The second-youngest of ten siblings, many of them also in the entertainment business, Shawn Wayans made his feature debut in older brother Keenen's "I'm Gonna Get You Sucka" (1989). On Fox's "In Living Color" (1990-93), he began as rapmaster SW-1, the classy, good-looking deejay and later became a featured performer, working with brothers Dwayne, Keenen (the show's creator), Damon, Marlon and sister Kim. Along with Marlon, Shawn Wayans created and starred in the sitcom "The Wayans Bros." (The WB, 1994-99) and co-wrote, co-executive produced and starred in the feature "Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood" (1996), in which Keenan also acted. Wayans guest-starred on episodes of "MacGyver" and "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper" (both ABC) and provided the voice of Toof for the animated children's series "Waynehead" (The WB, 1996-97), based on brother Damon's real-life childhood experiences.

After a supporting stint in the little-seen gang drama "New Blood" (1999) Wayans' film fortunes increased dramatically when he co-starred with his brother Marlon in a hit film directed by their older brother Keenan: "Scary Movie" (2000), a wildly comic satire (which he also co-wrote) on the then-recent trend of horror films like "Scream." Wayans played the apparently closeted Ray Wilkins, a role he reprised for the similarly popular 2001 sequel "Scary Movie 2." He kept the familial team intact when he and Marlon starred in the Keenan-directed comedy "White Chicks" (2004), playing a pair of FBI agents forced to masquerade as a pair of spoiled white blonde heiress a la the Hilton Sisters. Shawn also received a share of story and screenplay credit on the film.