Who is Angelica Zachary, the first wife of actor Marlon Wayans?
Marlon Wayans' first wife, Angelica Zachary, has made a name for herself in the entertainment industry. The two were in a relationship for nearly 21 years before parting ways. So, who is Angelica Zachary? She is an American actress, producer, comedian, and screenwriter. Discover more about her here.

Source: UGC
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Key Takeaways
- Angelica Zachary's profile summary
- Who is Angelica Zachary?
- Who was Marlon Wayans' first wife?
- Where does Angelica Zachary come from?
- What is Angelica Zachary's ethnicity?
- What is Angelica Zachary’s age?
- What does Angelica Zachary do?
- How long was Marlon Wayans and Angelica Zachary's marriage?
- Who is Angelica Zachary married to?
- Who are Angelica Zachary's kids?
- Who is Marlon Wayans' current wife?
- Are Angelica Zachary and Essence Atkins related?
- Is Shawn Wayans' wife Angelica Zachary?
- What is Angelica Zachary’s Instagram page?
- How tall is Angelica Zachary?
- Is Angelica Zachary on Wikipedia?
- Facts about Angelica Zachary
Key Takeaways
- Angelica Zachary is the mother of Marlon Wayan's two children.
- Despite being famous, Angelica is a private person.
- Before marrying Wayans in 2005, little is known about her.
- Angelica was born and raised in New York.
Angelica Zachary's profile summary
Full name | Angelica Zachary |
Gender | Female |
Birthdate | 22 February 1972 |
Age | 53 years old (as of 2025) |
Zodiac sign | Pisces |
Birthplace | New York, USA |
Residence | New York, USA |
Nationality | American |
Ethnicity | Mixed |
Religion | Christianity |
Sexuality | Straight |
Height | 5'5" (165 cm) |
Weight | Estimated: 123 lbs. (56 kg) |
Body measurements | Estimated: 34-26-35 inches (86-66-91 cm) |
Hair color | Black |
Eye color | Black |
Marital status | Single |
Children | 2 |
Profession | Actress, producer, comedian, and screenwriter |
Who is Angelica Zachary?
Angelica Zachary is an American actress, best known as the first wife of actor Marlon Wayans. She might not be a familiar name in Hollywood’s daily tabloids, but her quiet presence behind a flamboyant personality like Wayans has intrigued many.
Besides acting, Angelica is a movie producer, comedian, and screenwriter. Her ex-husband is famous for working with his brother, Shawn Wayans, in the movie White Chicks.
Who was Marlon Wayans' first wife?
Marlon Wayans and Angelica Zachary were in a long-term relationship from 1992 to 2013. Although the actor once referred to her as his "ex-wife," he stated in 2021 that they had never been married.
Where does Angelica Zachary come from?
She was born and raised in New York City, where she currently lives.

Source: Original
What is Angelica Zachary's ethnicity?
Angelica is of African-American descent. Her nationality is American.
What is Angelica Zachary’s age?
Born on 22 February 1972, the American actress is 53 years old (as of 2025).
What does Angelica Zachary do?
She works multiple jobs as an actress, producer, comedian, and screenwriter.
Angelica Zachary's movies and TV shows
Angelica appeared in the 1988 film, I'm Gonna Git You Sucka, as a pedestrian and performed in In Living Color, an American sketch comedy series that originally ran on Fox from April 1990 to May 1994.
The actress was also featured in the 1995 The Wayans Bros series and a 2004 film, White Chicks, alongside Marlon Wayans and his brothers, Shawn. She was later widely involved in the family sitcom, Marlon, in 2017.
Besides these five projects, there is no publicly accessible information on the internet about Angelica Zachary's shows and movies (where she has worked on as a producer and screenwriter.
How long was Marlon Wayans and Angelica Zachary's marriage?
Marlon and Angelica were not married, but they were in a relationship for almost 21 years, from 1992 to March 2013, and even have two children together.
Although Angelica has custody of the children, she and Marlon have gracefully taken up the co-parenting responsibility and provided a stable family environment for their kids.

Source: UGC
Despite their separation, both parents have been spotted attending school events and sharing important milestones with their children, demonstrating a united front as parents.
Additionally, Wayans has consistently shown appreciation to Angelica as the mother of his kids. The actor has publicly celebrated her on several occasions, including posting birthday wishes and Mother's Day messages.
For example, on May 10, 2020, he shared a series of photos of his ex-wife, wishing her a happy Mother's Day. The post read:
Happy Mother’s Day to my baby... You have been wonderful, loyal, loving, compassionate, empathetic, courageous, humble, strong, responsible, sweet, intelligent, God-fearing, beautiful inside and out. And you managed to pour all of that into our children. How can I not honor you on this day and every day? Sh..it after reading all that you are all I can think is “boy you really fu..cked that up Marlon”! 😂 😂 😂 this love is beyond the flesh... we’re in the blood. Love you for life... this one and all the ones after. Fellas, I don’t care what she did, how you may hurt, why y’all broke up... it doesn’t matter. Be grateful for the gift of life she gave you. Honor that woman today... and every day. She’s always your family.
Who is Angelica Zachary married to?
She did not remarry after separating from Marlon Wayans.
Who are Angelica Zachary's kids?
Angelica and Marlon Wayans' children are Kai Zackery Wayans (born on 24 May 2000) and Shawn Howell Wayans (born on 3 February 2002). Kai studies at the University of Southern California, while Shawn attends Loyola Marymount University.
Who is Marlon Wayans' oldest son?
During an appearance on The Breakfast Club podcast in November 2023, Wayans talked about his children, particularly his relationship with his oldest son, Kai.
The actor discussed Kai's gender transition from female to male and his experience as a parent to a transgender child. Marlon said:
I have a daughter that transitioned into a son. My daughter Amai is now Kai.

