Maya Rudolph's 4 Children: All About Pearl, Lucille, Jack and Minnie

'Loot' star Maya Rudolph shares daughters and sons with longtime partner Paul Thomas Anderson

Maya Rudolph and her partner, filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson, share four children: Pearl, Lucille, Jack and Minnie.

The couple have reportedly been together since 2001. Though Rudolph and Anderson are not married, the actress has called him her husband since the birth of their first child.

“People know what [husband] means," she told The New York Times in 2018. "It means he’s the father of my child, and I live with him, and we are a couple, and we are not going anywhere.”

Speaking to PopSugar that same year, the Loot star reflected on becoming a mother and how the experience changed her perspective on life.

"When you're thinking about another human being who you can see it's far more precious than you and you have the instinct to take care of them, you naturally do what's right and what's important and they always come first," Rudolph explained.

Related: Who Is Maya Rudolph's Partner? All About Paul Thomas Anderson

Throughout her pregnancies and motherhood, she has continued actively working in Hollywood. However, she has said that “there is no such thing” as finding the perfect balance between her work and her personal life.

“When I started having kids, I never stopped working,” she said. “I would take breaks, of course, but I didn’t change my creative life.”

The Good Place alum added, “As a working mother, I do the best that I can, and I try to enjoy it. I try to do a good job.”

Here's everything to know about Maya Rudolph's children: Pearl, Lucille, Jack and Minnie.

Pearl Anderson, 18

Rudolph and Anderson welcomed their first child, daughter Pearl Anderson, on Oct. 15, 2005.

The actress gave birth while midseason at Saturday Night Live, on which she starred from 2000 to 2007. At the time, Tina Fey announced news of “the little peanut” during a Weekend Update segment.

After Pearl was born, Rudolph said that she and Anderson “got really lucky” with their daughter, whom she called “exceptional.”

When she was still breastfeeding, Pearl would fly with her mom to New York City for SNL. “She’s just a world-class traveler,” Rudolph told Bust magazine in 2006. “She does well on the plane and she’s friendly. It’s really hilarious to see her with strangers; she smiles at everybody. She’s a sweet lady."

Prior to welcoming Pearl, Rudolph was completely “devoted to Saturday Night Live,” she told NPR in 2012. “It's really difficult to be there for anyone else in your life when you're doing the show because of the hours it demands," the comedian added.

After seven years on the show, Rudolph left SNL when her firstborn was 2 years old. In 2017, she opened up to Parade about her decision to depart the iconic sketch comedy show.

“By the time I had a daughter, it was just the right time for me to leave,” she told the outlet. “It’s hard to work on a late-night comedy show and have a baby. I did it and I wouldn’t trade it for anything, but I wouldn’t really recommend it."

As her eldest daughter grew, Rudolph began to notice the similarities between their personalities. In an interview conducted by John Krasinski for BlackBook in 2009, the actor said Pearl was the “coolest girl I’ve ever met,” which didn’t come as much of a surprise to the actress.

“Let’s put it this way: If she had come out as a total wallflower, and said stuff like, ‘I hate reading and I don’t like to perform,’ then I’d be like, ‘That’s not my kid,’ ” Rudolph quipped. “So it doesn’t really surprise me that she’s like, ‘Hey, I’m funny and I like to hang out.' ”

Rudolph tends to keep her personal life private and does not make public appearances with her four kids or post photos of them on social media.

However, the actress has shared stories about her kids in interviews, including how Pearl reacted to seeing her work. In 2016, Rudolph told PEOPLE that Pearl was “very proud” of her.

Lucille Anderson, 14

Rudolph and Anderson welcomed their second child, daughter Lucille Anderson, on Nov. 6, 2009.

The timing of her arrival caught the actress and filmmaker off guard, and they didn't make it to the hospital. "[A home birth] was not my plan, but that’s what happened ... because the baby came out really fast,” Rudolph said on Chelsea Lately in 2011. “It was scary, but it was kind of awesome.”

