Shawn Wayans
Wayans in 2004
Born	Shawn Mathis Wayans (1971-01-19) January 19, 1971 New York City, U.S.
Occupations	Actor comedian writer producer
Years active	1988–present
Children	3
Family	Wayans family

Shawn Mathis Wayans (born January 19, 1971)^[1] is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He made his debut on the comedy television series In Living Color (1990–1993). He went on to work with his brother Marlon Wayans on The WB sitcom The Wayans Bros.(1995–1999), and in the comedy films Don't Be a Menace (1996), Scary Movie (2000), Scary Movie 2 (2001), White Chicks (2004), Little Man (2006), and Dance Flick (2009).

Early life

Wayans, the ninth of ten siblings, was born in New York City, the son of Elvira Alethia (Green), a homemaker and social worker, and Howell Stouten Wayans, a supermarket manager.^[2][3][4] His family were once Jehovah's Witnesses.^[5][6] Wayans grew up in the Fulton Houses in the Manhattan neighborhood of Chelsea and is a 1989 graduate of the Bayard Rustin High School for the Humanities.

Career

On Fox's In Living Color, he began as DJ SW-1 and later became a featured performer, working with brothers Dwayne, Keenen (the show's creator), Damon, Marlon and sister Kim.

Along with Marlon, Shawn Wayans created and starred in the sitcom The Wayans Bros. (The WB, 1995–99) and co-wrote, co-executive produced, and starred in the 1996 feature Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood, in which Keenen also acted. Wayans guest starred on episodes of MacGyver and Hangin' with Mr. Cooper and provided the voice of Toof for the animated children's series Waynehead (based on brother Damon's real life childhood experiences).

After a supporting stint in the 1999 gang drama New Blood, Wayans's film fortunes improved dramatically when he co-starred with his brother Marlon in a hit film directed by their older brother Keenen: Scary Movie (1999–2000), a comic satire (which he also co-wrote) of the then-recent trend of horror films like Scream.

Wayans played the apparently closeted Ray Wilkins, a role he reprised for the similarly popular 2001 sequel Scary Movie 2. He has been involves with subsequent sequels.

Shawn and Marlon Wayans starred in the 2004 Keenen-directed comedy White Chicks, playing FBI agents forced to masquerade as spoiled white blonde heiresses. Shawn also received a share of story and screenplay credit on the film. He teamed up with Marlon and Keenen again for the 2006 comedy Little Man, which he acted in, co-wrote, and co-produced.

Filmography

References

External links

• Shawn Wayans at IMDb
• Shawn Wayans on Twitter