Comedian Maya Rudolph claims having famous parents didn’t help her succeed

Actor and comedian Maya Rudolph recently opened up about her childhood in a celebrity family. 

In an appearance on the Armchair Expert podcast with Dax Shepard, Rudolph explained that having famous parents – songwriter Richard Rudolph and soul singer Minnie Riperton –  didn't exactly fast track her comedy career.

"They were musicians," Rudolph said, acknowledging her parents' creative background wasn't directly tied to comedy. "There was no direct line. I knew I had to get there myself."

She spoke about her early goals as an aspiring entertainer, “My trajectory was, I wanted to go to New York, and I wanted to be on Saturday Night Live.”

Rudolph also spoke about her experience growing up with a famous, but not necessarily household-name, mother. "It's interesting because my mom was a singer that not all my friends were that aware of at the time," she said.

She added that her mother’s death at a young age – 31 from breast cancer – and the lack of widespread music channels during her prime further contributed to the disconnect for her peers.

Despite Riperton being relatively unknown during her time, Rudolph recalled her mother’s connection with music, "My mom was music," she told NPR in 2012. "Music poured out of my mother, and I'm sure I heard it before I even got here."