Their landlord: From childhood of abuse to a $600m showbiz giant
FROM a tough childhood in which he suffered physical and sexual abuse, Tyler Perry has become one of the wealthiest men in US entertainment.
The prolific Hollywood tycoon is an actor, writer, producer, comedian and director with an estimated fortune of more than $6000million.
Born Emmitt Perry Jr, he changed his name to Tyler Perry at the age of 16 in a bid to distance himself from his father, who he claimed drove him to attempt suicide over his violent beatings. He has also spoken previously about being the victim of childhood sexual abuse.
Mr Perry, 50, is best known for creating and performing as the character Madea, described as a tough, elderly African American woman, who he based on his mother and aunt. Madea has appeared in plays, TV series and films including Diary Of A Mad Black Woman. He has since directed a franchise based around Madea – and has himself been satirised and parodied in cartoons including South Park.
He made his writing debut in 1998 with his stage play I Know I’ve Been Changed, and directed his first film, Madea’s Family Reunion,
in 2006. In 2008 he opened Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, where he shot his sitcom Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne. The actor is close friends with US chat show host Oprah Winfrey, and moved his TV empire to her cable network to launch his sitcom, The Haves And The Have Nots.
Their agreement expired after he signed a long-term deal with ViacomCBS for in 2017. Mr Perry, who has four-year-old son Aman with his partner Gelila Bekele, was accused in January of denying opportunities to upand-coming black writers after revealing he does not use a writing team for his shows.
In a video posted to his social media accounts he said: ‘Most of the time, there are ten people, 12 or whatever that write on these television shows... Nobody writes any of my work. I write it all.’ He added that being a successful writer is about ‘work ethic’.