Tragic Details About SNL Star Maya Rudolph

Maya Rudolph is known for her comedic genius, but too many comic greats find themselves grappling with circumstances that are far from funny. It's no surprise she rose to fame during her time on "Saturday Night Live." Her many skits showed off her acting range, as well as her impressive voice, with her Beyoncé and Whitney Houston impersonations making millions of viewers laugh. In fact, her Queen Bey impressions even got a stamp of approval from the "Single Ladies" singer herself. 

During an appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live," Rudolph recalled doing a skit while Beyoncé was on the show and then being embarrassed at having to stand next to her later. According to Rudolph, after she apologized to the pop star, Beyoncé replied, "No, it was good!"

Many fans may not know that Rudolph got her vocal range from her late mom, Minnie Riperton, who was known for the hit song "Lovin' You." Tragically, Riperton died from breast cancer in 1979 when Rudolph was just 6 years old. Growing up with her famous mom's legacy wasn't always easy, especially at such a young age, but the "Idiocracy" star clearly made a name for herself in the industry. Along with the highs, Rudolph faced many lows, and sadly, she's gone through several heartbreaking moments throughout her life.

Maya Rudolph has the chameleon-like ability to transform into anyone on "Saturday Night Live," and she's parodied famous faces of all ethnicities, thanks to her diverse background. "I have this thing where I just feel I can be anyone. And I think being mixed, too, I kind of, sort of grew up feeling a little orphaned by the idea of my heritage," she shared on "Finding Your Roots" (via People). Rudolph stated, "I know I'm from 'peoples,' but I don't know who they are. I want to know people's names, I want to know what they did, I want to know where they lived. I want to go as far back as possible."

Having grown up in the '70s, Rudolph didn't have many biracial folks around her, nor were there many celebs she could look up to. However, when she saw Lisa Bonet on "The Cosby Show," she immediately felt a sort of kinship, per The New York Times. "I'd be like, 'I'm mixed, too! Just like Lisa Bonet!'" she recalled. Although her parents always encouraged her uniqueness, Rudolph still felt like an outsider when she realized she didn't fit into any category. "Every SAT and test, it's like, 'What are you?' I'm an 'other.' So attractive," she lamented.

Losing her mom Minnie Riperton at such a young age was understandably traumatic for Maya Rudolph, and it took her a long time to get over her loss. In her interview with The New York Times, she recalled not processing her mother's death and dealing with it by kicking her schoolmates. Her grief would come out in other ways as well, such as randomly crying at kids' parties. When asked what was wrong, she inexplicably told her fellow partygoers that her grandmother had just died. "I definitely think that children process very differently. And I'm genuinely fascinated by it, so I wish I knew all the ways that I do or did, but I don't. But I know that the place that I was with it most of my life was more of a, 'Poor me, why me?'" she pondered.

Now that she's worked through her trauma, Rudolph is fine with not talking about Riperton's death. "My whole career, people have always brought up my mom, which is wonderful. But then they also bring up the tragedy of losing my mother when I was little. And they ask me how old I was when she died," she told Variety. Rudolph went on to say, "First of all, if you know me and you know who I am, you already have that information. And the second thing is, who wants to be asked about their childhood trauma every time they talk about their career? I'm 52 years old, and I have survived my childhood trauma." Note to reporters: steer clear of asking Rudolph about her mom's untimely death.

Maya Rudolph made "Saturday Night Live" audiences laugh for seven years before leaving the cast in 2007. The decision wasn't easy and she revealed to ET, "I was so sad when I left. I think it's OK to, like, take that moment, but I also feel like it's nice to see the rest of the world." She added, "You sort of forget, when you're in 'SNL' world, [that] there's a lot out there." It took some time for Rudolph to get used to not working at 30 Rock anymore. "I think I thought, 'Oh, I'm going to be here forever.' And then I didn't know how to navigate getting out. At the same time, it's given me a foundation that's been transformative. You're learning comedy combat, and you can take that with you anywhere," she shared in a roundtable discussion with her fellow actors for The Hollywood Reporter.

It's fair to say that Rudolph hasn't truly left the long-running NBC comedy series, as she often shows up on the small screen as Kamala Harris. In May 2024, she poked fun at herself in an "SNL" skit suggesting that she was a permanent fixture there and was, in fact, living inside a studio closet. When she's discovered lounging on a bed, she says, "I've been in here since 2007. I never left. Why would I leave? I have everything I need here." The clip was filmed ahead of her hosting duties on May 11, so although leaving the show was heartbreaking, Rudolph is still very much a part of "SNL."

Maya Rudolph was already an established actor when she appeared on the "Late Show with David Letterman" in 2009, so it was easy to see why she was upset when David Letterman humiliated her on his show. In a clip shared on YouTube, the talk show host is seen introducing her as "Amaya," but after learning that he made a mistake, he later tells her, "I'm just a boob, there's no excuse for it, and from the bottom of my heart, I sincerely apologize." Despite the apology, Rudolph told The Wall Street Journal years later in 2022, "He said my name wrong, and I just sat there, like, 'I grew up my whole life in love with you. And now my heart is broken.' And I'm sitting here embarrassed and humiliated." She added, "I didn't know how to handle it. I didn't know how to come up with something funny to say. My public persona muscle wasn't strong yet."

After she called out Letterman, some fans dragged Rudolph for being overly sensitive. "David Letterman mispronounced your name and that left you feeling humiliated and embarrassed? Are you for real? You obviously haven't experienced true humiliation or embarrassment to have such thin skin. Kindly get over yourself," one shared on X, formerly Twitter. Another fan defended Rudolph on Reddit and wrote, "The original anecdote from the 'Wall Street Journal' article is being taken out of context. She was describing how she had to get better at public interviews and handling her public persona. It's being blown out of proportion relative to how it went down in 'WSJ.'"

Maya Rudolph is not yet an empty nester as of this writing, but letting her oldest daughter Pearl Minnie Anderson go away to college was one of the hardest things she's had to do. After dropping off one of her kids at a university for the first time in 2024, Rudolph told Variety, "It's just really confusing. Why the f*** do we let them go? I'm nowhere near understanding it yet. Why did they invent parenthood this way? It's all painful. I'm OK, but I can't lie — it's hard. Changing diapers was so much easier!"

Rudolph still had three kids at home, whom she shares with her partner Paul Thomas Anderson, but Pearl has been with her since the onset of her career. The "Loot" star revealed to Town & Country that when she had Pearl in 2005 and was working at "Saturday Night Live," she thought they would all settle down in NYC. Unfortunately, Anderson wanted to be based in Los Angeles, which meant Rudolph was living the bicoastal life and often had to bring Pearl with her. "This little bald baby, listening to the musical guests warm up. I look back and I can't believe I did that. It was crazy. I don't think I slept for two years," she shared.