Tyler Perry's Biography

Tyler Perry became America's most successful young playwright and the writer, producer and co-star of the box office hit Diary of a Mad Black Woman. However, it was a long hard road.

In 1992, Perry wrote letters to himself in an effort to deal with his childhood pain. These would provide the basis for the musical I Know I've Been Changed about adult survivors of child abuse.

Tyler Perry saved $12,000 and moved to Atlanta in 1992, where he tried to stage the play.

Initially, however, I Know I've Been Changed was a flop. Hardly anyone came to the shows and over the next 6 years, Tyler Perry found himself homeless on several occasions, and doing dozens of different jobs to support his determination that the play would succeed.

Tyler Perry had come to the point of giving up on the show, when in 1998, the turning point came. I Know I've Been Changed opened at the House of Blues and sold out eight times over before moving to the Fox Theater where it sold out 9,000 seats for two shows.

Since then Tyler Perry has been on a roll.

His next production, Woman Thou Art Loosed based on the book by Bishop T.D. Jakes grossed over $5 million in five months.

Further productions including I Can Do Bad All By Myself, Behind Closed Doors, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Madea's Family Reunion, Madea's Class Reunion, Meet the Browns, and Madea Goes to Jail have meant that the once broke Perry has now earned tens of millions of dollars.

In a USA Today article, 'Diary of a Mad Black Woman' reveals Tyler Perry, Perry is quoted as saying:

"I've got millions of loyal fans, predominantly African-Americans, who have supported me over the years. My plays bring in 30,000 to 40,000 people a weekend, but my entire story has been completely underground."

Tyler Perry turned Diary of a Mad Black Woman into a film. As well as writing the screenplay, he had three parts in the film including a role as his long-time character, Madea. The film cost only $5 million to produce but became a firm box office favourite. In February 2006 the film of Madea's Family Reunion was released in the USA.

In 2006, it was reported that Tyler Perry was building a large production facility in Atlanta, and that Tyler Perry Studios would include an acting school and a theater company.

Tyler Perry's syndicated sitcom "House of Payne" and movie "Daddy's Little Girls" were filmed there.

House of Payne proved a huge success. On its debut, House of Payne became basic cable's top sitcom telecast of all time.

In October 2007, Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married? topped the US box office.

In February 2009, Tyler Perry's Madea Goes To Jail, entered the North American box office chart in the number one spot, taking $41.1m, which was a record opening for Tyler Perry.

In September 2009, Tyler Perry had his second US box office number 1 of the year with I Can Do Bad All By Myself, which starred Perry himself as Madea, and featured Mary J Blige and Gladys Knight.

In March 2011, at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's Image Awards, Tyler Perry's Colored Girls was named best movie and he won the best director prize for the film. Additionally, Tyler Perry's House of Payne was named the best comedy series.

In October 2012, Tyler Perry was cast in the title role in Alex Cross.

In October 2016, Tyler Perry's eighth film in the Madea franchise, Boo! A Madea Halloween, which he directed, wrote, co-produced and starred in went to number one in the US box office.

His soap The Oval, set in the White House, was created, executive produced, written and directed by him.

In 2024,Tyler Perry announced that he was putting a planned $800m expansion of his studio on hold after becoming concerned over new AI technology.