Kenya Barris
Kenya Barris | |
---|---|
Born | Inglewood, California, U.S. | August 9, 1973
Other names | Kenya 'Yee' Harris |
Alma mater | Clark Atlanta University |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1997–present |
Spouse |
Rainbow Edwards Barris
(m. 1999; sep. 2022) |
Children | 6 |
Kenya Barris (born August 9, 1973) is an American film and television writer, producer, director, and actor. He is best known as the creator of the ABC sitcom black-ish (2014–2022).
Early life and education
Barris, the second-youngest among four siblings, was born to Tina, who worked as a real estate agent, and her former husband Patrick, who was a factory worker at General Motors. Barris grew up in Inglewood and Pacoima, California.[1] He was named after the country of Kenya, which his father had visited.[2] His parents divorced when he was a child.[3]
He is an alumnus of Clark Atlanta University where he started out studying medicine.[4][5][6]
Career
Barris has created numerous television shows, including the critically acclaimed
In 2020, Barris made his acting debut in
Also in 2020, it was reported his production company, Khalabo Ink Society, was considering a deal with
In 2021, it was reported that Barris was developing a potential television series, Brown-ish, with Eva Longoria.[18]
In August 2022, it was announced that Barris would write and direct a modern remake of
Personal life
Barris married anesthesiologist Dr. Rania "Rainbow" Edwards Barris in 2000. They have six children.[21] His wife filed for divorce in 2014, and Barris filed for divorce in 2019: the couple reconciled and withdrew their divorce petitions both times. Barris filed for divorce a second time in 2022.[22][23][24][25]
Filmography
Films
Title | Year | Credited as | Studio | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Writer | Director | Producer | Other | ||||
Barbershop: The Next Cut | 2016 | Yes | No | Yes | No | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / Warner Bros. Pictures | Co-producer Co-written with Tracy Oliver |
Girls Trip | 2017 | Yes | No | No | No | Universal Pictures | Co-written with Tracy Oliver and Erica Rivinoja |
Little | 2019 | No | No | Yes | No | ||
Shaft | Yes | No | Executive | No | Warner Bros. Pictures / Netflix | Co-written with Alex Barnow | |
The Witches | 2020 | Yes | No | No | No | Warner Bros. Pictures | Co-written with Robert Zemeckis and Guillermo del Toro |
Soul | No | No | No | Yes | Pixar Animation Studios
|
Special thanks[26] | |
Coming 2 America | 2021 | Yes | No | Executive | No | Amazon Studios / Paramount Pictures
|
Co-written with Barry W. Blaustein and David Sheffield |
Cheaper by the Dozen | 2022 | Yes | No | Yes | No | Disney+ / Walt Disney Pictures / 20th Century Studios | Co-written with Jenifer Rice-Genzuk Henry and Craig Titley |
You People | 2023 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Netflix | Directing debut Co-written with Jonah Hill |
White Men Can't Jump | 2023 | Yes | No | No | No | Hulu / 20th Century Studios | Co-written with Doug Hall |
The Underdoggs | 2024 | No | No | Yes | No | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | |
The Wizard of Oz
|
TBA | Yes | Yes | No | No | Warner Bros. Pictures / New Line Cinema | Co-production with The Hideaway Entertainment and Temple Hill Entertainment |
It's a Wonderful Life | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | Paramount Pictures | TBA |
Television series
Title | Year | Credited as | Network | Notes | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Actor | Creator | Director | Writer | Executive producer | ||||
Girlfriends
|
2000–2008 | No | No | No | Yes | No | UPN/The CW | |
America's Next Top Model | 2003–2018 | No | Yes | No | No | No | UPN/The CW/VH1 | |
Soul Food | 2002–2004 | No | No | No | Yes | No | Showtime | |
Like Family | 2004 | No | No | No | Yes | No | The WB | |
Listen Up | 2004–2005 | No | No | No | Yes | No | CBS | |
The Game
|
2006–2014 | No | No | No | Yes | No | The CW/BET | |
Are We There Yet? | 2011–2012 | No | No | No | Yes | No | TBS | |
I Hate My Teenage Daughter | 2012–2013 | No | No | No | Yes | No | Fox | |
Black-ish | 2014–2022 | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ABC | |
Grown-ish | 2018–present | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Freeform | |
Mixed-ish | 2019–2021 | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | ABC | |
Astronomy Club: The Sketch Show | 2019 | No | No | No | No | Yes | Netflix | |
BlackAF | 2020 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Character: Kenya Barris | |
We the People | 2021 | No | No | No | No | Yes | ||
Entergalactic | 2022 | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Television special | |
The Vince Staples Show[27] | 2023 | No | No | No | No | Yes | Pre-production | |
Diarra from Detroit | 2024 | No | No | No | No | Yes | BET+ |
Awards
In 2019, Black-ish won several
In 2018, he donated $1 million to
References
- ^ "blackish Creator Kenya Barris' Life Story: Poverty to Hollywood Success". Peoplemag. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
- ^ Ito, Robert (September 6, 2015). "Mostly Joking: "Black-ish" creator Kenya Barris's balancing act". The California Sunday Magazine.
