Rudd was born in Passaic, New Jersey. His father, Michael Rudd, was a historical tour guide and former vice-president of Trans World Airlines who died of cancer when Rudd was 39. His mother, Gloria Irene (Granville), was a sales manager at the television station KCMO-TV in Kansas City, Missouri. His parents were born in England; his father was from Edgware and his mother from Surbiton, both in London. Rudd's parents were both Jewish (descended from Jewish immigrants who moved to Britain from Russia, Belarus, and Poland). Rudd's parents were second cousins. His father's family's original surname, "Rudnitsky", was changed by his grandfather to "Rudd", and his mother's family's surname was originally "Goldstein". Rudd had a Bar Mitzvah service. Growing up, he loved reading British comics, "The Beano", and "The Dandy", which his uncle in the U.K. would send to him.