Maya Rudolph

Maya Rudolph is an American actress, comedian, singer, and voice performer known for sketch comedy, film roles, animated voice work, and television comedy. She was born Maya Khabira Rudolph on July 27, 1972, in Gainesville, Florida. Her mother was singer Minnie Riperton and her father is composer and producer Richard Rudolph. Rudolph studied at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and her early work reflected both comedy and music before she became widely known to television audiences.

Rudolph joined the cast of NBC's Saturday Night Live in 2000. Her tenure on the sketch series established her as a versatile comic performer, with work that included celebrity impressions, recurring characters, musical sketches, and ensemble comedy. While still associated with SNL, she also appeared in film roles including 50 First Dates, A Prairie Home Companion, and Idiocracy. She left the regular cast in 2007 but returned frequently as a host and guest performer, later receiving major recognition for her portrayal of Kamala Harris during the 2020 election cycle.

After SNL, Rudolph built a broad film career in comedy and voice acting. Her live-action film credits include Grown Ups, Bridesmaids, Grown Ups 2, Inherent Vice, Sisters, Life of the Party, Wine Country, and Disenchanted. Bridesmaids in particular became one of her best-known ensemble comedy films, while Inherent Vice connected her to writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson's work. Rudolph also became a frequent voice performer in animated features, with credits including Shrek the Third, Turbo, Big Hero 6, The Angry Birds Movie, The Emoji Movie, The Willoughbys, The Mitchells vs. the Machines, and Luca.