- ^ Nussbaum, Emily (April 18, 2016). "In Living Color". The New Yorker.
- ^ "You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes : Kenya Barris Returns".
- ^ a b "Kenya Barris On 'Black-ish' And What Kids Lose When They Grow Up With More". NPR.org.
- ^ "The True Story Behind Golden Globe Nominee black-ish: Creator's Path from Poverty to Hollywood". Peoplemag. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
- ^ a b Nussbaum, Emily (April 25, 2016). "In Living Color" – via The New Yorker.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (2021-05-18). "ABC Boss On Status Of 'Old-ish' & 'Brown-ish', Expanding 'Black-ish' & 'Modern Family' Universes And Passing On Alec Baldwin/Kelsey Grammer Comedy". deadline.com. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (August 21, 2015). "'black-ish' Creator Kenya Barris Inks Overall Deal With ABC Studios".
- ^ Nussbaum, Emily (April 25, 2016). "In Living Color". The New Yorker.
- ^ Harriot, Michael (January 9, 2019). "#BlackGirlMagic: Black-ish Star Marsai Martin Set to Become Youngest Executive Producer in Hollywood History". The Grapevine. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (2019-05-10). "Kenya Barris & Rashida Jones To Star In Barris' First Netflix Series 'Black Excellence'". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-09-03.
- ^ Rico, Klaritza (2020-03-19). "TV News Roundup: Showtime Releases 'Billions' Season 5 Trailer". Variety. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
- ^ "#BlackAF". IMDB.
- ^ Kay, Jeremy (2020-10-26). "MGM, 'Black-ish' creator Kenya Barris line up Richard Pryor biopic". Screen. Retrieved 2020-10-26.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (2020-10-31). "Kenya Barris In Talks With ViacomCBS To Partner In New Studio, Eyes Exit From Netflix Deal". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
- ^ "Kenya Barris' Khalabo Ink Society Strikes Exclusive Deal with Audible | About Audible". www.audible.com. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
- ^ "Kenya Barris Is Developing a 'Brown-ish' Series With Eva Longoria | Entertainment Tonight". www.etonline.com. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
- ^ "Kenya Barris to Write & Direct Reimagining of 'Wizard of Oz' for Warner Bros; Khalabo Ink Society Producing". 15 August 2022.
- ^ Sharf, Zack (2024-01-20). "Kenya Barris' Richard Pryor Biopic Is a 10-Episode Series; New 'Wizard of Oz' Is Set in Inglewood and 'It's a Wonderful Life' Remake Has POC Lead: 'I'm Still a Believer in IP'". Variety. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
- ^ Italie, Leanne (May 1, 2018). "Pearls of parenting wisdom from the real Bow Johnson". Associated Press.
- ^ Canfield, David (May 17, 2018). "How black-ish reflects the life of its creator — and his wife, Rainbow Edwards-Barris". Entertainment Weekly.
- ^ "'Black-ish' Creator Kenya Barris to Divorce Wife of 20 Years". The Hollywood Reporter. August 12, 2019.
- ^ Naumann, Ryan (May 21, 2020). "'Black-Ish' Creator Kenya Barris Calls Off Divorce From Wife Rainbow". The Blast.
- ^ Saad, Nardine (2022-06-08). "'Black-ish' creator Kenya Barris files for divorce from wife Rania for a third time". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2022-09-23.
- ^ 'Soul' Filmmakers on Alternate Endings and the Meryl Streep Movie That Influenced the Story
- ^ Deville, Chris (6 September 2022). "Vince Staples Will Star In A Netflix Sitcom Loosely Based On His Life". Stereogum. Archived from the original on 6 September 2022. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
- ^ "75th Annual Entertainment & Children's Programming Winners". Peabody Awards. 4 May 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
- ^ "48th NAACP Image Awards". 48th NAACP Image Awards. NAACP Image Awards. Archived from the original on 19 March 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
- ^ "Kenya Barris Awards". IMDB. IMDb.com, Inc. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
- ^ Lewis, Dave (11 November 2016). "Creator of 'black-ish' Kenya Barris to receive the 2016 Rod Serling Award". ENTERTAINMENT/TELEVISION. L.A. Times.
- ^ Suggs, Ernie. "Blackish creator to give million-ish to Clark Atlanta University in Grown-ish gift". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. AJC.
External links
- Kenya Barris at IMDb