Tyler Perry Popular Books

Tyler Perry Biography & Facts

Tyler Perry (born Emmitt Perry Jr.; September 13, 1969) is an American actor, filmmaker, and playwright. He is the creator and performer of Mabel "Madea" Simmons, a tough elderly woman, and also portrays her brother Joe Simmons and her nephew Brian Simmons. Perry's films vary in style from orthodox filmmaking techniques to filmed productions of live stage plays, many of which have been subsequently adapted into feature films. Madea's first appearance was in Perry's play I Can Do Bad All by Myself (1999) staged in Chicago. Perry wrote and produced many stage plays during the 1990s and early 2000s. His breakthrough performance came in 2005 with the film Diary of a Mad Black Woman, which he wrote and produced as an adaptation of his stage play of the same name. He also developed numerous television series, most notably Tyler Perry's House of Payne, which ran for eight seasons on TBS from 2006 to 2012. In 2011, Forbes listed him as the highest-paid man in entertainment, earning $130 million between May 2010 and May 2011. In 2012, Perry struck an exclusive multi-year partnership with Oprah Winfrey and her Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). The deal featured scripted projects such as The Haves and the Have Nots. In 2019, he produced the political drama series The Oval for BET. Outside of his own productions, Perry has been cast in numerous Hollywood films including Star Trek (2009), Alex Cross (2012), Gone Girl (2014), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016), Vice (2018), Those Who Wish Me Dead (2021), and Don't Look Up (2021). Perry has also done voice acting for animated films such as The Star (2017) and PAW Patrol: The Movie (2021). Perry's films and shows have cumulatively grossed over $660 million, and his net worth is an estimated $1 billion. Despite commercial success, his productions have received criticism from critics and scholars who believe his films perpetuate negative or offensive portrayals of African Americans, along with the critical reception itself being largely negative. In 2020, Perry was included in Time's list of the 100 most influential people and received the Governor's Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Additionally, he received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy Awards in 2021, and was inducted into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame the following year. Early life Tyler Perry was born Emmitt Perry Jr. in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Willie Maxine Perry (née Campbell) and Emmitt Perry Sr., a carpenter. He has three siblings. Perry's childhood was described in retrospect as a "living hell". In contrast to his father, his mother took him to church each week, where he sensed a certain refuge and contentment. At age 16, he had his first name legally changed from Emmitt to Tyler in an effort to distance himself from his father.Many years later, after seeing the film Precious, Perry was moved to reveal for the first time that he had been molested by a friend's mother at age 10. He was also molested by three men prior to this and later learned his own father had molested his friend. A DNA test taken by Perry indicated that Emmitt Sr. was not Perry's biological father.While Perry did not complete high school, he earned a General Educational Development (GED). In his early 20s, watching an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, he heard someone describe the sometimes therapeutic effect the act of writing can have, enabling the author to work out his or her own problems. This comment inspired him to apply himself to a career in writing. He soon started writing a series of letters to himself, which became the basis for the musical I Know I've Been Changed. Career Stage Around 1990, Perry moved to Atlanta, where two years later I Know I've Been Changed was first performed at a community theater, financed by the 22-year-old Perry's life savings of US$12,000 (equivalent to $26,879 in 2022). The play included Christian themes of forgiveness, dignity, and self-worth, while addressing issues such as child abuse and dysfunctional families. The musical initially received a "less than stellar" reception and was a financial failure.Perry persisted, and over the next six years he rewrote the musical repeatedly, though lackluster reviews continued. In 1998, at age 28, he succeeded in retooling the play and restaging it in Atlanta, first at the House of Blues, then at the Fox Theatre. Perry continued to create new stage productions, touring with them on the so-called "Chitlin' Circuit", now also known as the "urban theater circuit" and developing a large, devoted following among African-American audiences. In 2005, Forbes reported that he had sold "more than $100 million in tickets, $30 million in videos of his shows and an estimated $20 million in merchandise", and "the 300 live shows he produces each year are attended by an average of 35,000 people a week". Film Perry raised a US$5.5 million budget in part from the ticket sales of his stage productions to fund his first movie, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, which went on to gross US$50.6 million domestically, while scoring a 16% approval rating at the film review web site Rotten Tomatoes. Perry made his directorial debut on his next film, an adaptation of Madea's Family Reunion, and has directed all of his subsequent Madea films. On its opening weekend, February 24–26, 2006, Madea's Family Reunion opened at number one at the box office with $30.3 million. The film eventually grossed $65 million. Perry and his co-stars promoted the film on The Oprah Winfrey Show. As with Diary, almost all of the Madea's earnings have been generated in the United States.Perry's next Lionsgate project, Daddy's Little Girls, starred Gabrielle Union and Idris Elba and was released in the United States on February 14, 2007. It grossed over US$31 million. Perry wrote, directed, produced and starred in his next film, Why Did I Get Married?, released on October 12, 2007. It opened at number one, grossing US$21.4 million that weekend. It is loosely based on his play of the same name. Filming began March 5, 2007, in Whistler, British Columbia, a resort town north of Vancouver, then moved to Atlanta, where Perry had opened his own studio. Janet Jackson, Sharon Leal, Jill Scott, and Tasha Smith appeared in the film. Perry's 2008 film, Meet the Browns, released on March 21, opened at number 2 with a US$20.1 million weekend gross. The Family That Preys opened on September 12, 2008, and grossed over US$37.1 million.Madea Goes to Jail opened at number one on February 20, 2009, grossing US$41 million and becoming his largest opening to date. This was Perry's seventh film with Lionsgate Entertainment. At the request of director J. J. Abrams, also in 2009, Perry had a small role as the Starfleet Academy commandant Admiral Barnett in Star Trek, which opened on May 8. This was his first film appearance outside of his own projects. Perry next wrote, directed, and starred in I Can Do Bad All By .... Discover the Tyler Perry popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Tyler Perry books.

