Maya Rudolph is having a stellar year, with four Emmy nominations (and one win), the success of Apple TV+’s Loot and her recurring role as Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday Night Live. Amid all the success, she revealed the one question she wishes people would stop asking her in interviews: how old she was when her late mother, soul singer Minnie Riperton, died.
At 52, having just won her sixth Emmy and embracing what she calls her “Mother Era,” the last thing Maya Rudolph wants to discuss is the tragedy surrounding her mother’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,” the mother of four told Variety. “And they ask me how old I was when she died.”
She continued, “The other day, I said, ‘Why the f**k are we still doing this?’ 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.”
Riperton died of breast cancer at 31. She was a singer-songwriter from Chicago’s South Side who made her mark in the music industry with her timeless hit, “Lovin’ You,” which peaked at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Charts on April 5, 1975. Riperton was also known for perfecting the five-octave range and using the whistle register, a distinct vocal register.
Rudolph told Variety that she has made efforts in the past to be courteous and kind. However, she said she has now reached a point in her life where she’s setting boundaries and moving away from these conversations.
“I answer the question and then afterwards, I’m like, ‘Why the f**k did I do that again?’” she told the outlet. “Maybe this is the day where we just go, like, ‘You can stop asking.’ It just makes a sad story. But we’re talking about great things, yeah, and humans are capable of so much more than one thing. But for whatever reason, people want to really focus on the sadness, and I’m like, ‘I good.’”
This pivotal moment, which she refers to as her “zero-f**ks hormones” phase, reflects where she is in her life right now.
“I am a polite person, and I care about how I treat other people, obviously. And I try not to ruffle feathers. I like to be respectful. But at a certain point, you have to stand up for yourself. It took me a long time to get to feeling more comfortable in this space, but I’m in it now,” Rudolph said.
