--- description: Find out why Maya Rudolph is one of the 100 most influential people of 2024. title: Maya Rudolph: The 100 Most Influential People of 2024 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd4c9a150d55552cb/698a558d47ca3881b83bd658/time-100-2024-maya-rudolph.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Apr 17, 2024 # Maya Rudolph by Amy Poehler  Mary Ellen Matthews [Maya Rudolph](https://time.com/5906947/maya-rudolph-kamala-harris/ "undefined") is a super talent who is lit from within. A performing polymath, she is able to deliver big laughs and deep emotions at the same time. We all fell in love with her on _Saturday Night Live,_ where her characters were not only funny, they were having fun. Her work constantly reminds us that we shouldn’t be taking ourselves or our lives too seriously. For a comedy genius, she is a giant comedy fan. She is generous with her laughter. She loves being part of a team, but she can make the winning shot if you pass her the ball. And let’s not forget her voice, a special gift given to her by her mother Minnie. This voice can sing lead in a [Prince cover band](https://www.thecut.com/2016/09/maya-rudolph-on-princess-her-prince-cover-band.html "undefined"), deliver a ridiculous version of the national anthem, or give shape to animated characters that win Emmys. In Apple TV’s _Loot,_ she plays Molly Novak, a billionaire who learns to give back. In life, Maya has already figured that out. She gives to us over and over again. We should count ourselves lucky that we get to live in a world where the hilarious California mama named Maya Rudolph is here to soothe our pain. _Poehler is a writer, producer, and Emmy-winning actor_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964633/maya-rudolph-2024/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964633/maya-rudolph-2024/"},"headline":"Maya Rudolph","datePublished":"2024-04-17T10:56:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:28:54.639Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964633/maya-rudolph-2024/","keywords":["TIME100","franchise","Magazine","Special Project","sponsorshipblock","Accolades","2024TIME100","T100Innovators2024"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd4c9a150d55552cb/698a558d47ca3881b83bd658/time-100-2024-maya-rudolph.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd4c9a150d55552cb/698a558d47ca3881b83bd658/time-100-2024-maya-rudolph.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964633/maya-rudolph-2024/","name":"Maya Rudolph"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"See Everyone on the TIME100 2024 list","description":"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/73p9kgIN/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2024-04-17T11:00:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/73p9kgIN.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964633/maya-rudolph-2024/","duration":"PT1M59S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964633/maya-rudolph-2024/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```