Shawn Wayans is an American actor and comedian, part of the Wayans brothers, who have written for film and television, and have also appeared together in performances.
Born in New York City on January 19, 1971, he was the second youngest among ten siblings. He made his feature debut in the 1988 film I’m Gonna Get You Sucka, which starred his older brother Keenen. He also appeared in the Fox sitcom In Living Color, initially as the good-looking deejay SW-1, and eventually as a feature performer, along with his siblings Dwayne, Damon, Marlon, Kim and Keenen, the program’s creator.
In 1995, he appeared in the WB sitcom The Wayans Bros. He appeared with his brother Marlon, as two siblings who live in New York City, with their father, played by John Witherspoon. He also co-wrote, co-executive produced and starred in the 1996 film Don’t Be A Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood, alongside Keenen. He had guest appearances in MacGyver and Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper, and did voice work for the animated series Waynehead.
In 2000, he appeared with his brother Marlon in the box office blockbuster Scary Movie. He played closeted Ray Wilkins in the wildly successful satire of horror films; he reprised the role in Scary Movie 2, released in 2001. The three brothers continued working together, this time for the 2004 Keenen-directed comedy White Chicks, where Shawn and Marlon played two FBI agents who were forced to go undercover disguised as blonde white girls. The same was for the 2006 comedy Little Man, where he plays diamond robber Darryl. He also co-wrote and co-produced the film.
Wayans has also written the 2008 films Scary Movie 5 and the film adaptation to the television series The Munsters. He will also co-produce the latter.