10 Best Maya Rudolph Movies and TV Shows, Ranked

Directed by Amy Poehler, *Wine Country* serves as a joyful reunion of *Saturday Night Live*’s greatest golden-era women. Playing Naomi, an overworked mother awaiting results from a medical biopsy while trying to keep the party alive in Napa Valley, Rudolph effortlessly toggles between hilarious drunken antics and authentic vulnerability. Her impassioned, middle-of-the-night lip-sync to the 1990s pop ballad "Eternal Flame" is Rudolph at her most delightfully uninhibited.

In this beloved coming-of-age indie classic, Rudolph provided the grounding counterweight to the chaotic water park antics of Sam Rockwell's Owen. Playing Caitlin, a fellow Water Wizz employee who sees straight through Owen's eccentric bravado while sharing a deep, unspoken romantic bond with him, Rudolph brings warmth, effortless comedic timing, and gentle wisdom to a story overflowing with dysfunctional family dynamics featuring [Steve Carell](/10-best-steve-carell-movies-and-tv-shows-ranked/).

Collaborating with her longtime partner, auteur director Paul Thomas Anderson, Rudolph stepped into Thomas Pynchon’s hazy, sun-baked 1970 noir world as Petunia Leeway, the sharp-witted receptionist and confidante to Joaquin Phoenix’s stoner private investigator Doc Sportello. Rudolph matches Phoenix’s psychedelic paranoia with dry, grounded wit, demonstrating how effortlessly she slips into high-art cinematic prestige.

Sam Mendes’ gentle indie road movie provided Rudolph with her finest dramatic leading role. Starring opposite John Krasinski as an expectant couple traveling across North America in search of the ideal place to raise their unborn child, Rudolph stripped away every sketch-comedy mannerism. Her portrayal of Verona—a woman navigating grief over her deceased parents while confronting the terrors of motherhood—is tender, contemplative, and deeply moving.

Mike Judge’s prophetic sci-fi satire has only grown more relevant with time, and Rudolph’s deadpan performance as Rita is one of its greatest assets. Cryogenically frozen alongside Luke Wilson’s "average" Joe Bauers, Rita awakens 500 years in the future to find human intelligence has collapsed. Rudolph plays the exasperated voice of basic common sense with sharp comic authority, reacting to the dystopian insanity around her with unforgettable deadpan incredulity.

In this acclaimed Apple TV+ comedy, Rudolph commands the screen as Molly Novak, a multi-billionaire who publicly melts down following a catastrophic divorce before choosing to re-engage with the world through her charitable foundation. Balancing absurd out-of-touch billionaire excess (like owning private islands and tasting gold-flaked ramen) with genuine remorse and character growth, Rudolph earned universal critical acclaim and an Emmy nomination.

Stepping into Michael Schur’s philosophical masterpiece as Gen (short for Hydrogen), the all-powerful cosmic arbiter of the universe, Rudolph delivered one of the most exhilarating guest arcs in television history. Armed with a supreme burrito and an obsessive love for Timothy Olyphant and *NCIS*, Rudolph balanced omnipotent godlike judgment with giddy, childlike pop-culture enthusiasm, earning three consecutive Primetime Emmy nominations.

Rudolph’s vocal performance as Connie the Hormone Monstress is a generational masterclass in voice acting. Delivering words with operatic exaggeration—none more famous than her elongated, purring pronunciation of "bubble bath" ("baple baff")—Rudolph gave animated form to the chaotic, intoxicating, terrifying id of teenage female puberty. Her fearless, hilarious vocal gymnastics earned her three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance.

For seven regular seasons and decades of unforgettable guest appearances, Maya Rudolph remained *SNL* royalty. Her mimicry was uncanny yet fundamentally affectionate: singing through clenched teeth as Donatella Versace, weeping with grandiose passion as Oprah, and commanding the stage as Beyoncé. Her pitch-perfect, Emmy-winning portrayal of Vice President Kamala Harris became an era-defining political impression, solidifying Rudolph as one of the show's all-time greatest titans alongside [Kristen Wiig](/10-best-kristen-wiig-movies-and-tv-shows-ranked/) and [Vanessa Bayer](/why-vanessa-bayer-is-snls-most-underrated-genius/).

The beating emotional heart of the comedy that reshaped 21st-century cinema. As Lillian Donovan, the bride caught in an agonizing tug-of-war between her struggling childhood best friend ([Kristen Wiig](/10-best-kristen-wiig-movies-and-tv-shows-ranked/)) and a glamorous new socialite rival, Rudolph anchored the film's chaotic hilarity in genuine, lived-in friendship. Her chemistry with real-life close friend Wiig was palpable in every frame. And in the film’s most infamously shocking set piece—succumbing to food poisoning in the middle of a busy street in an exquisite Parisian wedding gown ("Look away!")—Rudolph executed an indelible physical comedy milestone with total, fearless abandon.