What a week actress, comedian, singer Maya Ruldolph is having! The Groundlings alumni won not one, but two Emmys during the 72nd Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards.
On Thursday, September 17th, during the fourth remote evening of the event, Maya took home her first award for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performer for her portrayal of the big, musky, hairy, super-confident, and definitely unforgettable Connie the Hormone Monstress in the animated series Big Mouth. She’s been voicing several characters in the Nick Kroll co-created Netflix show since 2017.
And being a triple nominee this year, Maya’s celebration continued on Saturday, the 19th, when she earned a second Emmy for her impersonation of the senator-turned-vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris on Saturday Night Live. This time, Rudolph won for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. Indeed, the funny woman was nominated twice this year for this category; her depiction of Kamala Harris won over her performance as Judge Gen on the sitcom The Good Place. But by competing against herself, Maya was the first actor in Emmy history to be nominated twice in a single year for comedic performances in the guest category.
As Rudolph had received Emmy nods six times over the course of eight years, this turn of events was quite a welcome surprise for the star. In fact, she admits she was shocked to learn she’d been nominated three times this year.
“I feel really proud,” Rudolph told Variety. “I love working on ‘The Good Place,’ I love doing anything on ‘SNL,’ and I feel so lucky that I’ve been able to play Senator Harris. It’s so exciting. And I love my character Connie in ‘Big Mouth.’ It’s nice to feel proud of the things you’ve done for a change … Enjoy all the good.”
Upon learning she’d won the prize for Big Mouth’s over-the-top Connie, the elated actress took to social media to write: “I WON AN EMMY!” Maya added a celebratory selfie and mouthed the words of an audio featuring a childlike voice saying: “Thank you to all of those in the Academy for letting me win this Emmy. I’m so grateful because I never won an Emmy before. It’s a wonderful feeling. I think that it will be better if I won more Emmys.”
Maya recently explained her initial approach to portraying the vice-presidential hopeful Kamala Harris, saying, “I tend to mimic the sound of people’s voices or if there are gestures or mannerisms, but there’s nothing crazily overt about Senator Harris. But I have to tell you, when I got to ‘Saturday Night Live’ and they put the wig on me, it was done.”
Maya Rudolph is also known for her performances in Grown Ups, Bridesmaids, Idiocracy, and As Good As It Gets. Also, the Florida native has lent her voice in Shrek the Third, Big Hero 6, Angry Birds Movie, and The Willoughbys.
Due to the restrictions in place because of COVID-19, the 72nd Annual Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony this year was aired via a live, virtual ceremony from Saturday, September 14 through Sunday the 19th on FXX.
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