Marlon Wayans Net Worth

Marlon Wayans

Marlon Wayans is an American-born actor, best known for his roles in White Chicks, Scary Movie, and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. Having started his career in Hollywood more than thirty years ago, Wayans has appeared in more than 45 movies and television series.

However, it’s not just his work on camera that has contributed to his success. Marlon Wayans’s net worth is also impacted by his work as a writer and producer. In fact, Wayans and his family even founded their own production company, Wayans Bros. Entertainment.

Read on to discover Wayans’s most successful projects and trace his career from the beginning until now.

Young Marlon Wayans
Photo Credit: Featureflash Photo Agency

Early Life

Marlon Lamont Wayans was born in New York City on July 23, 1972. His father, Howell Stouten Wayans, was a manager at a supermarket. His mother, Elvira Alethia Wayans, was a housewife and social worker.

Wayans is the youngest of 10 siblings, which include actors Keenen Ivory Wayans, Shawn Wayans, and Damon Wayans. Wayans grew up in the New York City housing projects. He attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. Upon graduating, he went to Howard University but eventually dropped out.

Marlon Wayans at the Critics Choice Awards
Photo Credit: DFree

Acting Career

Being born in a family of performers, it was inevitable that Wayans would follow in the family trade. In fact, he would, later on, have multiple collaborations with his brother Shawn Wayans.

Wayans’s acting debut came in 1988 when he appeared in I’m Gonna Git You Sucka in a minor role of a pedestrian. It was the directorial debut of his brother Keenen Ivory, who also starred in the film. It had a relatively low budget of $3 million. However, it managed to make more than $13 million worldwide.

In Living Color

In 1992, Marlon Wayans’s net worth started to take off when he joined his brothers in the comedy series In Living Color. He appeared in 20 episodes in the fourth season. However, due to conflicts with Fox, the brothers gradually left the show until it finally ended in 1994.

Wayans was cast in two films during this period as well. The first was the crime comedy Mo’ Money in 1992, which went on to earn over $40 million worldwide against a budget of $10 million.

The second film was the sports drama Above the Rim, where he played the role of Bugaloo. The movie, which also starred Wayans’s good friend Tupac Shakur, grossed $16.1 million globally.

The Wayans Bros.
Photo Credit: WB Television Network

The Wayans Bros. (1995 – 1999)

Close on the heels of In Living Color came the sitcom The Wayans Bros, which starred Marlon and his brother Shawn as themselves. The comedy sketch, which was co-created and written by Wayans, aired for 101 episodes.

While doing the series, Wayans also appeared in a number of films. In 1996, he was in Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood. This was the first film that Wayans wrote a screenplay for. With a budget of just $3.8 million, the movie went on to gross over $20 million worldwide.

In 1997, he was Kenny Tyler in The 6th Man, and in 1998, he portrayed Darryl Witherspoon in Senseless.

Wayans was also originally considered to play the role of Robin in the 1995 Batman Forever. However, the part eventually went to Chris O’Donnell.

Scary Movie Poster
Photo Credit: Dimension Films

Scary Movie

The film franchise that had the biggest influence on Marlon Wayans’s net worth would be Scary Movie. It was a very successful collaboration between the Wayans brothers. Marlon and Shawn wrote the screenplay and co-starred in both the first and second movies. Their brother Keenen was the director and Wayans Bros Entertainment was one of the production companies.

2000’s Scary Movie was produced on a budget of $19 million and earned twice that on opening weekend alone. It went on to make a whopping $278 million at the worldwide box office. And as of 2022, it’s Wayans’s second highest-grossing film.

Also in 2000, Wayans hosted the MTV Video Music Awards with his brother Shawn. He also performed a skit with Metallica’s Lars Ulrich at the awards show.

Scary Movie
Photo Credit: Dimension Films

Scary Movie 2

The sequel, Scary Movie 2, came out in 2021. It was also a commercial success, but not to the same degree as the first film. With a bigger budget of $45 million, it made about $141.2 million in global theater returns.

White Chicks

Wayans’s next huge hit would come in 2004 when he again co-starred with his brother Shawn, this time in White Chicks. Again, brother Keenen Ivory was the director. He also wrote the screenplay for the film, for which he won a BET Comedy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Box Office Movie.

Interestingly enough, the movie also got five Razzie nominations, including Worst Picture. Box office performance was completely the opposite, though, as it raked in more than $113.1 million globally against its budget of $37 million.

Norbit

In 2007, Wayans joined the cast of Norbit, which starred Eddie Murphy. He played the role of Buster “Bust-a-Move” Perkin. The comedy film made $160 million against a budget of $60 million. Also part of the star-studded cast were Thandie Newton, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Terry Crews.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Cast
Photo Credit: Jaguar PS

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Another sizable impact on Marlon Wayans’s net worth came with G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra in 2009. It made $54.7 million on opening weekend alone, going on to collect $302.5 million globally. The film had a production budget of $175 million.

As of 2022, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is Wayans highest-grossing film.

Marmaduke

A year later, Wayans would lend his voice to the character of Lightning in Marmaduke. The combined live-action/animated film had a budget of $50 million and went on to gross $83 million worldwide. Wayans reportedly received $300,000 for his voice work in the movie.

