Marlon Lamont Wayans ( WAY-ənz; born July 23, 1972) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known for his work with his brother Shawn Wayans on The WB sitcom The Wayans Bros. (1995–1999) and the comedy films Don't Be a Menace (1996), Scary Movie (2000), Scary Movie 2 (2001), White Chicks (2004), Little Man (2006), Dance Flick (2009), and Scary Movie (2026).
Wayans' other film credits include Above the Rim (1994), The 6th Man (1997), Norbit (2007), G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009), The Heat (2013), A Haunted House (2013) and its sequel A Haunted House 2 (2014), Naked (2017), Fifty Shades of Black (2016), Sextuplets (2019), and On the Rocks (2020). He also had several dramatic roles, including the psychological drama film Requiem for a Dream (2000), the biographical musical drama Respect (2021), and the supernatural horror Him (2025).
Wayans partnered with Randy Adams to create What the Funny, an online destination for urban comedy. He created the comedy competition television show Funniest Wins, which aired on TBS in 2014. In 2014, Wayans and his brothers traveled the United States with "The Wayans Brothers Tour". In 2017, he co-wrote and starred in the NBC sitcom Marlon, which ran for two seasons.
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Early life
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. He was raised in Fulton Houses, a housing project in New York City, the youngest of ten siblings. He is the brother of Dwayne, Keenen Ivory, Damon Sr., Kim, Elvira, Nadia, and Shawn. His family were Jehovah's Witnesses. 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., but dropped out after two years.
