Marlon Wayans

Wayans was born in New York City, the son of Elvira Alethia (Green), a homemaker and social worker, and Howell Stouten Wayans, a supermarket manager.[7] His family were Jehovah's Witnesses.[8][9] Wayans was raised in the housing projects of New York City, the youngest of ten siblings. He is the brother of Nadia, Shawn, Keenen Ivory, Damon, Dwayne, and Kim. Wayans went to Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York City, the school made famous in Fame. After graduating from high school, he attended Howard University in Washington, D.C., before dropping out after two years.[10]

Marlon appeared with his siblings on In Living Color between 1992 and 1993. From 1995 until 1999, Wayans co-starred in the WB sitcom The Wayans Bros. with brother Shawn Wayans. Wayans was originally considered for the role of Robin in the 1992 film Batman Returns,[11] however it was felt that the film featured too many characters, so the character was omitted from that film. He was then formally signed for the role in the 1995 sequel Batman Forever to play opposite Billy Dee Williams as Two-Face, but the mid-production change in directors from Tim Burton to Joel Schumacher would result in both parts being recast and Wayans being paid out (Williams was not yet signed on, but he received a penalty fee as his contract for Batman allowed him the option of reprise), for which he still receives some royalty payments to this day. He was replaced by Chris O'Donnell. In August 2021, a comic book adaptation of the original concept, Batman '89, began publication, by DC Entertainment, using Wayans' likeness for Robin with his permission, their civilian identity renamed Drake Winston.[12] He produced the first two films of the Scary Movie series, in which he and Shawn were credited writers and co-stars. Those films were released in 2000 and 2001. In 2000 he appeared as Tyrone C. Love in Requiem for a Dream and as Snails in Dungeons & Dragons. That same year he and his brother Shawn hosted the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. Wayans produced the Nickelodeon cartoon series Thugaboo. In 2017, NBC gave him his own sitcom, Marlon, for a 10-episode run. In September 2017, Marlon got renewed for a second season by NBC, which is now available on Netflix.

In September 2017, Variety announced that Wayans would be partnering up with LA-based entertainment company Shots Studios to launch his own YouTube channel.[13] He's appeared in videos alongside creators such as Anwar Jibawi and Hannah Stocking. More recently, he signed a deal with HBO Max.[14]

Wayans began dating Angelica Zackary in 1992. The couple supposedly married in 2005 and divorced in 2013, according to Wayans, who in 2018 called Zackary his "ex wife".[15] However Wayans said in 2021 that he had never been married before.[16] They have two children: Amai Zackary Wayans (b. May 24, 2000), and Shawn Howell Wayans, (b. February 3, 2002). Wayans was close friends with rapper Tupac Shakur until his death in 1996.[17] Wayans is also a longtime friend of actor Omar Epps.

• Marlon Wayans on Facebook
• Marlon Wayans at IMDb
• Marlon Wayans at AllMovie