Brady was born in Orlando, Florida. His first job as an entertainer was playing "Tigger" at Walt Disney World. He began to perform at a central Florida comedy club called SAK Comedy Club. He moved from Florida to Las Vegas, Nevada and then eventually on to Los Angeles, California in 1996, where he developed his acting skills. Brady is married to Mandie Taketa; they have one child.

In Whose Line Is It Anyway?, which featured such memorable castmates as Drew Carey, Ryan Stiles, Greg Proops, and Colin Mochrie, Brady astounded viewers with his dead-on impressions of various singers and his sense of humor. He went on to start his own ABC variety show in 2001, which failed, and a daytime talk show in 2002 called The Wayne Brady Show, which lasted two seasons and won four Daytime Emmy Awards, two of which went to Brady for Outstanding Talk Show Host. Wayne Brady also guest-starred on The Drew Carey Show in 1999 and 2000 to take part in Drew Live and Drew Live II. On the show, Brady played several games taken from Whose Line Is It Anway? for the two episodes with other characters.

In in 2004, Brady joined the long-running Broadway revival of Chicago, playing the role of

yer Billy Flynn. In 2006, Brady became the host of TV Land's That's What I'm Talking About, a talk show discussing the role of Blacks in the entertainment