Howell Stouten Wayans was the father of ten children and the patriarch of the Wayans family, one of the most influential comedy dynasties in American entertainment. He was born on August 26, 1936, in New York City. He worked as a supermarket manager and spent most of his life in Harlem and Chelsea. He married Elvira Alethia Green Wayans, and together they raised Dwayne, Keenen Ivory, Diedra, Damon Sr., Kim, Elvira Jr., Nadia, Devonne, Shawn, and Marlon Wayans. He was a devout Jehovah’s Witness. Howell Wayans died on April 1, 2023, at age 86. His son Marlon Wayans announced the news publicly, crediting his father with teaching him what it means to be a man.
Who Was Howell Stouten Wayans?
Howell Stouten Wayans was born on August 26, 1936, in New York City, New York. His father was Paul Otto Wayans. His mother was Lillian Victoria Howell. Both parents were Christians, and Howell later became a devout follower of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
He grew up to become a supermarket manager. That job never made him famous, but it paid the bills for a household that would eventually produce some of Hollywood’s most recognized names, and he lived to see much of that rise firsthand before he died at 86.
Early Life, Parents, and Ancestry
Howell grew up in a modest, working-class home in New York City, and he learned the value of hard work early. That lesson followed him into adulthood and shaped how he raised his own ten children.
His family roots run deeper than most articles mention. On his mother’s side, his grandparents were Edward Howell and Ida Fields Howell. On his father’s side, they were Stouten Wayans and Mary Otis Wayans. Those names weren’t forgotten. Howell passed them down to his firstborn son, who became known as Dwayne Howell Otis Wayans, a direct link between four generations of the family.
Profile Summary
| Category | Details |
| Full Name | Howell Stouten Wayans |
| Date of Birth | August 26, 1936 |
| Birthplace | New York City, New York, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | African-American |
| Religion | Jehovah’s Witness |
| Father | Paul Otto Wayans |
| Mother | Lillian Victoria Howell |
| Spouse | Elvira Alethia Green Wayans |
| Children | 10 |
| Profession | Supermarket manager |
| Residence | Fulton Houses, Chelsea, Manhattan, and Harlem |
| Date of Death | April 1, 2023 |
| Age at Death | 86 |
Reported figures for Howell’s personal net worth and the Wayans family’s combined net worth vary widely across sources and are not officially confirmed, so they’re treated as estimates rather than fact in this profile.
Career and Working Life
Howell worked as a supermarket manager in Harlem for most of his adult life, managing staff, handling stock, and working long hours to keep a growing household afloat. During the 1960s and 1970s, he often took on extra shifts and additional labor to stretch every dollar, since feeding, clothing, and sheltering ten children required constant effort.
The family lived for years in the Fulton Houses, a public housing complex in Chelsea, Manhattan, where space and money were both tight. One story from that era has stuck with the family: Howell had his kids wear shoes a size too big and stuff the front with newspaper so they’d last longer. It’s a small detail, but it says more about his practicality than any general claim about “hard work” ever could.
He eventually retired from retail management after spending his working years supporting a family that would go on to shape American comedy for decades.
Wife: Elvira Alethia Green Wayans
Elvira Alethia Green Wayans was born on July 23, 1938, in Manhattan, New York City. Her parents were Ivory Garrett Green and Elvira V. Brown Green. She grew up alongside her siblings Ivory Garrett Green Jr., Muriel Green, and Mozell Green Hamilton. Census records from 1940 place the family living at 49 East 133rd Street in Harlem.
Elvira worked as a homemaker, but she also spent time as a singer and a social worker, helping people in her own community while raising ten children at home. She was known as sharp, funny, and organized, and several of her children later credited her quick wit as the real starting point of their comedic instincts. Like Howell, she followed Jehovah’s Witness beliefs and kept the household structured even when raising a large family got chaotic. Elvira died on July 10, 2020, roughly three years before Howell.
Marriage and Relationship
Howell and Elvira met in the mid-1950s in New York City and married in 1957, when Howell was about 21 and Elvira was 18. Neither came from money, so building a life together meant taking on serious responsibility early.
Over the following years, they welcomed ten children. Their marriage lasted more than six decades, weathering financial struggles and the everyday stress of raising a large family in a small space, and it ended only when Elvira passed away on July 10, 2020.