Rudolph announced she was expecting her second child in an interview with Entertainment Tonight Canada. She noted that her pregnancy with Pearl helped prepare her for her second: “The first time you are like wide-eyed: ‘What are we doing? Who’s coming? How do we take care of them?’ But this time, I’m like, ‘I have to sit down, I’m pregnant.’ ”

In March 2021, Pearl, Lucille and their younger siblings, Jack and Minnie, made their way to Studio 8H when their mom hosted SNL. Rudolph announced their presence during her monologue, telling the audience, “I have four incredible kids and they're all here tonight. Don't make me cry."

“Just a heads-up to my kids, tonight Mommy's gonna put on a lot of wigs, okay?” the Bridesmaids star added. “And do a lot of weird voices so it's just gonna be like a typical day at home, I'll just be wearing a bra.”

Though she keeps her children out of the spotlight, Rudolph nurtures their creative talents, including their musical abilities.

"I think they have the gift of music and they don't realize how great they are, so they kind of keep it to themselves,” she said on Late Night with Seth Meyers in 2022. “I force them all to play, to have piano lessons."

All four of Rudolph’s children also appeared in their dad’s 2021 film Licorice Pizza, which the actress told Meyers was partly due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

“We were doing Zoom school and it was a scary time,” she said. “It provided this amazing experience where my kids, their friends, their friends' parents, my parents, my nanny — we were all in it. We were all around and so we had a little world.”

Jack Anderson, 12

Rudolph and Anderson welcomed their third child, son Jack Anderson, on July 3, 2011.

Much like they did for Pearl and Lucille, the couple chose not to learn their child’s sex ahead of time. Before they welcomed Jack, Rudolph told Access Hollywood she was “excited” about keeping it a mystery.

“The exciting part is not knowing who’s coming,” she said. “You have to wait nine months for a surprise, but then it’s a good payoff because it really is a surprise.”

After Jack was born, Rudolph described herself as “a little bit of a pro” when it came to pregnancy and childbirth. Though she said there were things she “used to fear” when she was a brand new mom, those concerns had since dissipated.

“By the third child we didn’t even have a car seat anymore,” she joked to PEOPLE.

During a 2015 appearance on Conan, Rudolph told host Conan O’Brien that Turner Classic Movies was on at all hours in her house so it would “seep into the children’s minds,” and they would learn the terminology. Jack was most interested in the classic films, she noted.

“I’ll be making breakfast, and I look over, and my 4-year-old son is just watching it, and it’s some beautiful lady talking to somebody and smoking a cigarette,” she shared. “And I’m wondering, what is my son thinking?”

Minnie Ida Anderson, 10

Rudolph and Anderson welcomed their fourth child, Minnie Ida Anderson, on Aug. 1, 2013.

The couple’s youngest daughter is named after Rudolph’s late mother, singer Minnie Riperton, who died on July 12, 1979, when the actress was 6 years old.

Less than two years after welcoming Minnie, PEOPLE asked Rudolph if she foresaw having more children. “Hell no,” she said. “I would be a crazy person if that happened! I would be a crazy person!”

Rudolph may be a big star in Hollywood, but her children prefer her attention on them at home. In 2016, the actress told PEOPLE that her kids often tell her to “sit down and watch” when they are hosting performances in their living room.

Related: All About Maya Rudolph's Parents, Minnie Riperton and Richard Rudolph

“They’ll dance to anything,” she said. “They’re natural hams.”

Still, Rudolph looks forward to showing them her projects, including when she played a villain in Disenchanted. "My kids are the biggest Disney fans," she told PEOPLE in 2022. "And I am, too. I think they are going to love it."

In addition to their musical abilities and new acting credentials, Rudolph’s kids have another interest in the kitchen.

“My kids do like to bake,” she told PEOPLE in 2021. “I wish I were more of a baker but there's a lot of inventive baking in my home, especially with my younger kids, which tends to be my favorite."

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