Maya Rudolph is an American actress, comedian, and singer. In 2000, she became a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live and later played supporting roles in the films 50 First Dates, A Prairie Home Companion, and Idiocracy.
Rudolph was born on July 27, 1972, in Gainesville, Florida, to singer-songwriter Minnie Riperton and composer Richard Rudolph. 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.
Rudolph’s 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. Rudolph’s godmother was R&B singer Teena Marie.
What happened to Maya Rudolph’s mom?
Maya Rudolph channels her mom, singer Minnie Riperton, in ‘SNL’ photos. Riperton passed away at age 31 in 1979 from cancer when Rudolph was only 6 years old.
Source: Ghanafuo.com