The Ten Wayans Children
Dwayne Wayans
Dwayne Howell Otis Wayans, the eldest child, worked behind the scenes as a writer and music composer on In Living Color and My Wife and Kids, starting out as a production assistant who also appeared in background sketches on Keenen’s show.
Keenen Ivory Wayans
Born June 8, 1958, Keenen Ivory Desuma Wayans opened Hollywood’s door for the rest of the family. He created In Living Color for Fox, co-wrote Hollywood Shuffle, and directed Scary Movie in 2000, the highest-grossing film by an African American filmmaker at the time. He later hosted The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show, judged Last Comic Standing, and won an Emmy Award as In Living Color’s executive producer.
Diedra Wayans
Diedra Wayans chose a quieter path as a writer and producer, staying out of the spotlight. She’s also the mother of Craig Wayans, who became a writer, producer, and actor.
Damon Wayans Sr.
Born September 4, 1960, Damon Wayans built a career in stand-up comedy before moving into film and television, including Lethal Weapon and My Wife and Kids. He was married to Lisa Thorner from 1984 to 2000, with whom he had Damon Wayans Jr., Michael Wayans, Cara Wayans, and Kyla Wayans. In a 2025 Club Shay Shay podcast interview, Damon discussed a relationship that began in 2001, shortly after that divorce.
Kim Wayans
Born October 16, 1961, Kimberly Nichole Wayans studied at Wesleyan University before becoming an actress, comedian, and television director. She appeared on A Different World, joined In Living Color, and starred in In the House. Her role in the 2011 film Pariah earned nominations for two Black Reel Awards and an NAACP Image Award, and she has since directed episodes of My Wife and Kids, The Neighborhood, and Bunk’d. She’s married to Kevin Knotts.
Elvira Wayans Jr.
Named after her mother, Elvira Wayans Jr. worked as a writer, helping shape episodes of My Wife and Kids.
Nadia Wayans
Nadia Wayans appeared in early family film projects before stepping back from public life.
Devonne “Vonnie” Wayans
Devonne, known as Vonnie, worked behind the scenes in production and planning.
Shawn Wayans
Born January 19, 1971, Shawn Wayans formed a major comedy duo with his younger brother Marlon, creating The Wayans Bros. and starring together in White Chicks and Scary Movie.
Marlon Wayans
Born July 23, 1972, Marlon was the youngest of the ten. He attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School and Howard University before teaming with Shawn on The Wayans Bros., Scary Movie, and White Chicks, and showed a more serious side in Requiem for a Dream and Little Man. Marlon has children including Kai Zackery Wayans, Shawn Howell Wayans, and Axl July Ivory Wayans, and remains the family member most vocal about honoring his father’s memory.
Grandchildren and Extended Family
The Wayans family tree extends well beyond the original ten children. Howell and Elvira are believed to have at least 40 grandchildren, several of whom have built careers of their own. Damon Wayans Jr. followed his father into acting and comedy, known for New Girl and Happy Endings, alongside his siblings Michael, Cara, and Kyla Wayans. Damien Dante Wayans and Chaunté Wayans, cousins within the extended family, work as an actor-director-producer and a stand-up comedian, and Craig Wayans, Diedra’s son, has written and produced on multiple family projects.
Family Legacy and Influence on the Wayans Entertainment Dynasty
The Wayans became one of the defining show business families in American entertainment, and that success traces back to the household Howell and Elvira built. Keenen’s In Living Color reshaped sketch comedy in the early 1990s and gave nearly every sibling their first major break.
From there, the family’s reach expanded into film through the Scary Movie franchise, White Chicks, and Little Man, and into television through The Wayans Bros. and My Wife and Kids. Much of their comedy pushed against stereotypes and opened doors for other Black performers in an industry that hadn’t made much room for them before. Keenen built the platform, Damon and Kim carried it into film and drama, and Shawn and Marlon turned it into box office success.
Death of Howell Wayans
Howell Wayans died on April 1, 2023, at the age of 86. A cause of death was never publicly disclosed, and it’s generally understood to have been related to natural causes tied to his age.
