Biography - Wanda Sykes

Who is Wanda Sykes?

Wanda Sykes is an American actress, comedian, and writer who is best known for her work with The Chris Rock Show, The New Adventures of Old Christine, and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Wanda Sykes – Age, Parents, Siblings

Wanda Sykes was born on March 7, 1964, in Portsmouth, Virginia, U.S.A. to parents Marion Louise and Harry Ellsworth Sykes. Her full name/birth name is Wanda Yvette Sykes. Her mother Marion worked as a banker while her father was a U.S. Army colonel at The Pentagon. She also has a brother named Harry Sykes.

Education, Ethnicity

Sykes attended Arundel High School and graduated from the same. She then enrolled at Hampton University where she earned a bachelor of science degree in marketing. Her ethnicity is African-American.

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Wanda Sykes – Marriage, Husband, Divorce

Wanda Sykes was married to Dave Hall, an American record producer. They tied the knot in 1991. The marriage lasted 7 years and the couple divorced in 1998. They did not have any children throughout this marriage.

Sexuality and Children

10 years after her divorce from Hall, Sykes came out as a lesbian in November 2008. After same-sex marriage was legalized, she married her partner Alex Niedbalski on October 25, 2008. Niedbalski is a French woman and they met in 2006.

On April 27, 2009, they became parents when Niedbalski gave birth to fraternal twins, daughter Olivia Lou and son Lucas Claude.

Wanda Sykes – Career

Early Days

Sykes first worked as a contracting specialist at the National Security Agency (NSA) for a total of 5 years. But she was not satisfied with her job. So she rooted to change her career path opting for a stand-up Comedian.

Her first performance was in 1987 and still continued to work at the NSA until 1992. She then moved to New York to continue her career in Comedy. Her big break came when she was cast as an opening act of Chris Rock at Caroline's Comedy Club.

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Films, Series, TV shows, Albums

Sykes has worked for shows- The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show, The Chris Rock Show, Comedy Central Presents, Best of the Chris Rock Show: Volume 2, Premium Blend, Wanda Sykes: Tongue Untied, Roseanne, The Downer Channel, Blackish, The Wanda Sykes Show, Back at the Barnyard, among others.

Over the years, she has also portrayed roles in films and movies such as Tomorrow Night (1998), Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000), Monster-in-Law (2005), My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006), Evan Almighty (2007), License to Wed (2007), Snatched (2017).

Wanda Sykes' acting skills have also landed her voice roles in movies such as The Adventures of Brer Rabbit (2005), Over the Hedge (2006), Barnyard (2006), Brother Bear 2 (2006), Rio (2011), Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012), Ice Age: Collision Course (2016), UglyDolls (2019). 

Sykes has also released her comedy albums over the years- Tongue Untied (2003), Sick & Tired (2007), I'ma Be Me (2010), What Happened... Ms. Sykes? (2018).

Wanda Sykes – Awards and Nominations

Wanda Sykes has had an astounding career with seven Primetime Emmy nominations and one win in 1999 Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Special. She has also been nominated for Teen Choice Awards, BET Comedy Awards, Satellite Awards, Image Awards, People's Choice Awards, Black Reel Awards, Annie Awards, and GLAAD Media Awards.

Among these, she has won several over the past years.

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Wanda Sykes – Health issues

On September 19, 2011, she appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, hosted by Ellen Degeneres. She then revealed that she was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) which is a non-invasive "stage zero breast cancer". As her family had a history of breast cancer, she chose to have a bilateral mastectomy.

Wanda Sykes –  Net Worth, Salary

The net worth of Sykes is estimated to be around $10 million while the figure on her annual salary is under review.

Wanda Sykes – Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

On social media sites Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, Wanda Sykes is followed by several hundred thousand followers.

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