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Maya Rudolph

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Maya Rudolph
Born
Maya Khabira Rudolph

(1972-07-27) July 27, 1972 (age 52)
Gainesville, Florida, U.S.
Alma materPorter College, (UC Santa Cruz)
B.A., 1993
Occupation(s)Actress, comedienne, singer
Years active1996–present
PartnerPaul Thomas Anderson
Children3
Parent(s)Minnie Riperton
Richard Rudolph
Notes

Maya Khabira Rudolph (born July 27, 1972) is an American actress, comedienne and singer known for her comedic roles as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 2000 to 2007, and for appearing in films such as Away We Go, Bridesmaids, Grown Ups, A Prairie Home Companion and MacGruber. She is the daughter of the late R&B and soul singer Minnie Riperton and music engineer Richard Rudolph.

Early life

Rudolph was born in Gainesville, Florida. She is the daughter of soul singer Minnie Riperton and composer/songwriter/producer Richard Rudolph. Her father is Ashkenazi Jewish and her mother was African-American.[3][4] Her paternal grandfather was Sidney Rudolph, a philanthropist who once owned all of the Wendy's and Rudy's restaurants in Dade County, FL.[5] Her family moved to Los Angeles when she and her brother Marc were very young, where they grew up primarily in the Westwood section.[2]

Rudolph was in the studio with her mother on the day Riperton recorded "Lovin' You",[citation needed] The listener can hear her mother sing "Maya, Maya, Maya" to her daughter near the end of the track. (Riperton had incorporated this into her rendition of the song on Midnight Special.[6] Riperton died on July 12, 1979, at age 31, from breast cancer, just shy of Rudolph's seventh birthday.[2] Her godmother was the R&B star Teena Marie.[7]

Education

Growing up, Rudolph attended high school at Crossroads School in Santa Monica, California, where she became friendly with fellow alumna Gwyneth Paltrow, and continued her education at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she graduated in 1995 with a B.A. in photography from Porter College.[8]

Career

Saturday Night Live

In May 2000, Rudolph joined the cast of SNL 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 SNL cast member Will Forte.[2]

Rudolph's characters on the show have included "Attorney Glenda Goodwin" and "Megan" from the "Wake Up, Wakefield!" sketches. Rudolph has performed impressions of Oprah Winfrey, Christina Aguilera, Condoleezza Rice, Paris Hilton, Teresa Heinz Kerry, Tyra Banks, Patti LaBelle, Beyoncé, Liza Minnelli, LaToya Jackson, Diana Ross, Whitney Houston, Rocsi (of 106 & Park), and designer Donatella Versace.

Rudolph's musical talents were frequently employed on SNL. 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. (Friend Will 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. She has been white (Paris Hilton, Liza Minnelli, Barbra Streisand, Lisa Kudrow), Asian (Lucy Liu, Lisa Ling), black (Diana Ross, Tina Turner), Latina (Charo), as well as people of mixed cultural backgrounds.[citation needed] As "Nooni Schoener," Rudolph, along with Fred Armisen (who, like Rudolph, is also multiracial), 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 show 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 then 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 2008–2009 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 SNL for the Season 36 premiere, hosted by Amy Poehler, performing the "Bronx Beat" sketch. She also returned that same season for episode 700, hosted by Tina Fey.[9]

Television and film

In addition to her work on SNL, 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 co-starred 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 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, together with SNL colleague Kristen Wiig. She currently stars in NBC's latest sitcom, Up All Night, with Christina Appelgate and Will Arnett.

Music

Prior to joining SNL, Rudolph was backing singer (1995-1999)[1] and briefly a keyboardist in the band The Rentals, with whom she toured for a short time.[2] She also appears in the music videos of the songs "Waiting" and "Please Let That Be You" by the band. 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.

Personal life

Rudolph lives with director Paul Thomas Anderson and their three children — daughters Pearl Minnie, (born October 2005) and Lucille (born November 6, 2009),[10] and son Jack (born July 3, 2011).[11]

Recurring characters on Saturday Night Live

  • Appreciante
  • Megan, one of the co-hosts of "Wake Up, Wakefield!"
  • Jackie
  • Jodi Dietz, one of the co-hosts of "Bronx Beat"
  • Beertje Van Beers
  • Mrs. Denmont
  • Britanica of Gemini's Twin
  • Leilani Burke
  • Rebecca
  • Cocktail Waitress
  • Space Creature
  • Casey
  • Charli Coffee
  • Glenda Goodwin
  • Patti Sylviac
  • Nuni Schoener

Celebrity impressions on SNL

Filmography

Films
Year Title Role Notes
1997 As Good as It Gets Police Woman
Gattaca Delivery Nurse
2000 Chuck & Buck Jamilla
Duets Omaha Hostess
2003 Duplex Tara
2004 50 First Dates Stacy
2006 A Prairie Home Companion Stage Manager Nominated – Gotham Award for Best Ensemble
Idiocracy Rita
2007 Shrek the Third Rapunzel Voice Only
2009 Away We Go Verona de Tessant Nominated — Comedy Film Award for Best Actress
Nominated — Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association for Best Actress
Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
Nominated — Black Reel Award for Best Actress
Nominated — St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
Nominated — Utah Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
2010 Grown Ups Deanne McKenzie
MacGruber Casey
2011 Zookeeper Mollie the Giraffe Voice Only
Bridesmaids Lillian
Television
Year Film Role Notes
1996–1997 Chicago Hope Nurse Leah Martine Recurring Cast
1997 The Devil's Child Holly TV movie
2000 Action Phina Episode: Dead Man Floating
City of Angels Nurse Grace Patterson Main Cast
2000–2007 Saturday Night Live Herself/Various Repertory Player
2006 Campus Ladies Professor Theresa Winslow Fabré Episode: All Nighter
2007 The Simpsons Julia Episode: Homer of Seville
2008–2009 Kath & Kim Athena Scooberman Recurring Cast
2011–Present Up All Night Ava Main Cast

References

  1. ^ a b "Maya Rudolph". The Complete Marquis Who's Who (fee, via Fairfax County Public Library). Marquis Who's Who. 2010. Gale Document Number: GALE|K2014901123. Retrieved 24 Sep. 2011. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help) Gale Biography In Context.
  2. ^ a b c d e Itzkoff, Dave (9 September 2011). "Juggling a Comedy Series About Juggling Life's Tasks". Retrieved 10 September 2011. Cite error: The named reference "Itzkoff" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Maya Rudolph Biography (1972–)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
  4. ^ "The Essence of Lucinda"", Ocala Star-Banner, 6 June 2001 {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |http://news.google.com/newspapers?id= ignored (help)
  5. ^ "SIDNEY J. RUDOLPH, PHILANTHROPIST AND RESTAURANT OWNER". Miami Herald. December 23, 1992.
  6. ^ Minnie Riperton (1975). Minnie Riperton - Lovin' You (Live 1975). The Midnight Special (TV series). Event occurs at 03:07. Retrieved 2011-09-25. Maya, Maya, Maya {{cite AV media}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |trans_title= (help)
  7. ^ "Top 10 little known facts about Teena Marie". CNN Entertainment. December 28, 2010. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
  8. ^ "Maya Rudolph Biography". TVGuide.com. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
  9. ^ McGlynn, Katla (May 8, 2011). "'SNL': Pregnant Tina Fey & Maya Rudolph Sing Duet About Doin' It". www.huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2011-05-09.
  10. ^ "Maya Rudolph Welcomes a Girl". People Magazine. December 04, 2009. Retrieved May 13, 2011. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ "Maya Rudolph Welcomes Son Jack". People.com. Time Inc. July 19, 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-19.

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