Tyler Perry (born Emmitt Perry, Jr.; September 13, 1969) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, producer, author,[1] 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.[2]
Perry is best known for creating, and performing in drag, the Madea character, a giant, overreactive, and thuggishly tough elderly woman.[3][4][5] Perry's also well-known for creating both stage-play films and conventional on-site films. Between the two, his stage-play films debuted first in 1998 with I Know I've Been Changed. His career with conventional films began in 2005 with Diary of a Mad Black Woman, which features his claim to fame role, Madea.[6] Many of Perry's conventional films are based on and titled after his stage-play films.
Perry currently has two upcoming Madea films in the works: Tyler Perry’s Madea Gets A Job (stage-play film), set for release on Blu-ray Disc, DVD, Digital Download, Video On Demand and Pay-Per-View on February 5, 2013;[7] and A Madea Christmas (conventional on-site film based on the play), slated for release on December 13, 2013.[8]