Michaels' Quibi Murder Mystery Lines Up All-Star Cast". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
- Laura Smith-Spark (March 19, 2020). "Gal Gadot enlists celebrity help for coronavirus 'Imagine' video". CNN. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
- "Nominees/Winners". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
- "Nominees/Winners". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. 2019. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
- "Nominees/Winners". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Maya Rudolph. |
- Maya Rudolph on Twitter
- Maya Rudolph on IMDb
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