Minnie died at 31 in 1979. The epitaph on Minnie’s headstone in an LA cemetery is the opening line from her popular song: “Lovin’ you is easy ’cause you’re beautiful.”
“It’s so nice, especially being on the receiving end as the child of that [song tribute],” Maya, now an actress, said in a recent interview.
As a regular on “Saturday Night Live” for 10 years, Maya parodied celebrities, including Whitney Houston, Oprah Winfrey, Beyonce and Donatella Versace.
In remembrance of the late great Ripperton, Maya and others put together a 10K race to raise money for breast cancer. “Every year here in LA on or around my Mom’s birthday we have a run that raises money for breast cancer research and helps to raise awareness in the black community as well as in anyone else who shows up,” explains Rudolph. “It’s fun. And people can find other Minnie Riperton fans there as well as young and old people or people who just love to run.”
Minnie Ripperton’s Real Reason For ‘Loving You” was originally published on blackdoctor.org