Marlon Wayans learned of his father’s death just hours before he was scheduled to perform two stand-up shows at Flappers comedy club in Burbank, California. According to reports from TMZ, he completed both shows rather than canceling, working the loss into his set before telling the audience the news at the end of the night.
Marlon confirmed the death publicly on Instagram, sharing a story from his childhood. He recalled asking his father what he wanted to be when he grew up, expecting an answer like lawyer or doctor. Instead, Howell told him simply, “I wanted to be a man,” adding, “A man takes care of himself and his responsibilities. His family is always first.” That exchange became the center of Marlon’s tribute. Howell’s burial details have not been publicly documented.
Tributes From Family and Friends
Craig Wayans wrote that his grandfather had “a firm seat next to Jehovah,” gaining another strong soldier in heaven, and Deidra Wayans shared her own remembrance on social media. Actor Omar Epps, a longtime family friend, called Howell “a GIANT amongst giants” and a father figure who took him in as if he were one of his own children. Comedian D.L. Hughley also sent condolences, along with Snoop Dogg and Tyrese Gibson.
Marlon Wayans’ Grief and Reflection on Losing His Parents
Losing both parents within a three-year span took a visible toll on Marlon Wayans. In an interview with The New York Times, he opened up about battling depression after losing nearly 60 family members and close friends over that period, starting with his mother Elvira’s death and followed by Howell’s in 2023. Marlon has said his mother’s passing felt like being “shattered into a million pieces,” and he revealed her presence in his life was part of why he never married, since he didn’t want any woman to feel second to her. He credits his stand-up special Good Grief, built around learning to laugh through his worst circumstances, with helping pull him out of that depression.
Net Worth and Financial Legacy
Howell Wayans’ personal net worth was never officially confirmed. Public estimates range from roughly $1 million to $5 million, but these figures come from unverified sources rather than confirmed financial records. The combined net worth of the wider Wayans family is often cited between $183 million and $300 million, largely built through the entertainment careers of Keenen, Damon, Kim, Shawn, and Marlon, though these family-wide figures should also be treated as rough approximations rather than confirmed totals.
2025 NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame Induction
In 2025, the Wayans family received one of its most significant collective honors when they were inducted into the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame. Family members dedicated the moment to both Howell and Elvira, framing the induction as recognition not just of their own careers, but of the household that made those careers possible in the first place.
Religion, Faith, and Family Values
Faith shaped nearly every part of Howell’s household. As a devout Jehovah’s Witness, he raised his children within that same belief system, and it gave the family a consistent moral structure through decades of financial hardship and change.
Discipline, responsibility, and family unity weren’t abstract ideas in the Wayans’ home. They were daily expectations, reinforced by two parents who expected their children to look out for one another no matter what came next.
FAQ’s
Who was Howell Stouten Wayans?
Howell Stouten Wayans was the patriarch of the Wayans family and a former supermarket manager who, with his wife Elvira Alethia Green Wayans, raised 10 children who became major figures in entertainment.
How did Howell Wayans die, and was a cause of death revealed?
Howell Wayans died on April 1, 2023, at age 86. No official cause of death was ever publicly disclosed, though it’s generally understood to be related to natural causes.
When exactly did Howell Wayans pass away, March 31 or April 1, 2023?
Howell Wayans passed away on April 1, 2023, according to IMDb and Find a Grave records, though his son Marlon announced the news the previous day.
How many children did Howell Wayans have?
Howell Wayans had 10 children: Dwayne, Keenen Ivory, Diedra, Damon Sr., Kim, Elvira Jr., Nadia, Devonne, Shawn, and Marlon.
Who was Howell Wayans’ wife?
Howell Wayans was married to Elvira Alethia Green Wayans from 1957 until her death in 2020, a marriage that lasted more than six decades.
What did Howell Wayans do for a living?
Howell Wayans worked as a supermarket manager in Harlem, New York City, spending his career providing for his large family.
What religion did Howell Wayans follow?
Howell Wayans was a devout Jehovah’s Witness, and his faith shaped the values and discipline he instilled in his children.
What did Howell Wayans say that inspired his son Marlon Wayans?
Howell told Marlon that being a man means taking care of yourself and your responsibilities, and that family always comes first, a line Marlon quoted in his tribute after Howell’s death.
