Who Are Wendy Williams' Siblings? All About Her Sister Wanda and Brother Tommy

Wendy Williams is the middle child of three kids born to Shirley and Thomas Williams Sr.

Wendy Williams may be known for her eponymous show, but she grew up with humble roots as one of three children in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

The former Wendy Williams Show host has an older sister, Wanda Finnie, and a younger brother, Thomas Williams Jr., who were raised by their parents, Shirley and Thomas Williams Sr. Though she has had ups and downs with them through the years, Wendy's siblings have come together in important moments, and, now, are speaking out on her behalf.

Wanda and Tommy voice their concern for her well-being in the Lifetime documentary Where Is Wendy Williams?, premiering on Feb. 24, which follows Wendy’s struggles since her show ended in June 2022.

Related: All About Wendy Williams' Son Kevin Hunter Jr.

In an interview with PEOPLE in February 2024, Wanda said that Wendy has been in a facility to treat “cognitive issues” since April 2023 and only a court-appointed legal guardian is allowed to see her. Her family does not know where she is and is not able to contact her themselves, though she can call them.

"The people who love her cannot see her,” Wanda said. “I think the big [question] is: How the hell did we get here?”

Days before the documentary was set to premiere, Wendy Williams' medical team announced that she was diagnosed with aphasia and frontotemporal dementia.

“Wendy is still able to do many things for herself,” the team said in a statement. “Most importantly she maintains her trademark sense of humor and is receiving the care she requires to make sure she is protected and that her needs are addressed. She is appreciative of the many kind thoughts and good wishes being sent her way.”

From where they grew up to their worries for their sister’s health, here’s everything to know about Wendy Williams’ siblings, Wanda and Tommy.

They grew up in New Jersey

Wanda was 5 years old when Wendy was born in Asbury Park, New Jersey, on July 18, 1964. Tommy came along three years later, in October 1967. Both of the Williams’ children’s parents were middle-class schoolteachers who expected academic excellence and success from their kids, per New York Magazine.

“More was expected of my big sister than of me,” Wendy told the outlet in 2005. “And while she’s fabulous and she delivered all the goods, I ended up being fabulous, too, and delivering all the goods.”

In 1970, race riots in Asbury Park motivated the family to move to the mostly White suburb Wayside in Ocean Township, New Jersey. There, Wendy and her siblings were taught to present a “good package,” she told The New Yorker in May 2021.

While Wanda flourished and would later become a lawyer and Tommy “could do no wrong” because he was the youngest boy in the family, Wendy said she began to feel like an outcast in her family.

Wanda and Tommy live in Florida

In September 2019, Wendy was a guest on The View where she shared that her entire family — including, at the time, her parents — lived in Miami.

“My whole family lives in Miami so he’s surrounded by family,” Wendy said of her son, Kevin Hunter Jr. “My mom, my dad, my sister, my brother, my sister-in-law, my brother-in-law, he’s got two great cousins, the whole bit. He’s in a good space.”

Wanda works as an executive director for Casa Valentina, a Miami-based philanthropic organization that provides at-risk youth and those formerly in foster care with affordable housing and life skills, per her LinkedIn.

They both have their own families

Wendy's son Kevin Jr. has a large family around him, including two cousins. Wanda is a mother to two kids, her daughter Alex Finnie and another child, whose identity has remained private. Alex graduated from St. John’s University in 2012 with a degree in television and film production and has since worked as a news anchor, currently stationed at WPLG, an ABC affiliate in Miami, per her LinkedIn.

Alex, who is an executive producer of Where Is Wendy Williams?, told PEOPLE in February 2024 that she is proud of her aunt’s journey and her willingness to share it with the world.

"I'm proud of my aunt for taking control of her narrative because my aunt has always been such a public person and has been an open book, and we've all seen the images over the last few months and really few years of what has been like a spiral for my aunt," she said. "So for her to actually put her voice in here and take ownership of what's happened, where she's at present day ... I think it's powerful."

Tommy also has his own family and has been married to his wife for over 25 years. The two got married on Sept. 26, 1998.

Tommy and Wendy have had ups and downs

In February 2023, Tommy spoke to The Sun about resentment toward Wendy for not attending their father’s 92nd birthday. He told the outlet that he felt like her focus wasn’t on her family and that hurt both him and their father.

However, it seemed the two reconciled a couple of months later. In April 2023, Tommy posted a video on Instagram of Wendy relaxing on a boat with her father and brother. “Family's everything, believe that,” Tommy said in the clip. “We gonna be alright. Thanks for the prayers and well wishes.”

Wanda and Tommy are supportive of Wendy as she is in treatment 

Wendy’s brother and sister have expressed concern over Wendy’s well-being. In 2022, she was appointed a court-ordered legal guardian who the siblings allege has kept them largely in the dark about her health.

“All I know is that Wendy and her team walked into the courtroom one way, and they walked out, and the family is completely excluded,” Wanda told PEOPLE.

Tommy said he saw Wendy's mental health deteriorate in recent years as she weathered difficult times, including her son going off to college in 2018, their mother's death and her 2019 divorce from Kevin Hunter Sr. “It put her back into that dark space,” he told PEOPLE.

Wanda and Tommy said they had not been told what Wendy's specific diagnosis was before her care team's Feb. 22 announcement that the talk show host has aphasia and frontotemporal dementia. In interviews with PEOPLE and in the Lifetime documentary, they question the care Wendy’s guardian provides her and the system that separated the TV personality from her family. (Her guardian, whom TMZ names as Sabrina Morrissey, filed a lawsuit against Lifetime's parent company, A&E Television Networks on Feb. 22, and has not responded to PEOPLE's multiple requests for comment.)

“How did she go from this aunt or sister that we love and is healthy one minute to this person who’s in and out of the hospital?” Wanda asked. “How is that system better than the system the family could put in place? This system is broken.”

Regardless of her inability to contact Wendy herself, Wanda said that she does regularly speak to her sister “when she reaches out to [me].” Though they don’t know what kind of treatment she is receiving, Wanda assumes it is an effective one as her sister sounds better when they talk.

"I don't know what is working, but I do know that when she did reach out to me, it was a person who is remarkably different than what we see in that documentary," Wanda said.

Wanda’s daughter is close to Wendy

Alex has also played a large role in supporting Wendy alongside her siblings. The two have always been close, and Alex even credited her relationship with her aunt for making her excited to have a niece herself.

“happy birthday to my forever kindred spirit ✨The spicy to my sweet!” she wrote on Instagram for Wendy’s birthday in 2020. “Our relationship is one of the reasons I’m so excited to become an aunt to our Bella. I love you so much ❤️.”

After a rough few years, Alex said she’s happy to see her get back on track and focus on family again.

"She sounds really great," Alex said of conversations she has with Wendy. "To hear my aunt now in terms of just how clear she is, just how focused she is on the importance of family and the reality in terms of facing and understanding where she's at physically and mentally and emotionally, it is like a 180."

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