Shawn Wayans

Shawn Mathis Wayans (born January 19, 1971) is an American actor, DJ, producer, writer and comedian who starred in In Living Color, The Wayans Bros., and White Chicks. He is the brother of Dwayne, Marlon, Keenen Ivory, Damon Sr., Kim, Elvira, Ebony R. Hemphill-Wayans, and Ryan A. Wayans.

Shawn Wayans
Wayans in 2004
Born	Shawn Mathis Wayans (1971-01-19) January 19, 1971 New York City, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, producer, writer, comedian
Years active	1988-present
Notable work	In Living Color The Wayans Bros.
Children	3
Family	See Wayans family

Early life

Wayans, the ninth of ten siblings, was born in New York City, New York, the son of Elvira Alethia (Green), a homemaker and social worker, and Howell Stouten Wayans, a supermarket manager.[1][2][3] His family were once Jehovah's Witnesses.[4][5] 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.

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 feature Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996), 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 gang drama New Blood (1999) Wayans' film fortunes increased 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) on 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. To date, Wayans has not had any involvement with subsequent sequels.

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

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role
1988	I'm Gonna Git You Sucka	Pedestrian
1996	Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood	Ashtray (also writer)
1999	New Blood	Valentine
2000	Scary Movie	Ray Wilkins (also writer and uncredited producer)
2001	Open Mic	Himself
2001	Scary Movie 2	Ray Wilkins (also writer and co-executive producer)
2004	White Chicks	Kevin Copeland (also writer and producer)
2006	Little Man	Darryl Edwards (also writer and producer)
2009	Dance Flick	Daddy of baby (also writer)

Television

Year	Film	Role
1991	The Best of Robert Townsend & His Partners in Crime	Various
1991	MacGyver	Robo
1990-93	In Living Color	Various, DJ SW1
1993	Hangin' with Mr. Cooper	Dominique
1995-1999	The Wayans Bros.	Shawn Williams (also creator, executive consultant, producer, writer and director)
1996-1997	Waynehead	Toof/Kid
1996	The Parent 'Hood	Himself
1998	Comics Come Home 4	Himself
1999	Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child	Bad Boy (voice)
2000	2000 MTV Video Music Awards	Host
2006	Thugaboo: Sneaker Madness	Slim (voice)
2006	Thugaboo: Miracle on D-Roc's Street	Slim, Cheapie
2016	Animals	Tommy
2017	Noches con Platanito

References

1. Shawn Wayans Biography (1971-)
2. Stated on Finding Your Roots, January 19, 2016, PBS
3. https://www.pbs.org/weta/finding-your-roots/blog/keenen-ivory-wayans-interactive-family-tree/
4. Marlon Wayans - TIME
5. The Movie Chicks - Interview - Marlon Wayans

External links

• Shawn Wayans on IMDb
• Shawn Wayans on Twitter