Barris was born in Inglewood, California, the second of five children. He was named after Kenya due to his father visiting the country. Barris' parents divorced when he was five years old. He is an alumnus of Clark Atlanta University.
Barris has created numerous television shows, including the critically acclaimed Black-ish. The award-winning series also has two spin-offs, Grown-ish and Mixed-ish, and a third potential spin-off Old-ish. He was a writer for The Game, Girlfriends, and Soul Food. Barris co-created and produced America's Next Top Model with Tyra Banks. He penned the film Girls Trip. He co-produced the 2019 film Little and co-wrote the screenplay for the 2019 theatrical release Shaft.
In 2020, Barris made his acting debut in #BlackAF, a series he developed for Netflix, co-starring Rashida Jones and Iman Benson. In October 2020, Barris announced that he will write, produce and direct a biopic on comedian Richard Pryor for MGM. His Khalabo Ink Society company is currently eyeing a deal with ViacomCBS. In August 2022 it was announced that Barris would write and direct a modern remake of The Wizard of Oz.

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