Elvira Wayans Biography

As a screenwriter, Elvira has only worked on Damon’s sitcom ‘My Wife and Kids’ between 2004 and 2005. Also starring Tisha Campbell-Martin, George O. Gore II, Jennifer Freeman, and Parker McKenna Posey, the ABC show aired from March 28, 2001, to May 17, 2005. The show was created by Damon and Don Reo and it revolved around the patriarch of the Kyle family, Michael Kyle (Damon) and his relationship with his wife, son, and two daughters. Elvira first became involved with the show in season four. She served as the writer of episode 17, ‘The Anniversary Present’. The next episode to which she contributed was the 28th episode, ‘What Do You Know?’ In season five, she wrote the 21st episode, ‘Celibacy’. Furthermore, she worked as an assistant to writers throughout the fifth season.

Elvira has a YouTube channel, ‘ElveesKitchen,’ on which she shares her cooking tips as well as news on her on-going fight against type II diabetes. The channel has its own Facebook page, on which she posts sporadically.

Elvira Wayans was born in New York in the United States of America. Her father, Howell Stouten Wayans, has worked as a supermarket manager while her mother, Elvira Alethia (Green) Wayans, has served as a social worker and singer. Elvira has nine siblings, brothers Dwayne, Keenen Ivory, Damon, Shawn, and Marlon, and sisters Kim, Nadia, Diedre, and Vonnie and all of them grew up to be involved in the entertainment industry. Dwayne is a writer and film score composer; Keenen Ivory is an actor, comedian, and filmmaker; Damon is a stand-up comedian and actor; Kim is an actress and filmmaker; Shawn and Marlon are actors and writers; Nadia is an actress; and Diedre and Vonnie are screenwriters like Elvira.

Her parents raised her and her siblings in Manhattan's Fulton housing projects. According to some sources, Howell is not her biological father. As with all the Wayans siblings, Elvira was interested in the show business as a child.

Despite the media attention that some of her siblings have garnered over the years, Elvira has lived a relatively private life. She gave birth to her son, Damien Dante Wayans, on April 15, 1980, in New York. He started his career in 1987 in the concert film ‘Eddie Murphy Raw’. In 1995, he shared screen space with his uncle Damon in the comedy film ‘Major Payne’. In the ensuing years, he has appeared in various roles in films, such as ‘Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood’ (1996), ‘NYPD Blue’ (2000), ‘Edison’ (2005), ‘Man About Town’ (2006), ‘Little Man’ (2006), and ‘Internet Icon (2012) and in TV shows like ‘413 Hope St.’ (1997), ‘The Norm Show’ (1999), ‘House M.D.’ (2006), and ‘Second Generation Wayans’ (2013). As a writer, producer, and director, Damien has contributed to his uncle’s show ‘My Wife and Kids’. He was involved in the production of the sketch comedy show ‘The Underground’ (2006) and musical comedy film ‘Dance Flick’ (2009).

Elvira’s daughter, Chaunté Wayans, was born on May 24, 1982. She has served as a production assistant on various episodes of ‘My Wife and Kids’. As an actress, she has appeared in ‘Dance Flick’, the short film ‘Hollywood Misconceptions’ (2013), ‘Fifty Shades of Black’ (2016), and TV show ‘Add-TV’ (2017). She was also featured on ‘Laugh Factory’ three times between 2015 and 2017.

Elvira reportedly has never spoken about the father(s) of her children. They both bear her family name. In 2017, she was diagnosed with type II diabetes. However, she refused to take conventional medicines. Instead, she did some research and subsequently changed her diet completely. She also started consuming certain herbal supplements. It did not take her long to see positive results after that.