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).
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 |
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]
Barris has created numerous television shows, including the critically acclaimed Black-ish. The award-winning series also has two spin-offs, Grown-ish and Mixed-ish,[7] and a third potential spin-off Old-ish.[8] He was a writer for The Game, Girlfriends, and Soul Food.[7][5][9] Barris co-created and produced America's Next Top Model with Tyra Banks.[10] He penned the film Girls Trip. He co-produced the 2019 film Little[11] and co-wrote the screenplay for the 2019 theatrical release Shaft.
In 2020, Barris made his acting debut in #BlackAF, a series he developed for Netflix, co-starring Rashida Jones and Iman Benson.[12][13][14] In October 2020, Barris announced that he would write, produce, and direct a biopic on comedian Richard Pryor for MGM.[15]
Also in 2020, it was reported his production company, Khalabo Ink Society, was considering a deal with ViacomCBS.[16] His company entered a multi-project development deal with Audible in 2021.[17]
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 The Wizard of Oz.[19] In January 2024, he confirmed that he finished penning the script for the film and announced that he is also in development on a modern remake of It's a Wonderful Life, with the intention to cast a person of color in the lead role of George Bailey.[20]
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]
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+ |
In 2019, Black-ish won several NAACP Image Awards. It was named best comedy series and Tracee Ellis Ross and Anthony Anderson took acting honors. Black-ish was the winner of the Entertainment and Children's Peabody Award in 2016.[28] Barris and Black-ish also won the 2017 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series.[29] Barris was nominated for the same award in 2018. He was also nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2021, and a PGA Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy for Black-ish in 2014.[30] In 2016, Barris won the Rod Serling Award for Advancing Social Justice Through Popular Media.[31]
In 2018, he donated $1 million to Clark Atlanta University, and was granted an honorary doctorate in humane letters.[32]