Best Seller Tyler Perry Books of 2024

  • Protection synopsis, comments

    Protection

    Helen Dunmore

    Penguin Specials are designed to fill a gap. Written to be read over a long commute or a short journey, they are original and exclusively in digital form. This is a chilling tale...

  • Karamo synopsis, comments

    Karamo

    Karamo Brown

    An insightful, inspiring, “candid and warm” (Booklist) memoir from Karamo Brownbeloved culture expert from Netflix’s Queer Eyeas he shares his story for the first time, exploring h...

  • The Problematic Tyler Perry synopsis, comments

    The Problematic Tyler Perry

    Brian C. Johnson

    For the past decade or more, few Hollywood stars have experienced a more meteoric rise than Tyler Perry. As much as he is lauded by fans, Perry is panned by cultural critics who re...

  • Caleb Williams synopsis, comments

    Caleb Williams

    William Godwin & Maurice Hindle

    When honest young Caleb Williams comes to work as a secretary for Squire Falkland, he soon begins to suspect that his new master is hiding a terrible secret. But as he digs deeper ...

  • Rocks synopsis, comments

    Rocks

    Joe Perry

    Joe Perry’s New York Times bestselling memoir of life in the rockandroll band Aerosmith: “An insightful and harrowing roller coaster ride through the career of one of rock and roll...

  • Football Widows synopsis, comments

    Football Widows

    Pat Tucker

    A glimpse into the secret and unique lives of the women behind NFL coachesgame day takes on a whole new meaning as these lonely women turn up the heat off the field.During football...

  • Walk This Way synopsis, comments

    Walk This Way

    Geoff Edgers

    Washington Post national arts reporter Geoff Edgers takes a deep dive into the story behind “Walk This Way,” Aerosmith and RunDMC's legendary, groundbreaking mashup that forever ch...

  • Never Would Have Made It synopsis, comments

    Never Would Have Made It

    Melvin Childs

    When it comes to Hollywood success stories none are more compelling than the journey of Tyler Perry from homelessness to topgrossing playwright and movie star. Melvin Childs, Execu...

  • Just as I Am synopsis, comments

    Just as I Am

    Cicely Tyson

    “In her long and extraordinary career, Cicely Tyson has not only succeeded as an actor, she has shaped the course of history.” –President Barack Obama, 2016 Presidential Medal of F...

  • Wild Beauty synopsis, comments

    Wild Beauty

    Ntozake Shange

    NAACP Image Award Finalist for Outstanding Literary WorkFrom the poet, novelist, and cultural icon behind the awardwinning and extraordinary Broadway play, for colored girls who ha...

