Marlon Wayans and his family are known for their comedy chops. He and his brothers, and sister Kim, are comedy legends who have contributed great projects to the mainstream for the last three decades. Marlon recently opened up about his large family and how many nephews and nieces he has during a Jonathan Ross interview. The Wayans were initially ten brothers and sisters from New York City. They were raised in the Chelsea area by parents Howell Stouten Wayans, a supermarket manager, and his wife Elvira Alethia, a housewife and social worker. The eldest Wayans is Dwayne Wayans, a film composer, and screenwriter who has operated virtually in the background for much of his family’s legacy.
Keenen Ivory Wayans was the family’s breakout star and introduction into Hollywood. He and Robert Townsend moved to Los Angeles together in the ’80s and sharpened their comedy chops together before starring in Hollywood Shuffle. The success of the film led Fox to offer Keenen his own show. He opted to do a sketch comedy show in the vein of Saturday Night Live titled In Living Color. The show helped launch the careers of several other Wayans, including Damon, Shawn, Kim, and Marlon. It was also the launching pad for Jim Carrey, Jennifer Lopez, and Jamie Foxx.
In the years following, Damon emerged as a big star, followed pretty quickly by Shawn and Marlon, who primarily acted as a duo. These days Marlon is the biggest star in the Wayans family thanks to his consistent work and the range he has shown over the years with roles in films like Requiem for a Dream and, most recently, Respect. The “large family” jokes have always been a theme with the Wayans, as it seems like a new one is constantly popping up. Damon Wayans Jr has found some success in the sitcom and parody film worlds.
BET even explored the theme of what a new generation of Wayans would do in the series Second Generation Wayans. The show was pitched as “Damien Dante Wayans and Craig Wayans, nephews of the famous Wayans brothers, decide to start their own production company after struggling to breakthrough in show business, both in front of and behind the camera. Their partner in the endeavor is “honorary Wayans” family member, actor George O. Gore II. (who played Damon Wayans son in My Wife and Kids)”. Wayans’ niece, Chaunté Wayans, is also an accomplished comedian with a growing audience. She’s made appearances in Wild N Out and Tiffany Haddish’s Netflix stand-up special They Ready.
With this much talent and so many different family members involved in comedy and entertainment, one would definitely be justified in calling the Wayans family an empire. However, while talking to Jonathan Ross, Marlon joked, “we are not even a family no more. We’re considered a population. The Chinese are getting really scared.” The actor went on to reveal he’s been telling his sisters to stop reproducing. “I’ve got 45 nephews and nieces. We got so many kids in my family, my daddy got stretch marks,” he joked.
45 nieces and nephews is alot of children. Check out the video and let us know what you think.
