Wanda was born in Portsmouth, Virginia and raised in Maryland. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Hampton University. Her stand-up career began at a Coors Light Super talent Showcase in Washington, DC where she performed for the first time in front of a live audience.
She spent 5 years as part of the HBO’s critically acclaimed “Chris Rock Show.” As a performer and writer on the show, she was nominated for three Primetime Emmy’s and in 1999 won the Emmy for “Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Special.” In 2001, she won the American Comedy Award for “Outstanding Female Stand Up Comic”. She won three more Emmy’s, in 2002, 2004 and 2005 , for her work on “Inside the NFL” for “Outstanding Studio Show – Weekly- Inside The NFL".
In 2003, Wanda earned a Comedy Central Commie Award for “Funniest TV Actress.” Other writing credits include: the “MTV 1999 Music Video Awards”, “The MTV Movie Awards” the “74th Annual Academy Awards,” “The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show,” and “Wanda at Large.”
She also appeared in the feature films: “Pootie Tang”, “Nutty Professor 2; The Klumps”, and “Down to Earth”.