Early years
Emmitt Perry, Jr. was born on September 13, 1969, in New Orleans, Louisiana. He did not finish high school but received his GED. Tyler began writing as a way to help heal his mental wounds after being abused by multiple family members when he was younger. In his early twenties, he was encouraged to pursue a career in writing after watching an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show that discussed the good and therapeutic effects of writing.
Perry found writing to be a useful distraction. He went on to write a series of letters to himself, which subsequently became the basis for the musical I Know I’ve Been Changed. This, as well as his other theater performances, swiftly garnered a following in Atlanta and beyond, with weekly attendance exceeding 35,000 people.
Perry reportedly sold more than $100 million in tickets to his performances, as well as $30 million in related videos and goods, before even making a single Hollywood picture.
Success in Film
Perry approached production giant Lionsgate with a proposal, riding high on his homegrown success. Perry would contribute half of the funds for a film that would require a $5.5 million budget. Lionsgate put up the other half in exchange for a minor marketing charge and a 12% distribution fee. After those expenses, they would split the profits equally. Diary of a Mad Black Woman, released in 2005, was their debut collaboration.
Domestically, the film grossed $50.6 million, with an extra $150 million in TV syndication and home video sales. Perry owns the content and keeps half of the proceeds as part of his Lionsgate arrangement.
Perry made his directorial debut in 2006 with Madea’s Family Reunion, which debuted at the top of the box office with $30.3 million. The picture ended up grossing $65 million. (He also directed each of Madea’s subsequent flicks.)
Tyler directed 14 “Madea” films. The box office for those flicks was over $700 million USD. Each picture was made for less than $10 million. Perry is able to keep the majority of the earnings from his films since he writes, directs, and produces them virtually entirely on his own. Around $300 million is the lion’s share.
Perry’s films are primarily aimed at African-American audiences, and they frequently feature Christian references.
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Success on Television
Tyler Perry’s House of Payne, Perry’s successful sitcom, ran for eight seasons, from June 21, 2006, to August 10, 2012. The show premiered on the CW, where it received unexpectedly high ratings for the young network.
Perry and Payne have enticed away from the CW with a $200 million production guarantee and a 90-episode commitment from TBS. Oh, and Tyler would be the star of the show. Tyler notoriously spent only $60 million on the film’s production. The remaining $140 million he kept for himself.
Meet the Browns, which aired on TBS in January 2009 and ended on November 18, 2011, was similarly written, directed, and produced by him.
Other Projects
Perry’s acting credits include Star Trek (2009), Alex Cross (2012), Gone Girl (2014), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016), and Vice (2018).
Perry has also written two books: Don’t Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings: Madea’s Uninhibited Commentaries on Love and Life (2006), which sold 30,000 copies and went on to become #1 on the New York Times Best Sellers list, and Higher is Waiting (2017), which debuted at #5 on the list.
Tyler Perry Productions
Tyler Perry Studios, an Atlanta-based film production company, was created in 2006.
Perry eventually debuted Tyler Perry Studios’ new home in 2019, which is located on the 330-acre former military base Fort McPherson that he bought four years ago. It served as a Confederate military base during the Civil War. Perry purchased the property for $30 million and spent $250 million on upgrades and renovations.
On the lot, The Walking Dead was filmed. Permanent sets cover over 50,000 square feet of the studio lot, including an exact duplicate of the White House, a trailer park, a luxury hotel, and a 16,000 square-foot home. The first film shot on the lot was the blockbuster Marvel feature, Black Panther.
It is one of the world’s largest studios, and Tyler became the first African-American to own one. Other studios, such as Netflix and Amazon, spent $100 million renting the studio’s facilities for their projects in a given year.
Private life
Perry legally changed his first name to Emmitt Perry, Jr. when he was 16 to distance himself from his abusive father. A DNA test revealed years later that Emmitt Sr. was not Perry’s real father.
Perry has been dating model and social activist Gelila Bekele since 2009, despite not being married. Bekele gave birth to their son Aman Tyler Perry in November 2014.
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Perry supports a lot of charity projects and routinely offers resources to those in need outside of television and movies. Perry, for example, sponsored a trip to Walt Disney World for 65 children from a Philadelphia day camp in 2009.
Controversy
Tyler Perry Studios wrongfully fired four writers in October 2008 in punishment for their attempt to obtain a union contract, according to the Writers Guild of America, West. A month later, the matter was resolved.
Perry threatened to sue a Memphis-based tax preparation company, Mo’ Money Taxes, in early 2009 for airing a television commercial he believed inappropriately mimicked his work—specifically, Madea Goes to Jail. The advertisement featured Ma’Madea, a huge Caucasian man dressed in drag. The television commercial was eventually pulled from the airwaves.
Tyler Perry’s net worth and salary
Tyler Perry has a net worth of $1.2 billion as an actor, director, dramatist, and producer in the United States.
Property investment
Perry spends the majority of his time in Atlanta, where he is now constructing a massive new home not far from Tyler Perry Studios’ offices. He allegedly intends to convert a piece of the site into an organic farm. (In May 2016, Perry sold his 35,000-square-foot Atlanta estate for $17.5 million, after living there for nine years.)
Perry also has a 14,000-square-foot home in the Bahamas’ White Bay Cay island, which sits on 20 acres. In 2009, he allegedly paid $6.4 million for the property.
Perry sold a 10-bedroom property in Los Angeles’ Mulholland Estates for $14.5 million in 2018, just nine months after purchasing it. Pharrell Williams, a musician, and singer bought the house for $15.6 million.
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He still owns a property in Beverly Hills, which is part of the ultra-exclusive Beverly Ridge Estates gated enclave. On the 22.5-acre site, Perry custom-built a 25,000-square-foot house. It was disclosed in May 2020 that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were renting the house while settling into their new life in Los Angeles. This home is valued at more than $20 million based on recent sales in the area.
Private plane
Tyler is the proud owner of a Gulfstream III private jet that cost $125 million to buy and customize. A 42-inch LCD flat screen and satellite hookup are available in the jet’s screening area. For the formal living area, kitchen, and VIP bedroom, he spent at least $50 million on upgrades and furnishings. He’s flown the plane on charity missions before, carrying supplies to countries ravaged by natural disasters. He also has a second private airplane.
