Maya Rudolph was born in Gainesville, Florida, the daughter of the late soul singer Minnie Riperton (a.k.a. Andrea Davis) and composer, songwriter and producer Richard Rudolph. Her father was Jewish and her mother African American. 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. Riperton Read more...

Growing up, Maya attended St. Augustine by the Sea School, where she met childhood friend Gwyneth Paltrow. The Paltrows and the Rudolphs became family friends. 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 B.A. in photography from Porter College.

Rudolph and filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson are in a relationship, and have a daughter, Pearl Bailey Anderson, born on October 15, 2005.