Kenya Barris facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kenya Barris
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Barris at SXSW 2025
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| Born | August 9, 1974 Inglewood, California, U.S.
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| Other names | Kenya 'Yee' Harris |
| Alma mater | Clark Atlanta University |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 1997–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Rainbow Edwards Barris
(m. 1999; separated 2022) |
| Children | 6 |
Kenya Barris, born on August 9, 1974, is a talented American writer, producer, director, and actor for movies and TV shows. He is most famous for creating the popular ABC comedy series Black-ish, which aired from 2014 to 2022.
Contents
Early Life and School
Kenya Barris was born in California. He was the second youngest of four children. His mother, Tina, worked as a real estate agent. His father, Patrick, worked in a factory. Kenya grew up in Inglewood and Pacoima. He was named after the country of Kenya, which his father had visited. His parents separated when he was young.
He went to Clark Atlanta University. He first planned to study medicine there.
Kenya Barris's Career
Kenya Barris has created many TV shows. One of his most well-known shows is Black-ish. This show won many awards. It also led to two spin-off shows: Grown-ish and Mixed-ish. There was also a possible third spin-off called Old-ish.
Barris also worked as a writer for other TV shows. These include The Game, Girlfriends, and Soul Food. He helped create and produce America's Next Top Model with Tyra Banks.
He has also written for movies. He wrote the film Girls Trip. He helped produce the 2019 movie Little. He also helped write the script for the 2019 movie Shaft.
In 2020, Barris started acting. He appeared in BlackAF, a series he made for Netflix. He starred alongside Rashida Jones and Iman Benson in this show. In October 2020, Barris shared that he would write, produce, and direct a movie about the comedian Richard Pryor. This movie would be for MGM.
His production company, Khalabo Ink Society, has made deals with other companies. In 2020, they were thinking about a deal with ViacomCBS. In 2021, his company made a deal with Audible for several projects.
In 2021, it was reported that Barris was working on a new TV series. It might be called Brown-ish, and he was developing it with Eva Longoria.
In August 2022, it was announced that Barris would write and direct a new version of The Wizard of Oz. In January 2024, he confirmed that he finished writing the script for that movie. He also announced that he is working on a new version of It's a Wonderful Life. He plans to cast a person of color in the main role of George Bailey.
Personal Life
Kenya Barris married Dr. Rania "Rainbow" Edwards Barris in 2000. She is an anesthesiologist. They have six children together. They separated in 2014 and 2019, but got back together both times. Barris filed for divorce again in 2022.
Movies and TV Shows
Movies
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
Television Series
| Title | Year | Credited as | Network | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Actor | Creator | Director | Writer | Executive producer |
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| 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 | 2018–2024 | 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 | 2023–present | No | No | No | No | Yes | ||
| Diarra from Detroit | 2024–present | No | No | No | No | Yes | BET+ | |
Awards and Recognition
In 2019, Black-ish won several NAACP Image Awards. It was named the best comedy series. Tracee Ellis Ross and Anthony Anderson won acting awards for their roles. Black-ish also won the Entertainment and Children's Peabody Award in 2016.
Barris and Black-ish won the 2017 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series. He was also nominated for the same award in 2018. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2021. He also received a PGA Award nomination in 2014 for Black-ish. In 2016, Barris won the Rod Serling Award. This award is for advancing social justice through popular media.
In 2018, he gave $1 million to Clark Atlanta University. He also received an honorary doctorate from the university.
See also
In Spanish: Kenya Barris para niños
