Tyler Perry facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tyler Perry
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Perry being interviewed for Boo! A Madea Halloween in 2016
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| Born |
Emmitt Perry Jr.
September 13, 1969 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
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| Years active | 1992–present |
| Partner(s) | Gelila Bekele (2009–2020) |
| Children | 1 |
Tyler Perry (born Emmitt Perry Jr. on September 13, 1969) is a famous American actor, filmmaker, and writer. He is best known for creating and playing the character Mabel "Madea" Simmons, a strong and funny elderly woman. He also plays her brother Joe and nephew Brian in his movies. Tyler Perry's work includes both movies filmed like regular movies and filmed versions of his live stage plays. Madea first appeared in his play I Can Do Bad All by Myself in 1999.
Tyler Perry wrote and produced many plays in the 1990s and early 2000s. His big break came in 2005 with the movie Diary of a Mad Black Woman. He wrote and produced this film, which was based on his play. He also created popular TV shows like Tyler Perry's House of Payne, which ran for eight seasons. In 2011, Forbes magazine named him the highest-paid person in entertainment, earning $130 million in one year. In 2012, he teamed up with Oprah Winfrey and her Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) to create more TV shows, including The Haves and the Have Nots. He also produced the show The Oval for BET in 2019.
Besides his own projects, Tyler Perry has acted in many other Hollywood films. These include Star Trek (2009), Gone Girl (2014), and Don't Look Up (2021). He has also done voice acting in animated movies like The Star (2017) and PAW Patrol: The Movie (2021). His films and shows have earned over $660 million, and he is one of the richest people in entertainment. In 2020, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people. He has also received special awards like the Governor's Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy Awards.
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Tyler Perry's Early Life
Tyler Perry was born Emmitt Perry Jr. in New Orleans, Louisiana, on September 13, 1969. His mother was Willie Maxine Perry. When he was 16, he legally changed his first name to Tyler to feel more separate from his father.
Tyler Perry did not finish high school but earned his General Educational Development (GED) certificate. In his early 20s, he watched an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show. Someone on the show talked about how writing can help you work through your problems. This idea inspired him to start writing. He began writing letters to himself, which later became the musical I Know I've Been Changed.
Tyler Perry's Amazing Career
Starting on Stage
Around 1990, Tyler Perry moved to Atlanta. Two years later, his musical I Know I've Been Changed was performed for the first time. He used his life savings of $12,000 to pay for it. The play shared Christian ideas about forgiveness and self-worth. It also touched on tough topics like child abuse. At first, the musical did not do well and lost money.
But Tyler Perry didn't give up! For the next six years, he kept rewriting the musical. In 1998, when he was 28, he successfully brought the play back to the stage in Atlanta. He then created new plays and toured them around the "urban theater circuit." He gained a huge and loyal fan base, especially among African-American audiences. By 2005, Forbes reported that he had sold over $100 million in tickets for his shows.
Making Movies
Tyler Perry used $5.5 million from his stage play ticket sales to make his first movie. This film was Diary of a Mad Black Woman. It earned $50.6 million in the United States. He then directed his next film, Madea's Family Reunion, which opened at number one at the box office in 2006. It made $30.3 million on its first weekend and eventually $65 million.
He continued to write, direct, produce, and often star in his films. Some of his other popular movies include Daddy's Little Girls (2007), Why Did I Get Married? (2007), and Meet the Browns (2008). His film Madea Goes to Jail opened at number one in 2009, earning $41 million. In 2009, he also had a small role in the movie Star Trek. This was his first movie role outside of his own projects.
Tyler Perry also directed a film version of For Colored Girls in 2010. His movie Madea's Big Happy Family came out in 2011. In 2012, he starred in Good Deeds and Madea's Witness Protection. He also took on the role of Alex Cross in the movie Alex Cross. Later, he acted in the thriller Gone Girl in 2014. In 2016, he played Baxter Stockman in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. He continued the Madea series with Boo! A Madea Halloween (2016) and Boo 2! A Madea Halloween (2017).
Tyler Perry's films are often distributed by Lions Gate Entertainment. He keeps full ownership of his movies under his company, Tyler Perry Films.
Television Shows
Tyler Perry created the popular TV show Tyler Perry's House of Payne. This sitcom ran for eight seasons from 2006 to 2012. It showed the lives of an African-American family across three generations. The show explored their everyday struggles with faith and love. After a successful pilot, Perry signed a huge $200 million deal for 100 episodes with TBS. He also wrote, directed, and produced the sitcom Meet the Browns, which premiered in 2009.
Working with Oprah Winfrey
In 2009, Tyler Perry worked with Oprah Winfrey and Lee Daniels to produce the film Precious. Oprah said that Tyler Perry grew up around strong Black women, and his work celebrates them. She believes this is why Madea is so popular.
In 2012, Tyler Perry started a special partnership with Oprah Winfrey and her Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). This deal was made to bring more scripted TV shows to OWN. His show Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse moved to OWN in 2013. He also had two other successful shows on OWN: the drama The Haves and the Have Nots and the sitcom Love Thy Neighbor. The Haves and the Have Nots became a huge success for OWN. It often had the highest ratings on cable television.
Tyler Perry Studios
In 2015, Tyler Perry bought a large piece of land in Atlanta. It used to be a military base called Fort McPherson. He turned it into a huge film studio, called Tyler Perry Studios. This studio has many permanent sets, including a replica of the White House. It also has 12 sound stages, named after famous African Americans in entertainment. The blockbuster Marvel movie Black Panther was one of the first films made at the new studios.
Tyler Perry Studios is one of the biggest film studios in the United States. This made Tyler Perry the second African American to own a major film studio completely.
Writing Books
Tyler Perry's first book, Don't Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings: Madea's Uninhibited Commentaries on Love and Life, came out in 2006. It sold 30,000 copies and became a number one New York Times Best Seller. His second book, Higher Is Waiting, was published in 2017.
Tyler Perry's Personal Life
Tyler Perry is good friends with famous people like Janet Jackson, Will Smith, and Oprah Winfrey. He is a Christian, and his work often shows themes from the Black church culture. This includes scenes in churches and gospel music.
In 2009, Tyler Perry helped 65 children from a Philadelphia day camp. He paid for them to visit Walt Disney World. He did this after reading that a swim club had not allowed them to visit. He wanted to show them that there are many kind people in the world.
Tyler Perry's mother, Willie Maxine Perry, passed away in 2009. He lives and works in Southwest Atlanta, where his film and TV studios are located. In 2014, his partner Gelila Bekele gave birth to their son, Aman. In 2020, Tyler Perry announced that he was single.
In 2021, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex shared that Tyler Perry helped them. He provided security and housing for three months when they moved from Canada to California. Tyler Perry is also the godfather to their daughter, Princess Lilibet of Sussex.
After the death of Stephen "tWitch" Boss, Tyler Perry shared a video on Instagram. He talked about his own struggles with depression to help others. To overcome his fear of flying, Tyler Perry took flight training lessons. He now has a private pilot certificate and flies his own plane.
Images for kids
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Tyler Perry at the 82nd Academy Awards ceremony in 2010
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Tyler Perry at a book signing in 2006
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