By: Karisma Price
Born on September 14, 1969, Tyler Perry has become one of the most powerful forces in Hollywood. This New Orleans native has shown Hollywood that African-Americans can take film to a “whole 'nother level.” Born into poverty and scarred by abuse, he learned from a very young age to persevere over his obstacles and to find strength when you need it the most.
In 1992, he was inspired by Oprah to write letters to himself in an act to cope with his own childhood pain. These letters inspired him to write his first play called “I Know I’ve Been Changed.” In 1997, he made his first appearance in Urban Theatre with “I Know I’ve Been Changed.” Tyler gathered all of his life savings and moved to Atlanta expecting his play to have sold out crowds. But unfortunately, only thirty people came to the opening weekend and he was once again faced with the poverty that controlled his youth. Over that period of time, he spent nights sleeping in his car, at pay-by-the-week hotels, and at friends’ houses. His faith in God restored his confidence and he gained a stronger bond with the church and continued to write. In 1998, his hard work paid off and a promoter gave him an opportunity to present his play at the House of Blues in Atlanta. At first, he said no. "I SAID NO! Oh God when I think about this I get a chill…It hurt too much to have that dream be revived in me and not make it,” quotes Perry. After a little more convincing, he finally gave in. He remembered right before the play that he was in his dressing room “crying like a baby.” Perry says God told him to “Get up and look out of the window.” There were lines of people waiting from around the corner to get into the House of Blues to observe his powerful play on forgiveness.
Tyler’s play became a huge success. Now, eight plays later, he has been able to make audiences all around the world laugh. Not only were audiences impressed by Tyler’s faith, they were blown away by his humor. His career really started to boom when he created the pistol-packin’ granny named Madea, a southern term meaning “Mother Dear,” who is based on his mother and his aunt. Together, this dynamic duo attracts audiences all across America. With Madea’s politically incorrect personality, and Tyler’s message to forgive, shows that anyone can make their dreams a reality, all they need is faith in themselves and in God.
Tyler Perry has moved on to create seven #1 box office movies, he is co-producing the November movie Precious with Oprah Winfrey, and is working on an upcoming eighth film called I Can Do Bad All by Myself starring himself as Madea and Taraji P. Henson as April. This movie will be centered on the main character April (Taraji P. Henson) who in need of a life change. In October of 2008, he made history by becoming the first and only African-American to own his own film studio in the country. Aside from being an actor extraordinaire, he “has been intimately involved in civil rights cases-including the trial of the Jena 6 in his home state of Louisiana - and charities that focus on helping the homeless, such as Feeding America, Covenant House, Hosea Feed the Hungry, Project Adventure and Perry Place - a 20 home community Tyler built for survivors of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.” As Ben Johnson described the late William Shakespeare, “he is not for an age, but for all time.”