Source: UGC
Comedian Wayans explained how he went through a transitional period as a parent and mentioned his plans to discuss it further in his then-upcoming comedy special, Rainbow Child, to help other families facing similar situations.
He said:
My transition as a parent, going from ignorance and denial to complete unconditional love and acceptance. I think there’s a lot of parents out there who need to have that message, and I know I’m dealing with it.
It was a very painful situation for me, but it’s one of the best, funniest hours [of comedy] I could ever imagine.
Nonetheless, Marlon Wayans praised Kai as "brilliant" and "the most well-read, the smartest Wayans," while acknowledging that he was not always a perfect parent. He said this about his kids:
They know I love them. They see me trying, and I’m happy, but I have to respect their wishes...I’m just so proud of them being them.
Marlon also took to his Instagram to post a heartfelt message in support, stating:
Yeah and just for the HATE MONGERS … I’m posting ANOTHER. As a father of a child in the LGBTQ+ community, I show my support. Zero fu...cks what people think. If I lost you… GOOD! Your hateful a..ss never loved me in the first place. How can you love anyone when you’re too busy judging?
Some of y’all are funny. I’m a troll. I’ll post all day. HAPPY PRIDE to all my friends, fam, fans, and loved ones. I am happy you’re happy… period. GOOD GRIEF on @primevideo watch NOW
During Pride Month in 2019, Kair shared a photo of himself and his dad wearing rainbow shoes. Wayans captioned the post:
I wouldn’t change one effing thing about you. Love you to the moon around the sun through the galaxies and back again.
In honor of Pride Month in 2024, Wayans shared his support for Kai again with an Instagram post that showed a photo from a recent shoot where the comedian was draped in a rainbow flag.

Source: UGC
Both Kai and Shawn have accompanied their father to various premieres and a few of his comedy specials. Like Kai, Marlon Wayans has posted many sweet tributes to his second, son Shawn.
For instance, in February 2023, he shared a sentimental post about fatherhood as Shawn turned 21. He wrote alongside a throwback photo of his sons:
As much as I have accomplished in my career I will truly say God’s greatest gift has been my children. My baby boy is turning 21 today and I am so proud of the human and the spirit this young man has. @shawnwayansss you’re a natural-born leader. You’re handsome, kind, humble, confident, sweet, aloof as f---, funny, charming lovable, and most of all honorable.
Who is Marlon Wayans' current wife?
Actor Marlon Wayans does not have a wife and has never been legally married.
Was Marlon Wayans married to Essence Atkins?
Rumors suggesting he is married to actress Essence Atkins are false. Atkins was previously married to Jaime Mendez, but they are now divorced.
Atkins and Marlon Wayans have played romantic interests in various TV shows and movies, including their on-screen marriage in the Marlon series, but have always maintained that they are just close friends in real life.
Atkins has also worked with other members of the famous Wayans family throughout the decades. For instance, she starred as Ivy alongside Damon Wayans, Sr. (Poppa) and his son Damon Wayans, Jr. (Damon) in the CBS sitcom Poppa's House.
Are Angelica Zachary and Essence Atkins related?
They are both American actresses but are not related by blood. Due to their striking resemblance to each other, people often thought the two were either the same person or that Essence Atkins was Angelica Zachary's twin sister.

Source: UGC
Is Shawn Wayans' wife Angelica Zachary?
Marlon Wayans' brother, Shawn, is married to Ursula Alberto, a fitness model, not Angelica Zachary, who was Marlon's wife for almost eight years.
Shawn and Marlon Wayans have another brother named Damon. They are three of the ten children of Howell Stouten and Elvira Alethia Wayans, and are known for their work together in comedy and film.
What is Angelica Zachary’s Instagram page?
She does not appear to have any known social media accounts.
How tall is Angelica Zachary?
Zachary is 5 feet 5 inches (around 165 cm) tall.
Is Angelica Zachary on Wikipedia?
Wikipedia has mentioned her relationship with actor Marlon Wayans in Marlon's biography, but has not covered her story independently.
Facts about Angelica Zachary
- She has kept most of her life private.
- She and Marlon were together for 13 years before they considered marriage.
- She has devoted a significant part of her life to raising their children.
- Her marriage to Marlon was documented in the 2017 sitcom Marlon.
- She has acted in several TV series alongside the Wayans brothers and their dad.
Who is Angelica Zachary? She is an American actress known for her relationship with Marlon Wayans. The actress has maintained an admirable level of privacy the entire time she was married to Wayans.
Yen.com.gh published a post about Christopher Knight's wife, Cara Kokenes. The fitness model got married to the actor in November 2016.
Christopher had been divorced three times before he married Cara. Discover interesting facts about her, including her life before marrying the Hollywood icon.
Source: YEN.com.gh

Peris Walubengo (Lifestyle writer) Peris Walubengo has vast experience in search engine optimization through digital content generation, research, editing, and proofreading. She joined Yen.com.gh in April 2022 and has done several Google News Initiative Courses. You can email her at perisrodah254@gmail.com.

Adrianna Simwa (Lifestyle writer) Adrianna Simwa is a content writer at Yen.com.gh where she has worked since mid-2022. She has written for many periodicals on a variety of subjects, including news, celebrities, and lifestyle, for more than three years. She has worked for The Hoth, The Standard Group and Triple P Media. Adrianna graduated from Nairobi University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in 2020. In 2023, Simwa finished the AFP course on Digital Investigation Techniques. You can reach her through her email: adriannasimwa@gmail.com