  • Gridlock synopsis, comments

    Gridlock

    Ben Elton

    Gridlock is when a city dies. Killed in the name of freedom. Killed in the name of oil and steel. Choked on carbon monoxide and strangled with a pair of fluffy dice. How did it com...

  • The Book in Room 316 synopsis, comments

    The Book in Room 316

    ReShonda Tate Billingsley

    #1 nationally bestselling and awardwinning author ReShonda Tate Billingsley delivers another moving, evocative, and timely novel about how a small seed of hope can change the cours...

  • The Lark synopsis, comments

    The Lark

    Edith Nesbit

    'A charming and brilliantly entertaining novel... shot through with the lighthearted Nesbit touch' Penelope Lively, from the introduction"When did two girls of our age have such a ...

  • My Vanishing Country synopsis, comments

    My Vanishing Country

    Bakari Sellers

    New York Times BestsellerWhat J. D. Vance did for Appalachia with Hillbilly Elegy, CNN analyst  and one of the youngest state representatives in South Carolina history Bakari ...

  • Tyler Perry A Short Unauthorized Biography synopsis, comments

    Tyler Perry A Short Unauthorized Biography

    Fame Life Bios

    Tyler Perry: A Short Unauthorized Biography is a short unauthorized biography produced from electronic resources researched that includes significant events and career milestones.I...

  • A Private Affair synopsis, comments

    A Private Affair

    Lesley Lokko

    No matter who you are, love comes at a price...'Perfect for a lengthy spot of tanning ... immerse yourself in the lives of four women looking for love' GRAZIA'Bestselling author Le...

  • Note to Self synopsis, comments

    Note to Self

    Gayle King

    In this New York Times bestseller, Gayle King collects her favorite inspiring letters from the popular CBS This Morning segment Note to Self, in which twentyfirst century luminarie...

  • No Better Time synopsis, comments

    No Better Time

    Sheila Williams

    The acclaimed author of The Secret Women and Things Past Telling returns with an engrossing historical novel about a little known aspect of World War IIthe 6888th Central Postal Di...

  • A Little Bit of Karma synopsis, comments

    A Little Bit of Karma

    ReShonda Tate Billingsley

    The secrets and lies that exist within a seemingly perfect marriage are explored in this “secondchance tale of romantic suspense” (Booklist) from the nationally bestselling and awa...

  • Bad Feminist synopsis, comments

    Bad Feminist

    Roxane Gay

    “Roxane Gay is so great at weaving the intimate and personal with what is most bewildering and upsetting at this moment in culture. She is always looking, always thinking, always p...

  • Black Oak synopsis, comments

    Black Oak

    Harold Green III

    As he did for Black women in Black Roses, Harold Green III, poet and founder of the music collective Flowers for the Living, now honors the Black men he most admiresgroundbrea...

  • All About Him synopsis, comments

    All About Him

    Pat Tucker

    A scorned woman is determined to expose her exlover for the cruel man he is, but she has her work cut out for her since he is a globally beloved singerwill she get her revenge or l...

  • Interpreting Tyler Perry synopsis, comments

    Interpreting Tyler Perry

    Jamel Santa Cruze Bell & Ronald L. Jackson II

    Tyler Perry has become a significant figure in media due to his undeniable box office success led by his character Madea and popular TV sitcoms House of Payne and Meet the Browns. ...

  • The Problematic Tyler Perry synopsis, comments

    The Problematic Tyler Perry

    Brian C. Johnson

    For the past decade or more, few Hollywood stars have experienced a more meteoric rise than Tyler Perry. As much as he is lauded by fans, Perry is panned by cultural critics who re...

  • The Lamp of Memory synopsis, comments

    The Lamp of Memory

    John Ruskin

    John Ruskin overturned Victorian society’s ideas about art and architecture, arguing that ancient buildings must be conserved for their deep, mystical links with the past and that ...

  • Higher Is Waiting synopsis, comments

    Higher Is Waiting

    Tyler Perry

    In this intimate book of inspiration, Tyler Perry writes of how his faith has sustained him in hard times, centered him in good times, and enriched his life.  Higher Is Waitin...