Wayne Brady

Wayne Alphonso Brady, born June 2, 1972, in Columbus, Georgia, is an American comedian, actor, and singer whose career spans television, film, and Broadway. He was born to West Indian parents and moved to Orlando, Florida, as a young child to live with his grandmother, Valerie Petersen, and his aunt. Brady refers to Petersen as his mother, as she raised him. As a child, he developed a stutter, which led to bullying and significant anxiety. At age 16, he began performing in community theater and joined the Orlando improvisational troupe SAK Comedy Lab, where he first cultivated his improv skills. He attended Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, graduating in 1989. Following graduation, he worked at Universal Studios Florida, appearing in two productions centered on the Beetlejuice character: a street show called "Beetlejuice: Dead in Concert," in which he played Winston Zeddemore, and a stage show called "Beetlejuice's Rock 'N Roll Graveyard Revue," in which he portrayed Dracula. In 1996, he relocated to Los Angeles to continue developing his acting career.

Brady first appeared on national television as a recurring contestant on the sketch comedy competition Kwik Witz from 1996 to 1999, frequently partnered with Frank Maciel. In 1998, he performed on the final season of the original British version of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, filmed in Hollywood alongside Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie, and host Clive Anderson, before becoming a regular on the American version hosted by Drew Carey. In 2003, he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program for his work on that series, becoming the only person to win the award for a television series rather than a special since Dana Carvey in 1993. He went on to star in an ABC variety show in 2001 and a daytime talk show, both titled The Wayne Brady Show, the latter of which ran for two seasons and earned him two Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Talk Show Host. Brady has won five Emmy Awards in total, with two additional wins coming for his work on Let's Make a Deal.

Brady became the original host of Fox's Don't Forget the Lyrics! and has hosted the CBS revival of Let's Make a Deal since October 2009, a program that began taping at the Tropicana Resort and Casino in Las Vegas before moving to Los Angeles. His debut album was released on September 16, 2008, and his recording of Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" earned him a Grammy Award nomination for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance. He received a second Grammy nomination for Best Musical Theater Album for the soundtrack of The Wiz.

Brady's Broadway career spans from 1996 to 2025 and includes several notable productions. In 2004, he joined the Broadway revival of Chicago, playing lawyer Billy Flynn. In November 2015, he replaced Billy Porter in the Tony Award-winning musical Kinky Boots, portraying Lola/Simon until March 2016. He subsequently played Aaron Burr in the PrivateBank Theatre production of Hamilton in Chicago from January 2017 to April 2017. His Broadway credits also include Freestyle Love Supreme and a starring role in The Wiz.

Among his many television roles, Brady has played James Stinson, the gay brother of Neil Patrick Harris's character on How I Met Your Mother, and guest-starred on programs including 30 Rock, Everybody Hates Chris, Stargate SG-1, Psych, and Chappelle's Show. In August 2010, he played Tom Collins in a staged production of Rent at the Hollywood Bowl, directed by Neil Patrick Harris. Brady returned to the American version of Whose Line Is It Anyway? when The CW revived the series in 2013 and starred in the ABC improvisational comedy series Trust Us with Your Life in 2012. In January 2011, he appeared in two episodes of the BBC2 improvisational series Fast and Loose alongside Let's Make a Deal announcer Jonathan Mangum.