Rudolph was born in Gainesville, Florida. She is the daughter of soul singer Minnie Riperton and composer/songwriter/producer Richard Rudolph. Her father is an Ashkenazi Jew. Her mother was African-American. Her paternal grandfather was Sidney Rudolph. He was a philanthropist who once owned all of the Wendy's and Rudy's restaurants in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Her parents moved to Los Angeles when she and her brother Marc were very young. They grew up in the Westwood section of Los Angeles.