He built an entertainment empire with his movies, games and books: Who is Tyler Perry?
He had a difficult childhood, suffering from years of abuse, and thus attempted suicide. We wrote the details of the life of Tyler Perry, who has made a name for himself with the films, scenes and books he wrote, on his journey to find his true passion.
His real name, Emmitt Perry Jr., was born on September 13, 1969, in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was born to his mother, Willie Maxine Perry Campbell, and his father, Emmitt Perry Sr., a carpenter. Perry has three siblings. At the age of 16, wanting to distance himself from his father, Perry legally changed his first name from 'Emmitt' to 'Tyler'.
Although he didn't finish high school, Perry earned his General Educational Development (GED). In his early 20s, on an episode of a talk show he watched, he heard the idea that someone's act of writing can sometimes have therapeutic effects, allowing the writer to solve his own problems. This comment inspired Perry to apply to a career in writing.
Around 1990, he moved to Atlanta. Two years later, 22-year-old Perry's play "I Know I've Been Changed" was staged here for the first time in a public theater. The game initially received little reception and was a financial failure. But Perry persisted and rewrote the play many times over the next six years. In 1998, at the age of 28, he managed to remake the play and stage it again at House of Blues, then at the Fox Theatre. Perry continued to create new stage productions, touring "Chitlin' Circuit". Thus, he developed a large, loyal following among African-American audiences.
In 2005, Perry raised a budget, in part from ticket sales of stage productions, to finance his Darren Grant-directed debut, "Diary of a Mad Black Woman," the romantic comedy drama. The film received generally negative reviews and a healthy box office success. Perry made his directorial debut with "Madea's Family Reunion" (2006), based on the stage production of the same name, and directed all subsequent Madea films. The film opened at number one at the box office with its opening weekend, eventually grossing $65 million.
Perry was involved in the creation and production of the long-running sitcom TV series "Tyler Perry's House of Payne", which ran for 8 seasons from June 21, 2006 to August 10, 2012. The series follows a three-generation African-American family, about their family members' serious, real-life struggles with faith and love. Aired as a 10-show pilot in the spring of 2006, the series followed suit after a successful pilot to a 100-episode deal. After airing, the series received high ratings and entered broadcast syndication.
Perry's next project featured Gabrielle Union and Idris Elba in the movie "Daddy's Little Girls." The film, which was released on February 14, 2007, was a healthy commercial success. Perry's next movie, "Why Did I Get Married?", comedy film was adapted from the play of the same name. Also, Janet Jackson, Sharon Leal, Jill Scott and Tasha Smith appeared in the movie. Perry's 2008 comedy-drama film "Meet the Browns" is based on the play of the same name. It debuted at number 2 at the box office with its weekend gross and garnered mixed reviews. That same year, the comedy-drama movie "The Hunting Family" was released on September 12, 2008. It grossed over $37.1 million at the box office alongside mixed and average reviews.
The following year, the comedy-drama film "Madea Goes to Jail" was released at number one on February 20, 2009. It grossed US$41 million at the box office, making it Perry's biggest opening to date. Also that year, he appeared in a small role in "Star Trek" as Admiral Barnett, the commander of the Starfleet Academy. This was Perry's first film appearance outside of his own projects. Later, he wrote, directed and appeared in the musical "I Can Do All By Myself"(2009), a film structured around his character named Madea. The movie was number one at the box office. Later, he teamed up with Oprah Winfrey to shoot the movie "Precious," based on a novel. Perry also wrote, directed, and produced the sitcom "Meet the Browns," which premiered on TBS on January 7, 2009 and ended on November 18, 2011.
The following year, the sequel "Why Did I Get Married Too?" he shot and starred in the movie. The film, which grossed US$60 million domestically, received mixed reviews from critics. In the same year, he directed "For Colored Girls", a film adaptation of a Korean poem by Ntozake Shange. He starred in the comedy-drama film "Madea's Big Happy Family", which was written, directed, and starred in by Perry, which was released in 2011. The film received mixed reviews from critics and was successful at the box office.
His next movie came with Thandie Newton, Rebecca Romijn, Gabrielle Union, Eddie Cibrian, Jamie Kennedy and Phylicia Rashad in the romantic drama movie "Good Deeds" in which Perry plays the lead character, Wesley Deeds. The film was also written and directed by Perry. The film was a moderate success at the box office, with reviews garnering mixed reviews.
