Maya Rudolf recalls impact of having famous parents on her success
Maya Rudolph is the daughter of musician Richard Rudolphand and late singer Minnie Riperton
Comedian Maya Rudolph reflected back on her childhood and opened up about being a daughter of celebrity parents.
The 51-year-old Bridesmaids actress recently appeared on the Armchair Expert podcast with Dax Shepard on Monday, April 22, and discussed how having famous parents did not aid her in her comedy career, in any way what so ever.
“They were musicians,” Maya said while acknowledging her parents' creative background “They weren't actors.”
Sharing about her early career goals she added, “My trajectory was, I wanted to go to New York, and I wanted to be on Saturday Night Live.”
As her parents were not linked to the comedy genre she was fully aware of what was coming ahead, and said, “I wasn’t like, ‘Oh my dad writes songs, that’s gonna make me a comedian.' There was no direct line. I knew I had to get there myself.”
Maya admits that most of her friends had no idea about her mother’s background, “It's interesting because my mom was a singer that not all my friends were that aware of at the time,” she said.
The actress added that not having the same last name as her mother also contributed to it.
“Everybody that knows who I am now knows that's my mom. But growing up, I didn't feel like she was a household name. I felt like she was special, yeah,” she added as Shepard agreed.
Moreover, she also talked about her time at SNL, she said, “So when I started doing SNL, people didn't really know she was my mom, and they figured it out later.”
However, she noted that when people got to know about her mom there would be an “added element” of them wanting to discuss her which Maya would not want to do.
It is pertinent to note that Maya’s mother is the late singer-songwriter Minnie Riperton, who is best known for her 1974 hit song Lovin' You. She died of breast cancer in 1979 at an early age of 31. At the time Maya was only six years old.
Her father was an American songwriter and musician Richard Rudolph, who is 77 years old.
For those unversed, Maya is known for her characters on Saturday Night Live from 2011 till 2012 and roles in several films, including Bridesmaids and Grown Ups.