Elvira Alethia Green Wayans was a social worker, homemaker and the mother of the 10 Wayans siblings. She and her husband, Howell Stouten Wayans, raised five sons and five daughters in New York City.
Their children include Keenen Ivory, Damon, Kim, Shawn and Marlon Wayans. Several became leading figures in American comedy, film and television.
Elvira was born on July 23, 1938. She died at age 81 in July 2020. Contemporary family coverage did not disclose her exact death date or cause of death.
Bottom line: Elvira built no public Hollywood career comparable to those of her children. Her documented story centers on social work, motherhood and the values that shaped a multigenerational entertainment family.
Elvira Alethia Quick Facts
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Elvira Alethia Green Wayans |
| Birth date | July 23, 1938 |
| Birthplace or childhood home | Raised in Harlem, New York City |
| Died | July 2020, aged 81 |
| Exact death date | Not confirmed in reliable contemporary coverage |
| Cause of death | Not publicly disclosed |
| Occupation | Social worker and homemaker |
| Husband | Howell Stouten Wayans |
| Children | 10: five sons and five daughters |
| Known for | Mother and matriarch of the Wayans entertainment family |
Who Was Elvira Alethia Green Wayans?
Elvira Alethia Green Wayans was the mother at the center of the Wayans family. Unlike several of her children, she lived largely outside the celebrity spotlight.
Her full name sometimes appears as Elvira Alethia Green-Wayans. Green was her family name before her marriage to Howell Wayans. News coverage often shortened her name to Elvira Wayans.
That shorter form creates confusion. One of her daughters is also named Elvira Wayans. The daughter has links to writing and production and is the mother of Damien and Chaunté Wayans.
The mother is the person Marlon Wayans honored in 2020. She is also the Elvira Green discussed during Keenen Ivory Wayans’s family-history research.
Was Elvira Alethia an Actress?
No reliable evidence reviewed for this article confirms that the Wayans family matriarch worked as an actress. Her best-supported occupations are social worker and homemaker.
An IMDb page assigns her an acting role in a 1978 production of Giulio Cesare in Egitto. The same page includes Wayans family details. However, no strong independent source connects that performance to Howell Wayans’s wife.
The page also gives a death date that conflicts with other public records. That combination makes the acting claim unsafe to repeat as fact.
Other articles call Elvira a screenwriter. They may be confusing her with her daughter of the same name. The daughter has entertainment credits, while the mother’s public record centers on family life and social work.
This does not prove that the mother never performed or wrote. It means the available evidence cannot verify those claims. A careful biography should preserve that distinction.
What Was Her Early Life Like?
Elvira grew up in Harlem and experienced its rich cultural life. A 2016 PBS family-history episode traced her family through her father, Ivory Garrett Green.
The program also explored earlier generations in South Carolina. Researchers found family connections that reached back through Reconstruction and slavery. This history gave Keenen Ivory Wayans a fuller view of his maternal roots.
Keenen described his mother as a source of confidence and independent thought. He said she taught her children to question the accepted ideas of their time. She also encouraged cultural curiosity.
He offered one revealing example. Elvira obtained tickets to see conductor Leonard Bernstein but could not afford a babysitter. She sent young Keenen instead because she wanted him to experience the performance.
That story shows how she approached opportunity. Money could limit the family, but it did not have to limit the children’s imagination.
Who Was Elvira Alethia’s Husband?
Elvira’s husband was Howell Stouten Wayans. He worked as a grocery or supermarket manager and died in 2023 at age 86.
Public biographies do not establish a dependable wedding date. The couple remained together while raising their large family in New York City.
The Television Academy’s interview archive describes a household with limited money and strong expectations. The family lived in public housing, and all the children contributed where they could.
Keenen said his parents set high moral standards. The children shined shoes, collected bottles or delivered groceries to help. He remembered Elvira insisting that their circumstances did not define their character.
Howell followed the Jehovah’s Witness faith. Some profiles loosely assign the same faith to Elvira. However, Keenen has said his mother did not share it. The safer description is that the children grew up in a household strongly influenced by their father’s beliefs.
How Many Children Did Elvira and Howell Wayans Have?
