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Kenn Whitaker and Forest Whitaker have been making strides in the Hollywood industry for a very long time.

Since they share the same last name, many have wondered if they are siblings — if not, they belong to the same family. Moreover, Kenn and Forest bear an uncanny resemblance to each other.

As a result, many have questioned if Kenn is Forest’s twin brother. Here is all we know about the Whitakers.

Kenn Whitaker and Forest Whitaker — twin brother or siblings

It has been quite some time since Kenn and Forest have been mistaken for each other. Many also believed that Kenn and Forest were the same person.

When the duo stood side-by-side, fans and followers could not help but notice the uncanny resemblance between the pair. Since then, many have called Kenn Forest’s twin brother.

However, this is not the case. Kenn is not Forest’s twin brother, and vice versa. Instead, the duo are siblings who share the same parents.

Forest was born on July 15, 1961, in Longview, Texas. Kenn, on the other hand, was born on June 8, 1963, in the same city as his brother — making him the younger sibling.

They were born to their parents, Laura Francis and Forest E. Whitaker Jr. Their mother was a special education teacher who went to college and got two master’s degrees while raising her children.

Kenn Whitaker and Forest Whitaker are siblings. (Source: Twitter)

Their father, on the other hand, was an insurance salesman. Forest once did a DNA test to find out the ethnicity of his parents and the heritage of his family. 

It was revealed that his father was of Igbo ethnicity, whereas his mother had Akan ancestry — leading him and his siblings to be of mixed ethnicity.

Kenn and Forest are not the only siblings in their family. They have a younger brother, Damon Whitaker, and an older sister, Deborah Whitaker. 

The other Whitaker siblings 

Not much is known about Damon and Deborah since they are not as famous as their other siblings.

Deborah is the oldest among the siblings in her family, and it is reported that she was also born in  Longview, Texas. Other than this, not much is known about her.

Despite being amongst her famous family, she has managed to keep her personal life private and out of the spotlight. The same, however, cannot be said for their younger brother, Damon.

Damon was born on October 21, 1970, making him seven years younger than Kenn. He was born after his family migrated from Texas to California.

As said before, Damon, like his elder siblings, works in the entertainment industry as a writer, actor, producer, and director. First Daughter, Mr. Holland’s Opus, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, Haphazard, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Lazarus Papers, and The Champagne Game are among his film credits.

According to IMDb, he has 27 acting credits and two as a producer.

He is affiliated with Beatscore PRO, where he works as a partner. The company specializes in assisting clients in discovering the right music for their films. 

Damon is also an Executive Producer at Bruin Lake Films. When asked why he chose to work in the entertainment industry, Damon responded he couldn’t help but be born into it. 

Almost every member of his family has been performing, writing, singing, and drawing since they were children, so it comes naturally to the Whitakers. He said, “I can’t help it. I was raised in the arts, so my family’s always been writing and painting and acting and singing… this is natural for us.”

Kenn Whitaker’s biography 

Kenn moved to Carson, California, with his parents and family when he was two years old and spent most of his official schooling there. When it was time for him to start high school, he enrolled in Palisades Charter High School in Palisades, California. 

Following graduation, he enrolled in an as-yet-unknown college to pursue his longtime passion for acting. Kenn, though not as productive as his elder brother, is an actor in his own right. 

While he is not as active as his brother, Kenn has just 7 acting credits on his IMDb profile.

Kenn’s acting career began in 1997 when he portrayed Bus Guard 2 in the film Most Wanted. His acting career continued until 2001 when he played Otis in the film The Theory of the Leisure Class. 

Between his first and last on-screen appearances, Kenn participated in a few additional films and television shows, including Tracey Takes On (1998), Party of Five (1999), Bulworth (1999), Life (1999), and Last Days (2001).

Because of his brief acting career, his estimated net worth of $1 million is far less than his elder brother’s estimated net worth of $25 million.

Little is known about the actor’s current activities because he has mostly vanished from the public eye. 

Forest Whitaker’s biography

Forest is an actor, producer, and director from the United States. Among his many honors are an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. 

Forest gained a reputation for intense character study work for films such as Platoon (1986), Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Bird (1988), The Crying Game (1992), Phenomenon (1996), Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999), The Great Debaters (2007), The Butler (2013), Arrival (2016), and Respect (2021) after making his film debut in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982).

He has also played Saw Gerrera in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) and Zuri in Black Panther (2018). 

Forest earned the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2006 for his depiction of Ugandan tyrant Idi Amin in the British historical drama film The Last King of Scotland. He made his directorial debut with Strapped (1993) and went on to direct Waiting to Exhale (1995), Hope Floats (1998), and First Daughter (2004). 

Recently, he has been starring as Bumpy Johnson in the Epix criminal thriller series Godfather of Harlem since 2019.

Forest is well-known for his humanitarian efforts, advocacy, and acting profession. He was named a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador in 2011 and then promoted to Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation. 

He is also the CEO of the Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative (WPDI), a non-profit outreach program.

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