Kenya Barris has made a career out of showing his viewers what it's like to be a wealthy Black family in upper-class white America. Through comic depiction, the storyteller tackles subjects that include Juneteenth, parenting, and biracial identity.
He has cemented his status as a TV titan. Many critics think his work proves he has only one idea, but perhaps what they're missing is that he's just trying to tell a story that is otherwise not often told, that of the affluent Black family. The creator has also brought into the acting forefront talent like Anthony Anderson, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Rashida Jones.
He Created A Ton Of Popular Shows/Movies
The prolific writer/director/producer created Black-ish, Mixed-ish, and Grown-ish, as well as America's Next Top Model. He's also responsible for writing the TV series Are We There Yet?, Girlfriends, Soul Food and The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show, as well as the movies Girls Trip, Shaft, plus Coming 2 America.
He also has directed episodes of Black-ish and #BlackAF, which he stars in, too. The creative master also brought Top Model overseas and developed the show for Australia, Britain, Ireland, Norway, Canada, and Germany.
Black-ish Is Autobiographical
The series follows The Johnsons - a Black American family consisting of two grandparents, four children, and two successful parents named "Dre" and Rainbow, which is the name of Barris's real-life wife, who is a doctor.
The story is told from the POV of Dre, who grew up poor and now works in the creative field. He wants his kids to connect with their heritage, yet assimilate with their white community. The success of the show spawned two spin-offs and led to a $100 million overall deal with Netflix.
He's Worth $75 Million
Talk about being a big-ticket item. The creator has been toiling in the industry since the 1990s and after writing for many successful projects realized that the real money was in creating his own.
His payoffs have come from the juggernaut America's Next Top Model, as well as the network hit Black-ish, and the three-year, multi-million dollar deal he got from Netflix for #BlackAF. This puts the creative force in the same ballpark as other show running luminaries, such as Ryan Murphy and Shonda Rhimes.
He's A 3-Time Emmy Nominee
Barris has been called one of Hollywood's great modern storytellers. He has done his best to bring excellence to the screen with his stories and characters. It's hard enough, in general, to get projects off the ground, but to have them get made, succeed, and garner recognition is the icing on the cake.
Black-ish has also garnered a Golden Globe win for Tracee Ellis Ross, and he won Image Awards in 2016 and 2017 for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series for the hit show.
He's Been Married 21 Years
After 20 years of marriage to his wife Rainbow (they wed in 1999), the entertainment mogul filed for its dissolution, citing irreconcilable differences. The mogul said: “It is part of life. If you look at sitcoms and our stories, we're supposed to be okay. But 52 percent of marriages don’t work. It is the toughest thing I’ve ever been through in my life.”
This past May, after thinking about things and having a change of heart, he filed a request for dismissal of his divorce petition.
He Is The Father Of Six
Barris has six children: Kaleigh, Leyah, Lola, Beau, Kass, and Brooklyn. If the atypical approach to parenting on Barris' shows reflects real life, his kids must live one heck of a life. When creating #BlackAF, their dad recruited them to share experiences, ideas, and generally help keep the storylines authentic - and they really stepped up.
"I made sure my oldest daughter read every script; my middle daughter, read every outline, my youngest daughter came to editing. The biggest boost I needed was that my daughters got behind me."
He Hates The Word 'Diversity'
"I will be so happy when diversity is not a word. I have the best job in the world and I'm constantly having to talk about diversity. I have the best actors. It's ridiculous ... It doesn't matter who's watching our show," the creator responded when asked yet again about the demographics of his audience.
He gets upset because since his characters are Black, his shows turn into conversations about race when wants to talk about family and stories, which everyone can relate to.
He Graduated From Clark Atlanta University
The 1996 graduate, with a degree in Mass Media Arts, and his wife, who is also a grad of the school, donated $1 million to their alma mater to fund a new scholarship.
This generous donation is the largest single gift from an alumnus that the institution has ever received. The funds will be used to establish the Kenya and Rainbow Barris Annual Scholarship Award to be split evenly between students of Mass Media Arts and Biology. CAU awarded Barris with an honorary Doctor of Human Letters.
He's A Native Californian
The Hollywood powerhouse grew up in poverty-ridden Inglewood, California, and was raided by a single mother, Tina, who divorced her violent husband when Kenya was five. When his dad broke into the house one night, his mother shot at him. Barris said of this incident: "Good for my mom! He never messed with her again. It made us very, very close."
Tina worked very hard to support her family, but it was a financial settlement that his father got from an on-the-job accident that afforded his mother the ability to send him to private school.
Tyra Banks Is His Childhood Pal
Friends since age six, Barris created a Black-ish character who is Dre's childhood bestie based on the supermodel, who he went to grammar and high school with. Banks said, "The thing that I love about him is that he's made it so big, yet he's still my Kenya. He's not different," says the beautiful model who added, "He wants to produce every TV deal I have."
The storytelling mogul has also made appearances in documentaries relative to his lifelong BFF for E! True Hollywood Story and Biography.