Tyler Perry facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tyler Perry
Perry being interviewed for Boo! A Madea Halloween in 2016
Born	Emmitt Perry Jr. (1969-09-13) September 13, 1969 (age 55) New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Occupation	Actor film producer director writer playwright entrepreneur
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 well-known for creating and playing the character Mabel "Madea" Simmons, a strong and funny older woman. He also plays Madea's brother, Joe Simmons, and her nephew, Brian Simmons.

Tyler Perry's movies are sometimes filmed versions of his live stage plays. Madea first appeared in a play called I Can Do Bad All by Myself in 1999.

He wrote and produced many successful stage plays in the 1990s and 2000s. His big break in movies came in 2005 with Diary of a Mad Black Woman, which he wrote and produced. He also created many TV shows, like Tyler Perry's House of Payne, which was very popular on TBS. In 2011, Forbes magazine said he was the highest-paid person in entertainment.

In 2012, Tyler Perry started a special partnership with Oprah Winfrey and her Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). This deal brought many new TV shows to OWN, including The Haves and the Have Nots. In 2019, he also produced The Oval for BET.

Besides his own projects, 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 for animated movies like The Star (2017) and Paw Patrol: The Movie (2021).

Tyler Perry's films and shows have earned a lot of money, 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 for his work in television and film, including the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 2021.

Early Life and Inspiration

Tyler Perry was born Emmitt Perry Jr. in New Orleans, Louisiana. His mother, Willie Maxine Perry, took him to church every week, which he found comforting. When he was 16, he legally changed his first name to Tyler to feel more separate from his father.

In his early 20s, Tyler Perry watched The Oprah Winfrey Show. He heard someone talk about how writing can help people work through their problems. This inspired him to start writing letters to himself, which later became the musical I Know I've Been Changed.

Building a Career

Starting on Stage

Around 1990, Tyler Perry moved to Atlanta. In 1992, his musical I Know I've Been Changed was first performed. He used his life savings to pay for it. The play shared Christian ideas about forgiveness and self-worth. At first, it didn't do very well.

But Tyler Perry didn't give up! For six years, he kept rewriting the musical. In 1998, he successfully restaged it in Atlanta. He then created more stage plays and toured with them, building a large and loyal fan base among African-American audiences. By 2005, he had sold millions of dollars in tickets and videos of his shows.

Moving to Film

Tyler Perry used money from his stage shows to make his first movie, Diary of a Mad Black Woman. It earned over $50 million in the United States. For his next film, Madea's Family Reunion, he also became the director. He has directed all of his Madea films since then.

Madea's Family Reunion was a huge hit, earning $30.3 million on its first weekend in 2006. Tyler Perry and his co-stars even promoted the movie on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Most of his Madea movies have been very popular in the United States.

He continued to write, direct, produce, and often star in many more films. Some of his other popular movies include Why Did I Get Married? (2007) and Madea Goes to Jail (2009), which had a very successful opening weekend. In 2009, he also had a small role in the movie Star Trek, which was his first acting role in a film he didn't create himself.

By 2011, Tyler Perry's films had earned over $500 million around the world. He continued to release many more movies, including Madea's Witness Protection (2012) and A Madea Christmas (2013). In 2016, he played a scientist named Baxter Stockman in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. He also made two more Madea Halloween movies: Boo! A Madea Halloween (2016) and Boo 2! A Madea Halloween (2017).

Tyler Perry's films are often distributed by Lions Gate Entertainment. He owns the full copyright to his movies under his company, Tyler Perry Films.

Television Shows

Tyler Perry created the long-running TV show Tyler Perry's House of Payne. It ran for 8 seasons from 2006 to 2012 and then returned in 2020. The show was about an African-American family and their everyday struggles with faith and love. After a successful pilot, Perry signed a huge deal with TBS for 100 episodes. He also wrote, directed, and produced another sitcom called Meet the Browns.

Working with Oprah Winfrey

In 2009, Tyler Perry worked with Oprah Winfrey and Lee Daniels to produce the film Precious. Oprah said that Perry's work often celebrates strong Black women, and that Madea is like a mix of all those strong women.

In 2012, Tyler Perry started a special multi-year partnership with Oprah Winfrey and her Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). This partnership was important for bringing new TV shows to OWN.

His show Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse, based on his movies, moved to OWN for its third season. He also had two other popular shows on OWN: the drama series The Haves and the Have Nots and the sitcom Love Thy Neighbor. The Haves and the Have Nots was very successful and helped bring many viewers to OWN.

In 2014, OWN ordered another series from Perry, If Loving You Is Wrong, based on his film The Single Moms Club.

Tyler Perry Studios

In 2015, Tyler Perry bought a large piece of land in Atlanta that used to be a military base. He turned it into Tyler Perry Studios. This studio has many permanent sets, including a replica of a luxury hotel lobby and even a White House replica. 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 to be shot on one of these new stages.

Tyler Perry Studios is one of the biggest film studios in the United States. This made Perry the second African American to fully own a major film studio.

Partnership with ViacomCBS

In 2017, Tyler Perry signed a long-term deal with Viacom (now ViacomCBS) to create many new drama and comedy series. This deal started in 2019 with shows like The Oval and Sistas for BET.

Books by Tyler Perry

Perry at a book signing in 2006

Tyler Perry's first book, Don't Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings: Madea's Uninhibited Commentaries on Love and Life, was released in 2006. It became a number one best-seller on the New York Times list. His second book, Higher Is Waiting, was published in 2017 and also became a best-seller.

Personal Life

Family and Friends

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.

On November 30, 2014, Tyler Perry and his partner Gelila Bekele welcomed their son, Aman. In December 2020, Perry shared that he was no longer in a relationship.

In 2021, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex shared that Tyler Perry helped them by providing a safe place to live when they moved from Canada to California in 2020. Tyler Perry is also the godfather to their daughter, Princess Lilibet of Sussex. He is good friends with Janet Jackson, Will Smith, and Oprah Winfrey.

Beliefs and Interests

Tyler Perry is a Christian. Many of the themes in his work show ideas from the Black church culture, like scenes in churches and gospel music.

In 2009, Tyler Perry helped 65 children from a day camp in Philadelphia visit Walt Disney World. He did this after reading that a swim club had treated them unfairly. He wanted to show them that there are many kind people in the world.

To overcome his fear of flying, Tyler Perry took flying lessons and earned a private pilot certificate. He flies his own plane.

Filmography

Film Work

Television Work

Stage Work

Awards and Recognition

Tyler Perry has received many awards for his work in entertainment. In 2020, he was given the Governor's Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. In 2021, he received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy Awards, which is given to people in the film industry whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry. He was also added to the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame in 2022.

Images for kids

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  Perry at the 82nd Academy Awards ceremony, 2010

See also

In Spanish: Tyler Perry para niños