Shawn Wayans /

Shawn Mathis Wayans (born January 19, 1971) is an American actor, producer, writer and comedian who starred in In Living Color and The Wayans Bros. He is the brother of Keenen Ivory, Damon, Marlon, Kim and Nadia Wayans. Wayans, second youngest of ten siblings, was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Elvira, a homemaker and social worker, and Howell Wayans, a supermarket manager. His family were once Jehovah's Witnesses. Wayans grew up in the housing projects of the Manhattan neighborhood of Chelsea and is a 1989 graduate of the Bayard Rustin High School for the Humanities. Wayans made his feature debut in older brother Keenen's I'm Gonna Get You Sucka (1988). On Fox's In Living Color, he began as deejay 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