Kim Wayans

Wayans in 2014, photo by kathclick/Bigstock.com

Birth Name: Kimberly Nichole Wayans

Place of Birth: New York City, New York, U.S.

Date of Birth: October 16, 1961

Ethnicity: African-American

Kim Wayans is an American actress, comedian, writer, and film producer. She is known for her work in the television series In Living Color and In the House.

Kim is the daughter of Elvira Alethia (Green) and Howell Stouten Wayans. She is one of ten siblings, including entertainers Dwayne Wayans, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Damon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, and Marlon Wayans, all of whom she has collaborated with. Her nephew is actor and comedian Damon Wayans, Jr.

Kim’s paternal grandfather was Paul Otto Wayans (the son of Stouton Wayans and Della Johnson). Paul was born in Connecticut. Stouton was the son of Peter Waynes/Wayans.

Kim’s paternal grandmother was Lillian Victoria Howell (the daughter of Isaiah Howell and Ethel J. Grant). Lillian was born in Florida. Isaiah was the son of Moses Howell and Anna Smith.

Kim’s maternal grandfather was Ivory Garrett Green (the son of Edward Powell Green and Mary Magdalene Brock). Ivory was born in South Carolina. Edward was the son of James Green and Dorcas Nelson. Mary Magdalene was the daughter of Marion Brock, who was born into slavery, and of Catherine Rhame.

Kim’s maternal grandmother was Elvira Brown (the daughter of Hooper Robert Brown and Emma J. Pleasant). Elvira was born in South Carolina. Hooper was the son of Alex Brown and Elvira. Emma was the daughter of Abraham Pleasant and Polly Coad.

A DNA test of Kim’s brother Keenen on the show Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2016) indicated that Keenen has genetic ancestry from the Malagasy people, of Madagascar.

Sources: Genealogy of Kim Wayans (through Kim’s brother, Keenen Ivory Wayans) – http://www.pbs.org

Genealogy of Kim Wayans – http://www.geni.com

Kim’s maternal great-grandmother, Mary Magdalene Brock, on the 1880 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

4 Responses

  1. Jason 7 says:

    Malagasy is a combination of migrants from sub-saharan Africa as well as Polynesia.

    • andrew says:

      Nope. Malagasy language is part of Austronesian language family. That’s all.

      • Oaken05 says:

        While “Polynesian” is certainly the wrong term to use, the various peoples of Madagascar all have some level of southeast Asian ancestry just given who transmitted the language. Every group to some degree is mixed-race, though, “Malagasy” is usually enough of a descriptor for people with (very) distant Malagasy ancestry.

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