All About Wayne Brady's Daughter, Maile Masako Brady (2024)

Wayne Brady said that his life “changed forever” when he became a dad to his daughter Maile Masako Brady.

Brady married his second wife, Mandie Taketa, in 1999, and they welcomed their only child together, Maile, in 2003. Since their divorce in 2007, the former couple have formed their own blended family when Taketa welcomed her son Sundance-Isamu with boyfriend Jason Fordham in 2021 and Brady was chosen as the baby’s godfather.

The Whose Line Is It Anyway? star has brought his daughter to events since she was a kid, like the Los Angeles premiere of Wicked in 2005 and the iHeartRadio Music Awards in 2019, among other red carpet events. Most recently, the father-daughter duo are starring on the Freeform reality TV show Wayne Brady: The Family Remix.

The dad has publicly shared his love and support for his daughter, including his inherent trust in Maile with aspects of his career. Her input came into play for Brady's stint on the second season of The Masked Singer, telling PEOPLE in 2019 that he ran the idea by her first and knew he made her proud at the end of the day.

“I was like, if they’ve got real-deal singers on the show then I think I need to try this next season,” he explained. “I conferred with my daughter because the coolest person is always going to be your 16-year-old daughter and I asked her what she thought about me doing it and I asked her mom Mandie, so between Mandie and Maile, I got the go-ahead.”

Here’s everything to know about Wayne Brady’s daughter, Maile Masako Brady.

She was born in 2003

Brady and Taketa welcomed their first and only child together, daughter Maile Masako Brady, on Feb. 3, 2003.

Brady reflected on Maile's 21st birthday in February 2024, calling the day she was born “the day my life changed forever.” He expressed that Maile was “a blessing” and that he was “so proud” to be her father.

“Out of all the people you could have chosen to help you start your journey, you chose your Mother and I,” he added. “The best part of being your Dad is getting a front row seat for the butt kicking you're going to give the World! Your drive, talent, heart, and sense of self are staggering to me!”

She was named after her great grandfather

Maile’s middle name, Masako, comes from her mother’s side of the family.

In a May 2022 post celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Maile reflected on her Japanese heritage with a touching post on social media that included photos of her mom as well as pictures of her ancestors.

“I am so proud to be a 5th generation Japanese-American (Gosei 五世),” she wrote. “My middle name, Masako was passed down to me from my great grandfather (grandpa Taketa) who fought for the US in WW2 after being put on house arrest in Hawaii along with my great grandmother for simply being Japanese.”

Maile said she carries her name and culture “with such pride and gratitude for all of the integrity and strides” made before her.

She’s part of a blended family

Maile is part of one happy blended family with her parents, even after their split.

Brady and Taketa have remained close in the years after their divorce, with the comedian telling Access Hollywood in an April 2020 interview that their relationship was “different” and “very special.” The following year, in September 2021, Brady announced that Taketa welcomed a second child via adoption, son Sundance-Isamu, with her boyfriend, Fordham.

The former couple have “co-parented as best friends” and have remained physically close as well, with Brady telling the outlet that they have “at most” lived approximately seven minutes away from each other.

“Right now, we live literally next door to each other,” he said, revealing that he and Taketa quarantined between their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. “So Mandie, her boyfriend Jason, my daughter Maile, we are a family.”

For a short period of time, the blended family even lived under one roof together while Brady’s house was being renovated. In an April 2020 episode of PEOPLE Now, he said the short-time situation “was absolutely awesome.”

“If that would have been the way that we are living right now, then that would have been fine because we can do that. I love my ex-wife, she’s my best friend, and her boyfriend Jason is my boy, and my daughter’s my daughter,” he explained. “Some people’s new normal is my everyday Wednesday.”

She goes to college in Los Angeles

Maile graduated from high school in 2021, and while celebrating her accomplishment, Brady shared that she would attend Loyola Marymount University to be part of the 2025 graduating class.

According to her press bio from Freeform, Maile is majoring in theater arts, and she's a classically and street-trained dancer who has practiced hip-hop, jazz and musical theater.

At LMU, she has appeared in school productions, including taking on the role of Sally Bowles in Cabaret. Looking back on the project, Maile said that Sally Bowles “will always be a love of my life,” adding, “She was a dream I didn’t know I was allowed to have.”

Brady had a proud father moment after his daughter’s starring role in the production, writing that Maile “killed it” on stage. “I love you and I know this is the first amazing night of many for you!” he penned.

The Let's Make a Deal star also surprised her with a visit from Liza Minnelli, who portrayed Sally Bowles in the film version of the musical, and Tony award-winning actor Ben Vereen.

She's an activist

Maile has also expressed her personal passion for activism on social media. In the past, she has spoken out against the racist attacks toward Asians during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brady described his daughter as an activist during a June 2020 interview with Access Hollywood. He recalled an incident where he feared for her safety because she was Black after she incorrectly entered the alarm code to their house.

"We had to have a talk, and we had to really talk about this, so now fast forward — she's 17. She's the head of her school's black student union, she's a little activist, and she knows her history," Brady explained.

She’s starring in Wayne Brady: Family Remix

Years after the father-daughter duo shared the screen on The Bold and the Beautiful in 2018, Brady and Maile reunited for their new family reality show, Wayne Brady: Family Remix. The Freeform docuseries follows Brady and his blended family, including his ex-wife and business partner Taketa, her partner Fordham and Maile.

In a July 2024 interview with PEOPLE, Maile opened up about the difficult aspects of filming a reality TV show regarding her family’s life.

"Navigating disagreements was hard with the camera crew because the image management inside all of us is screaming, crying, 'Do not tell your business in front of other people,’ ” she said. "And it's like, well, that's actually what we're being paid to do right now, so we got to get used to it.”

Wayne Brady: Family Remix will showcase not only her burgeoning career as a dancer and singer but also what it's like working with her parents.

"You kind of have to shift the parent-child dynamic when you're working together, especially as creatives. And I think that's something we're still learning to do," she explained.

She's a musical theater fan

In addition to pursuing a degree in theater arts, Maile is a big fan of musical theater.

In 2017, Brady was cast in the Chicago production of Hamilton as Aaron Burr and while he told TMZ that he wanted to be part of the production “so, so badly,” he wasn’t the only person in the family who wanted him to land the role.

Maile is also a massive fan of the musical, with Brady telling the outlet that she jumped out of bed and screamed, “Oh God — we’re going to Chicago! We’re going to Chicago!” when she found out that he got the part.

Brady also took his daughter to the Tony Awards in June 2023, and he described the night as “a dream” in a post on social media. “I can't tell you how much being able to share my @thetonyawards experience w my beautiful daughter @theofficialmailebrady means to me," he wrote.

“I get to share these dreams with her and it never gets old!” Brady added. “One day, I'll be HER date when she's presenting/performing/winning at The Tonys! I love you buddy!”

She’s a singer

Maile released her debut single “Exhale” in 2021, including a music video directed by her mom and produced by her dad. She followed up her debut with her second single “Gotta Have It” in January 2024, which featured her friend Iz LaMarr.

Over the years, Brady has celebrated his daughter’s talents on social media, including a sweet video from November 2020 of the duo singing a piano rendition of “Tennessee Whiskey'' by Chris Stapleton.

Two years later, he also made a “proud dad post” featuring a video of Maile singing “Let Me Love You” by Mario.

“It was my dream when you were in @mandietaketa that you'd grow up to love music and that we could make music together,” he added in the caption. “God listened:) I love your tone and it's inspiring to see you discover more of who you are as a performer every day. I love you buddy.”