The seventh film in Perry's Madea series came with the comedy "Madea's Witness Protection". The film, which was released on June 29, 2012, received generally negative reviews and was a big commercial gain at the box office. On October 2, 2012, Perry formed an exclusive multi-year partnership with Oprah Winfrey and Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). The partnership was largely to bring scripted television to OWN, and Perry has had success on this episode before.
Perry starred as Alex Cross in the franchise's debut movie, "Alex Cross." The movie, which was released on October 19, 2012, was criticized by critics and audiences, and had a bombshell effect at the box office. He next starred in the 2014 thriller "Gone Girl" directed by David Fincher, opposite Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, and Neil Patrick Harris. The film made smiles both at the box office and critically.
Perry also had two other television series on OWN. The first of these was the one-hour soap opera/drama series "The Haves and the Have Nots". The series, which was released on May 28, 2013, finished on July 20, 2021 after 8 seasons. The series broke many Nielsen rating records during its broadcast. On February 4, 2014, "The Haves and the Have Nots" became the most watched program of the night on all cable television. On March 11, 2014, the season 2 episode of "The Haves and the Have Nots" broke its own record with the highest ratings in network history. The record-breaking episode reached 3.6 million viewers. The second is the sitcom "Love Thy Neighbor". After the first, the series received the second-highest ratings ever at its premiere.
In 2013, he released his movie "Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor", based on the play of the same name, on March 29, 2013. The movie starred Lance Gross, Jurnee Smollett, Brandy Norwood, Robbie Jones, Vanessa L. Williams, and Kim Kardashian. Returning with the movie "A Madea Christmas", released on December 13, 2013, Perry had a box office success with the movie, but was again failing critically. The following year, he directed the comedy-drama film "The Single Moms Club".
In 2015, Perry bought "Fort McPherson", the former military base in Atlanta, which he turned into a studio. The studios were used to shoot the HBO Films/OWN movie version of "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" and the television series "The Walking Dead". The blockbuster Marvel movie "Black Panther" also became the first movie to be shot in one of the new scenes at "Tyler Perry Studios", as announced personally on Perry's Instagram account in February 2018. While "Tyler Perry Studios" became one of the largest film studios in the country, he established it as the second African-American direct owner of a major film studio after 'Tim' and 'Daphne Reid'.
Later, he released his first animated movie, "Madea's Tough Love", on DVD on January 20, 2015. In 2016, Perry played scientist Baxter Stockman in the superhero movie "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows." That year, Perry's seventeenth and ninth film in the Madea franchise, the horror movie "Boo!A Madea Halloween," was released on October 21, 2016. The sequel horror movie "Boo 2!A Madea Halloween" was released in October 2017. While both films were successful at the box office, they were critically negative.
Perry voiced with Oprah Winfrey in the first computer-animated movie, "The Star," based on the Nativity. The film, which was released on November 17, 2017, was a box office success and was nominated for awards with its music.
In 2018, the psychological thriller "Acrimony", written and directed by him, was released. The film, which received generally negative reviews, was successful at the box office. In the same year, he wrote and directed the movie "Nobody's Fool". It achieved moderate financial gains, with negative reviews.
The following year, he wrote and directed the comedy "A Madea Family Funeral". The film, which was released on March 1, 2019, received generally negative reviews from critics, but had a huge financial gain at the box office. The following year, he produced, wrote and directed the thriller "A Fall from Grace". Furthermore, he also appeared in the movie as Rory Garraux.
In 2021, he appeared as part of a large cast in the apocalyptic political satire black comedy film "Don't Look Up". Winning multiple awards and nominations, the movie became the second most-watched movie on Netflix within 28 days of its release. In 2022, he wrote and directed the comedy "A Madea Homecoming" and took the lead role. Later, he wrote and directed the drama film "A Jazzman's Blues". Released by Netflix on September 23, 2022, the film received generally positive reviews and became Perry's most critically acclaimed film to date.
Personal life
On November 30, 2014, Perry and his partner, model Gelila Bekele, announced that they had given birth to a son. Finally, in December 2020, Perry revealed that he is single. Perry lives and works in "Southwest Atlanta", where he runs the movie and TV studios.
Many of the themes in the work of Perry, who is a Christian, also contain something related to this subject. Perry's first book, "Don't Take Off a Black Woman's Earrings: Madea's Boundless Commentary on Love and Life," was released on April 11, 2006. The book peaked at number one on the New York Times Best Sellers list and remained on the list for 12 weeks. It was named Book of the Year, Best Humor Book at the 2006 Quill Awards. His second book, "Higher Is Waiting," was also released on November 14, 2017 and debuted at number 5 on the New York Times Best Sellers list.