Shawn M. Wayans (born January 19, 1971) is an American actor and comedian who starred in In Living Color and The Wayans Bros. He is the brother of Keenen Ivory, Damon, Marlon, and Kim Wayans.
Wayans, the second youngest of ten siblings, was born in New York City, New York, the son of Elvira, a homemaker and social worker, and Howell Wayans, a supermarket manager. His family was involved in the Jehovah's Witnesses religion. Wayans grew up in the housing projects in the Manhattan neighborhood of Chelsea and is a 1989 graduate of the 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 (1990-93), 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 provided the voice of Toof for the animated children's series Waynehead (based on brother Damon's real-life childhood experiences).
After a supporting stint in the little-seen gang drama New Blood (1999) Wayans' film fortunes increased dramatically when he co-starred with his brother Marlon in a hit film directed by their older brother Keenan: Scary Movie (1999-2000), a comic satire (which he also co-wrote) on the then-recent trend of horror films like Scream. Wayans played the apparently closeted Ray Wilkins, a role he reprised for the similarly popular 2001 sequel Scary Movie 2. He kept the familial team intact when he and Marlon starred in the Keenan-directed comedy White Chicks (2004), playing a pair of FBI agents forced to masquerade as a pair of spoiled white blonde heiress a la the Hilton Sisters. Shawn also received a share of story and screenplay credit on the film. Wayans teamed up with Marlon and Keenen once again for the 2006 comedy Little Man. He acted, co-wrote, and co-produced the film.