The Heat

His next film reportedly earned him a higher paycheck of $350,000. This was for playing Special Agent Levy in The Heat in 2013, opposite Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy. The Paul Feig-directed film was a hit at the box office, earning just shy of $230 million worldwide on a budget of $43 million.

Haunted House
Photo Credit: Open Road Films

A Haunted House

Also in 2013, Wayans wrote, produced, and starred in the horror satire A Haunted House. With a conservative budget of just $2.5 million, the movie went on to gross $60.1 million worldwide. The film’s success paved the way for a sequel, A Haunted House 2. However, the follow-up did not match the same level of success. With a budget of $4 million, it grossed $25.4 million.

Second Generation Wayans

It was also in 2013 that Wayans appeared in two episodes of the comedy-drama series Second Generation Wayans. He was reportedly paid $200,000 for each episode.

Over the next few years, Wayans went on to appear in several comedy films that he also wrote and produced. The list includes Fifty Shades of Black in 2016 and Sextuplets in 2019. Both films were co-written with Rick Alvarez and directed by Michael Tiddes.

Essence Atkins and Marlon Wayans at the NBC TCA Press Day
Photo Credit: Kathy Hutchins

Marlon

In 2017, Wayans teamed up with Christopher Moynihan to create the sitcom Marlon which aired for two seasons on NBC. The score for the show was composed by one of his brothers, Dwayne Wayans. Since it was canceled, the show has been available for streaming on Netflix.

Marlon Wayans at Respect Premiere
Photo Credit: DFree

Recent Work

Among Wayans’s most recent film appearances was his role as Dean in the A24 comedy-drama On the Rocks in 2020. It was written, directed, and produced by Sofia Coppola. The film received much critical acclaim and numerous nominations for various awards.

He also appeared in the Aretha Franklin biopic Respect and in the short film Back Home Again, both in 2021.

In 2022, Wayans starred in The Curse of Bridge Hollow, which he also produced. The movie was released on Netflix with somewhat unfavorable reviews.

On the small screen, Wayans starred as himself in the one-hour HBO special Marlon Wayans Presents: The Headliners. And he currently hosts the series Oh Hell No! with Marlon Wayans, where he challenges his celebrity friends to face their fears.

Marlon Wayans Actor
Photo Credit: DFree

Other Ventures

Also impacting Marlon Wayans’s net worth is his production company, Wayans Bros. Entertainment, which he founded with his family. The company has produced six films, including Dance Flick, Little Man, White Chicks, and Scary Movie.

Additionally, Marlon does have his own production company as well called Baby Way Productions. With this company, he produced Haunted House movies, as well as Fifty Shades of Black and Naked.

Marlon Wayans
Photo Credit: Joe Seer

Real Estate

Marlon Wayans’s net worth also includes a number of real estate investments he’s made throughout his career.

In 2006, he purchased a California home for $1.525 million. It was a 2-story Mediterranean house that had 5 bedrooms and 4 and a half bathrooms. He sold the Sherman Oaks property in 2016 for $1.5 million, taking a slight loss.

In 2022, he purchased a modern-style farmhouse in Encino, California for $5.3 million. The five-bedroom home even has a guest house and an outdoor half-size basketball court.

Marlon Wayans Girlfriend
Photo Credit: Featureflash Photo Agency

Personal Life

Marlon Wayans never married his long-term girlfriend, Angela Zackery. Though, some articles suggested they tied the knot in 2005. The couple began dating in 1992 and had two kids in 2000 and 2002, Amai Zackary Wayans and Shawn Howell Wayans. However, Wayans and Zackery went their separate ways in 2013. 

Wayans revealed why he never got married in an interview with Essence in 2021. And that reason was his mother who passed in 2020 at the age of 81.

Marlon Wayans Family
Photo Credit: s_bukley

“I never got married, because I knew my mom needed me. Women sometimes want to battle for your attention, they want to battle for your love, and they want to be the one. Me and my mama share the same birthday. I’m not trying to hear you.” Wayans said in the interview.

“On her death bed, I said, ‘Can I tell you something woman?’ She was in a lot of pain and she was fighting to stay alive and I say, ‘I’m 47 years old and I’ve never been married, because I always wanted you to be my number one girl.'” he added.

As far as what his future holds? Wayans, now 50, admits he probably will marry at some point.

“Yeah, I probably got one in me. Just one.” Wayans says.

Marlon Wayans Net Worth
Photo Credit: DFree

Marlon Wayans’s Net Worth 2022

As of 2022, Marlon Wayans’s net worth is estimated at $40 million. And while his acting work impacts that number, his work as a writer and producer, along with his real estate investments, also affects his net worth.

Fans of Wayans can look forward to seeing him next in Air Jordan, where he’ll play George Raveling. The film, which Ben Affleck directs, tells the story of shoe salesman Sonny Vaccaro and how he led Nike in its pursuit of the greatest athlete in the history of sports: Michael Jordan. Matt Damon, Jason Bateman, Viola Davis, and Chris Tucker also star.

Wayans also has two additional projects in development, including the TV series Book of Marlon for Starz, and the comedy Any Means Necessary, where he’ll star opposite Mike Epps.

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