Maya Rudolph says her parents being famous musicians didn't give her a leg up in acting and comedy
The 'Bridesmaids' star, 51, is the daughter of late 'Lovin' You' hitmaker Minnie Riperton - who died in 1979, aged just 31, following a battle with breast cancer - and songwriter, producer, and musician Richard Rudolph, 77, and she insists there was no nepotism involved in her bid to become a screen star and comedienne.
27 April 2024
Speaking to Dax Shepard on the 'Armchair Expert' podcast, she said: "They were musicians.
"They weren't actors.
"My trajectory was, I wanted to go to New York, and I wanted to be on Saturday Night Live.
"I understand that drive to be somewhere else - forage in a new city and create my own path. But that's a huge undertaking. 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."
The former 'Saturday Night Live' cast member - who has starred in films such as 'Grown Ups', 'Life of the Party' and 'Disenchanted' - explained how, despite her mother being a famous singer, she and her friends didn't consider her to be a "household name".
She shared: "It's interesting because my mom was a singer that not all my friends were that aware of at the time.
"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."
One person that did help Maya's pursuit of acting was her childhood friend, 'School of Rock' actor Jack Black, 54.
Appearing on 'The Drew Barrymore Show', she spilled: "My drama teacher put us together, and he was my improv coach for an improv competition we did.
"And he got me into the improv class, and he took me to my first Groundlings show, which is where I ended up.
"First of all, you have to understand something about Jack: Jack has been the same person since the day I met him. The exact same person. He's just that guy. He's just special."
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