| Kenya Barris | |
| Birth Date: | 9 August 1973 |
| Birth Place: | Inglewood, California, U.S. |
| Other Names: | Kenya 'Yee' Harris |
| Alma Mater: | Clark Atlanta University |
| Years Active: | 1997–present |
| 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).
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]
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, and a third potential spin-off Old-ish.[6] He was a writer for The Game, Girlfriends, and Soul Food.[7] [8] [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
, 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 | Studio | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Writer | Director | Producer | Other | |||||
| scope=row | 2016 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / Warner Bros. Pictures | Co-producer Co-written with Tracy Oliver | |||||
| scope=row | Girls Trip | 2017 | Universal Pictures | Co-written with Tracy Oliver and Erica Rivinoja | ||||
| scope=row | Little | 2019 | ||||||
| scope=row | Shaft | Warner Bros. Pictures / Netflix | Co-written with Alex Barnow | |||||
| scope=row | The Witches | 2020 | Warner Bros. Pictures | Co-written with Robert Zemeckis and Guillermo del Toro | ||||
| scope=row | Soul | Pixar Animation Studios | Special thanks[26] | |||||
| scope=row | Coming 2 America | 2021 | Amazon Studios / Paramount Pictures | Co-written with Barry W. Blaustein and David Sheffield | ||||
| scope=row | Cheaper by the Dozen | 2022 | Disney+ / Walt Disney Pictures / 20th Century Studios | Co-written with Jenifer Rice-Genzuk Henry and Craig Titley | ||||
| scope=row | You People | 2023 | Netflix | Directing debut Co-written with Jonah Hill | ||||
| scope=row | White Men Can't Jump | 2023 | Hulu / 20th Century Studios | Co-written with Doug Hall | ||||
| scope=row | The Underdoggs | 2024 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | |||||
| scope=row | The Wizard of Oz | TBA | Warner Bros. Pictures / New Line Cinema | Co-production with The Hideaway Entertainment and Temple Hill Entertainment | ||||
| scope=row | It's a Wonderful Life | TBA | Paramount Pictures | |||||
| Title | Year | Credited as | Network | Notes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Actor | Creator | Director | Writer | Executive producer | |||||
| scope=row | Girlfriends | 2000–2008 | UPN/The CW | ||||||
| scope=row | America's Next Top Model | 2003–2018 | UPN/The CW/VH1 | ||||||
| scope=row | Soul Food | 2002–2004 | Showtime | ||||||
| scope=row | Like Family | 2004 | The WB | ||||||
| scope=row | Listen Up | 2004–2005 | CBS | ||||||
| scope=row | The Game | 2006–2014 | The CW/BET | ||||||
| scope=row | Are We There Yet? | 2011–2012 | TBS | ||||||
| scope=row | I Hate My Teenage Daughter | 2012–2013 | Fox | ||||||
| scope=row | Black-ish | 2014–2022 | ABC | ||||||
| scope=row | Grown-ish | 2018–2024 | Freeform | ||||||
| scope=row | Mixed-ish | 2019–2021 | ABC | ||||||
| scope=row | 2019 | Netflix | |||||||
| scope=row | BlackAF | 2020 | Character: Kenya Barris | ||||||
| scope=row | We the People | 2021 | |||||||
| scope=row | Entergalactic | 2022 | Television special | ||||||
| scope=row | The Vince Staples Show[27] | 2023 | Pre-production | ||||||
| scope=row | Diarra from Detroit | 2024 | 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]