What is Kenya Barris's Net Worth and Salary?
Kenya Barris is a renowned television and film producer, director, writer, and actor with a net worth of $75 million. He is best known for creating the ABC sitcom "black-ish," which aired in 2014 and later inspired spinoffs "grown-ish" and "mixed-ish." Barris has also co-written successful films such as "Girls Trip" and "Coming 2 America," and made his acting debut on his Netflix sitcom "#blackAF" in 2020.
Early Life and Education
Born on August 9, 1974, in Inglewood, California, Kenya Barris was the second of five children. He was named after his father's visit to Kenya. At the age of five, his parents divorced. Barris pursued higher education at Clark Atlanta University, the first historically black university in the Southern United States.
Television Career, 2000-2014
Barris began his television career in 2000 as a writer for the UPN sitcom "Girlfriends," which ran until 2008. During this period, he co-created and produced "America's Next Top Model" with supermodel Tyra Banks. The show aired for 24 seasons until 2018. Barris also wrote for the Showtime drama "Soul Food" from 2002 to 2004 and the CBS sitcom "Listen Up!" from 2004 to 2005, starring Jason Alexander.
In 2006, Barris began writing for "The Game," a spinoff of "Girlfriends," and stayed with the show until 2014. He also wrote for the TBS sitcom "Are We There Yet?" and the Fox sitcom "I Hate My Teenage Daughter," starring Jaime Pressly.
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"black-ish" Franchise
Barris gained significant acclaim in 2014 when he created "black-ish." The show, starring Tracee Ellis Ross, Anthony Anderson, Marcus Scribner, Yara Shahidi, and Laurence Fishburne, depicts the life of an upper-class Black family. The show has received numerous awards, including multiple NAACP Image Awards and a Golden Globe for Tracee Ellis Ross.
Building on the success of "black-ish," Barris created "grown-ish" in 2018, which follows Zoey, the eldest Johnson daughter, as she transitions into adulthood. The cast includes Yara Shahidi, Deon Cole, Francia Raisa, Chloe Bailey, Trevor Jackson, and Chris Parnell. In 2019, Barris co-created "mixed-ish," a prequel to "black-ish," which was partly based on his wife, Dr. Rania Barris's early life. The show starred Arica Himmel, Tika Sumpter, Gary Cole, and Mark-Paul Gosselaar and ran until 2021.
$100 Million Netflix Deal
In August 2018, Kenya Barris signed a $100 million exclusive production and development deal with Netflix.
Further Television Career
Barris continued his television career with Netflix as an executive producer for "Astronomy Club: The Sketch Show" in 2019. In 2020, he created "#blackAF" for Netflix, starring in it himself alongside Rashida Jones. Despite being canceled after one season, Barris stayed with Netflix and executive produced animated series "We the People" and "Entergalactic."
Film Career
Barris's first major film project was co-writing "Barbershop: The Next Cut" in 2016. He achieved further success with the 2017 hit "Girls Trip," co-written with Tracy Oliver and starring Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Tiffany Haddish. In 2019, he produced "Little" and co-wrote "Shaft."
In 2020, Barris collaborated with Robert Zemeckis and Guillermo del Toro on "The Witches." He also co-wrote "Coming 2 America" in 2021 alongside David Sheffield and Barry W. Blaustein.
Recently, Barris co-wrote the 2022 Disney remake of "Cheaper by the Dozen" and made his directorial debut with "You People," co-written with actor Jonah Hill.
Personal Life
In 1999, Barris married Dr. Rania "Rainbow" Edwards, an anesthesiologist. The couple has six children. Although they announced their divorce in 2019, they reconciled and called it off in 2020.
Real Estate
In July 2019, Kenya Barris purchased a mansion in Encino, California, for $7.6 million. In May 2020, he also bought a home in Studio City, California, for $4.6 million.
