Wayne Brady is a creative powerhouse. He’s also a phenomenal musical artist. His quickly composed and improvised song numbers on WLIIA are unrivaled. He’s accompanied talented fellow game show members, but when it comes to sheer musical talent, Brady is unparalleled. And his musical panache isn’t just limited to improvisational skills. He is a five-time Emmy Award winner. He won his first Emmy for his work on Whose Line? After the first Emmy in 2003, he won two more in the following year for The Wayne Brady Show. He was nominated for the Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performances award for his cover of the song “A Change Is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke.
Early Life
Wayne Brady was born to West Indian parents in Columbus, Georgia. As a young child, he moved to Orlando, Florida, to live with his aunt and grandmother. His grandmother raised him growing up, and that’s why Brady refers to her as his “mom.” When he was 16 years of age, he started performing in community theatre and SAK Comedy Lab. The latter is an Orlando improvisation troupe, and that’s where he first started doing improv. In 1989, he graduated from Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando. He enrolled at the University of Miami in 1990 and moved to Los Angeles in 1996. He continued developing and working on his acting skills in LA.
Wayne Brady’s Successful Career as a Host and an Improv Artist
Wayne’s first appearance on national television was on the sketch comedy competition Kwik Witz. Wayne was a recurring contestant on the show from 1996 to 1999. He would mostly appear along with his partner Frank Maciel. He was one of the improvisational theatre performers in the last season of the original Whose Line Is It Anyway? Brady appeared along with Ryan Stiles and Colin Mochrie with host Clive Anderson in the last season in 1998. The last season was filmed in America. After the show’s conclusion, he went on to become a permanent member of the American version of the show. His career started blooming after his improv work on WLIIA, hosted by Drew Carey. In 2003, he won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program. Brady was the only person to win the award for a TV series since Dana Carvey in 1993.
Brady’s Guest Appearances
He then went on to star in his show The Wayne Brady Show on ABC in 2001. He also hosted the daytime show of the same name in 2002, lasting two seasons. That show won him two more Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Talk Show Host. In 2004, he appeared as Lawyer Billy on the Broadway revival of Chicago. He also guest-starred in Sci-Fi Channel’s series Stargate SG-1. His appearance on Chapelle’s show became a kind of a meme before the internet era. In 2006, he hosted TV Land’s That’s What I’m Talking About. He has guest-starred in How I Met Your Mother, 30-Rock, and Everybody Hates Chris. In 2008, he bagged a nomination a Grammy for his cover of Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come.” He won season two of The Masked Singer on December 18, 2019.
Personal Life and Family
Brady is married to dancer Mandie Taketa. He married her on April 3, 1999, and they have a daughter together, named Maile Masako Brady. Over three years after their daughter’s birth, on February 3, 2003, they separated on April 5, 2006. Brady became an official supporter of Ronald McDonald House Charities in 2007. He has had issues with stuttering in his childhood. His problems with stuttering made him a target for other children who bullied him. As a consequence of bullying, he would also have to deal with a lot of anxiety. Brady has also suffered from clinical depression and had a mental breakdown on his 42nd birthday in 2014. Before Taketa, he was married to Diana Lasso, who he married on December 31, 1993. Their marriage lasted for two years before they divorced on September 21, 1995. Also Read: Alex Rodriguez Breakup Announcement: The Couple Confirms The Split
