Tyler Perry

Fun Fact: Perry dropped out of school when he was 16, but later went back to school to obtain his GED.

Claim to Fame: Perry moved to Atlanta in 1992, and worked in a restaurant and as a used car salesman. He managed to save up $12,000 to stage his first play. It was not a success and over the next six years he struggled living in Atlanta, but persevered until the play finally had a successful run in 1998, first at the House of Blues, also known as the Tabernacle, located near the CNN Center and the Georgia Aquarium, and later at the Fox Theatre.

Tyler Perry is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and author., Tyler Perry's films have grossed over $400 million worldwide, not including his plays. He also raked in $125 million between June 1, 2007 and June 1, 2008, and made history last year as the first black film producer to own a major television and film studio. To date, he's sold more than 25 million DVDs. He also has two hit TBS comedies, a best-selling book and several successful stage plays.



Tyler Perry was born Emmitt R. Perry, Jr. in New Orleans, Louisiana. His father, Emmitt, Sr., was a carpenter and construction worker, and his mother, Maxine, was a pre-school teacher who worked at the New Orleans Jewish Community Center for most of her life. The younger Perry changed his first name to Tyler because of his troubled relationship with his father. Tyler Perry has said that his father was physically and verbally abusive to him during his childhood, and that this contributed to his attempting suicide as a teenager. A 2004 New York Times article referred to Perry's relationship with his father as "now mended".

Perry dropped out of school when he was 16, but later went back to obtain his GED. He is good friends with Oprah Winfrey, rapper/actor Will Smith and Bishop T.D. Jakes. In 2008 Perry earned around $75 million, placing him just outside the top five highest paid men in Hollywood. Perry is known to be a devout Christian.


Perry has written and toured with eleven stage plays:
*I Know I've Been Changed
*I Can Do Bad All By Myself
*Diary of a Mad Black Woman
*Madea's Family Reunion
*Madea's Class Reunion
*Meet the Browns
*Why Did I Get Married?
*Madea Goes to Jail
*What's Done in the Dark
*The Family That Preys
*The Marriage Counselor
*Laugh to Keep from Crying

Some of Perry's plays have been adapted into films, usually with different actors. The stage plays feature more singing than the movies and are sometimes classed as musicals. Except for I Know I've Been Changed, they are all available on DVDs.

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