Elvira Wayans

Background

Elvira Wayans is a screenwriter and is also famous for her siblings, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Damon Wayans, Marlon Wayans and others. The name Wayans represents one of the most successful families in the history of Hollywood.

Early years

Elvira, who was named after her mother, was born in New York City and lived with her family in the neighborhood of Chelsea. Her mother, Elvira Alethia Wayans, was a homemaker and social worker. Her father, Howell Stouten Wayans, was a supermarket manager Elvira was the fifth child and second daughter of the Wayans. Elvira was brought up in the Jehovah’s Witnesses religion. She has ten siblings and seven of them are actors. All eleven children, along with their parents, lived in a small apartment and had a pretty hard life. Though Elvira has never personally talked about her childhood, much information about her young life is known through her siblings. As strict Jehovah's Witnesses, the parents discouraged their children from playing with other children from the neighborhood; so instead, they came up with comic riffs to amuse each other.

Personal life

Elvira’s love life is kept as a secret from the eyes of media. She was never known to have dated anyone who is famous and she never officially announced her relationship with anyone. It is stated that she is single. Many years before, reports stating that she had two were considered to be rumor. Many gossip columns were written about this but later, as Elvira started to talk about her children in interviews, it was made clear that she was a mother. Elvira has still not talked about whether or not she is married and thus, it is assumed that she has two children but is not married. Elvira talks about her children in public but not about her marital or romantic life. Her children’s relationship with their father is also unknown. Since they have Elvira’s maiden name, it is assumed that they do not have any attachments to their father. Elvira has a large family and is close to everyone in the family. She talks about her parents, her siblings, nieces and nephews in many interviews, just not about her children’s father. Her daughter, Chaunte Wayans, is an actress and her son, Damien Dante Wayans, is a writer and producer. No one has come out in the media to state that he is the father of Elvira’s children. Thus, there is little chance that we will know about their father in the near future. Elvira is considered as currently single and does not want to talk about her dating life or sexual preferences in the media.

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Career

Elvira never became a Hollywood actor like her siblings and instead took up screenwriting. Elvira became famous for her writing skills and wrote her brother’s show, My Wife and Kids. She was also the writer of What Do You Know, Celibacy and many others. With children in the acting field and a successful writing career, it is assumed that Elvira has a hefty net worth. She has not expressed her net worth in any media but she owns a production house along with her siblings and it is famous for producing many successful shows.  Her future career path is not currently being discussed in the media and it is not known what current projects she may be working on. But it is certainly believed that Elvira has not yet retired and is still in the movie business. The Wayan’s family success began in 1990, when Keenen Ivory Wayans helped to produce the television show In Living Color. The success of the show would advance both his and siblings careers. Keenen, Damon, Marlon, Shawn, and Kim Wayans all had roles on the show. Damon Wayans says the success of the show was due to “The cast, the direction and the freedom we had. Keenen encouraged everyone to have fun. One time we all started laughing during a sketch and we stopped. Keenen said -- ‘What are you doing? Keep going if that happens. It’s okay if you laugh.’ He was adamant that we have fun because if we were having fun people would pick up on that. Everybody really loved each other and loved working together.

I loved Jim Carey, loved Jamie Foxx, loved David and Tommy. It was easy to have fun and be funny with all those amazing people there. We would just roll camera and let things happen.” In Living Color is also said to be responsible for launching the careers of Hollywood superstars Jennifer Lopez, Jim Carrey, Jamie Foxx and Rosie Lopez. By the time In Living Color was released, Damon Wayans was already considered successful as both a comedian and an actor. Damon would later appear in the films Earth Girls Are Easy and costar with Bruce Willis in The Last Boy Scout. Damon would later star, along with his brother Marlon Wayans, in a film that he had written called Mo’ Money. Damon Wayans also had roles in the movies The Great White Hype, Celtic Pride, Major Payne, and Bulletproof. In 2000, Marlan Wayans co-wrote and acted in his most popular film to date, the blockbuster horror spoof Scary Movie. The film cost only nineteen million dollars to make but grossed over one hundred fifty seven million at the box office. The success of the film made it the highest-grossing film ever directed by an African-American; Marlon’s bother, Keenen Ivory Wayans. In 2001, Damon Wayans wrote, along with Elvira, the sitcom My Wife and Kids in which he starred. The score was composed by Dwayne Wayans, the eldest brother of the Wayans family.

Elvira’s has show business credits as a writer on the television show My Wife & Kids. Although Elvira Wayans has had little involvement in film, her children, Damien and Chaunte, are both successful. Damien Dante Wayans, along with Craig Wayans (son of Elvira’s sister Deirdre), created the 2013 television series Second Generation Wayans. As mother to Damien Dante and stand-up comedian Chaunté Wayans, we imagine Elvira stays pretty busy.

Current

The Wayans family is one of Hollywood’s largest and most successful comedic dynasties of both television and film, with its members often collaborating together on projects. The first-generation siblings—Keenan, Damon, Kim, Shawn, Marlon, Dwayne, Nadia, Elvira, Diedre, and Vonnie—have produced, directed, written, and starred in dozens of films and TV shows, and boast a combined net worth over $200 million.

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