Maya Rudolph (born July 27, 1972) is a cast member on Saturday Night Live and the daughter of the late soul singer Minnie Riperton. Her characters on the show have included attorney Glenda Goodwin and Megan from the "Wake Up, Wakefield!" sketches, and she has performed impressions of Oprah Winfrey, Christina Aguilera, Paris Hilton, Teresa Heinz Kerry, and most famously, designer Donatella Versace.

In addition to her work on SNL, Maya has appeared in movies as well as on a few television shows, including City of Angels and Chicago Hope. She had a small part in the 2000 film Duets , for which she was also the music supervisor.

Rudolph was born in Gainesville, Florida, the daughter of Riperton and songwriter/producer Richard Rudolph . She was in the studio with her mother on the day Riperton recorded "Lovin' You"; one can hear her mother sing "Maya, Maya, Maya" to her near the end of the track. Growing up biracial and losing her mother at a young age had an effect, according to a July 2001 Rosie magazine article: "My mom was black and my dad is Jewish, and I lost my mom when I was seven. That made me feel really different from other kids."

She attended high school in Santa Monica, California and continued her education at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she graduated in 1995 with a BA in photography. She joined SNL after a performance as a member of The Groundlings.

Prior to joining SNL, she was briefly a keyboardist for the band The Rentals.

External links

• SNL biography
• USA Weekend magazine article from January 2004