Elvira and Howell had 10 children: five sons and five daughters. Their names appear below in their commonly reported birth order.
| Child | Public profile |
|---|---|
| Dwayne Wayans | Writer, composer and behind-the-scenes creative |
| Keenen Ivory Wayans | Comedian, actor, writer, director and creator of In Living Color |
| Diedra Wayans | Writer and producer with a lower public profile |
| Damon Wayans Sr. | Comedian, actor, writer and producer |
| Kim Wayans | Actor, comedian, writer and director |
| Elvira Wayans | Writer and member of the family’s next-generation creative network |
| Nadia Wayans | Private family member with limited screen work |
| Devonne “Vonnie” Wayans | Maintains a comparatively private life |
| Shawn Wayans | Actor, comedian, writer and producer |
| Marlon Wayans | Actor, comedian, writer and producer |
Not every sibling pursued fame in the same way. Some performed on screen, while others wrote, produced or stayed private. This makes “mother of the Wayans brothers” an incomplete description. Elvira also raised five daughters who formed part of the family’s story.
The repeated names can confuse family trees. Elvira Alethia was the mother. Her daughter Elvira is a separate person. Devonne also appears as Vonnie in interviews and profiles.
How Did Elvira Influence the Wayans Family?
Elvira influenced the family through confidence, discipline and intellectual curiosity. Her children have provided the strongest evidence of that role.
During Finding Your Roots, Keenen said his mother instilled pride and self-worth. He also credited her with teaching the children to challenge ideas. The researched history of In Living Color, Homey Don’t Play That!, records similar memories.
The crowded household also encouraged humor. In the Television Academy archive, Keenen explained that the siblings became creative while trying to survive and entertain one another. Family members later turned those habits into collaborative television and film work.
Elvira did not create In Living Color or write her children’s films. Credit for those projects belongs to the people who made them. Her influence worked at a different level. She helped build the confidence and family connection that preceded those careers.
Marlon described an especially close relationship with her. Years after her death, he explained that she held the highest place in his personal life. His grief later became part of his comedy special Good Grief.
When Did Elvira Alethia Die?
Elvira died in July 2020 at age 81. The exact date remains unclear in reliable contemporary reporting.
Marlon announced the loss around their shared July 23 birthday. ABC News reported that she would have turned 82 that day. ABC also stated that it was not clear when she had died.
Later memorial and database pages list June 21, July 10 or July 23. These dates cannot all be correct. None carries more weight than the family’s announcement and contemporary reporting.
For that reason, this article uses July 2020 without selecting a day. The family also did not publicly identify a cause of death. Claims about a specific illness would be speculation.
What Was Elvira Alethia’s Legacy?
Elvira’s legacy lives through a family that changed American comedy. Her children worked across television, film, stand-up and production for several decades.
Keenen created In Living Color, which expanded opportunities for Black comedy and introduced major performers. Damon, Kim, Shawn and Marlon built distinct careers while frequently collaborating with relatives. Younger family members continued the pattern.
In February 2025, the Wayans family entered the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame. The official announcement recognized the family’s influence across generations.
Elvira died before that honor, as did Howell. Yet the award illustrates the scale of what grew from their household. Her legacy rests less on a personal filmography than on the people and values she nurtured.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was Elvira Alethia’s full name?
Her full name was Elvira Alethia Green Wayans. Green was her family name before she married Howell Stouten Wayans.
Was Elvira Alethia Marlon Wayans’s mother?
Yes. Elvira Alethia was Marlon Wayans’s mother. They shared a July 23 birthday and maintained a very close relationship.
How many children did Elvira Alethia have?
She had 10 children with Howell Wayans. The family included five sons and five daughters.
What did Elvira Alethia do for a living?
Reliable profiles describe her as a social worker and homemaker. Public sources do not provide a detailed employment timeline.
Was Elvira Alethia an actress or screenwriter?
No strong independent evidence confirms those occupations for the Wayans matriarch. Some pages may combine her identity with an actress or with her writer daughter, also named Elvira.
What was Elvira Alethia’s cause of death?
Her family did not publicly disclose a cause of death. She died at age 81 in July 2020.
What was Elvira Alethia’s net worth?
No reliable source documents her net worth. The later success of her children does not reveal her personal assets, income or debts.
Conclusion
Elvira Alethia Green Wayans was a social worker, homemaker and mother of 10. Her private life stands behind one of entertainment’s best-known creative families.
Her documented influence came through confidence, curiosity and firm standards. Keenen’s memories show a mother who wanted her children to think independently and experience a larger world.
Online databases complicate her story with disputed dates and uncertain credits. The reliable record supports a simpler conclusion. Elvira died at 81 in July 2020 and left a family legacy that continues across generations.
