Tyler Perry Brief Biography

Tyler Perry (born Emmitt Perry, Jr.; September 13, 1969) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, producer, author, and songwriter, specializing in the Gospel genre. Perry wrote and produced many stage plays during the 1990s and early 2000s. In 2011, Forbes named him the highest paid man in entertainment, earning $130 million between May 2010 and 2011.

Perry is best known for both creating and performing in drag the Madea character, a giant, overreactive, and thuggishly tough elderly woman. Perry's also well-known for creating both stage-play films and conventional onsite films. Between the two, his stage-play films debuted first in 1998 with I Know I've Been Changed. His career with conventional onsite films began in 2005 with Diary of a Mad Black Woman, which features his claim to fame role, Madea. Many of Perry's conventional onsite films are based on and titled after his stage-play films.

Tyler Perry News

• 'Star Trek Into Darkness' tops box office with $70.55 million
• 'Iron Man 3' tops weekend movie box office for second week
• 'Evil Dead' leads movie box office, 'G.I. Joe' second