He then wrote and directed the uplifting The Single Moms Club (2014). Tyler Perry’s Temptation (2013), which Perry adapted from his play The Marriage Counselor (2008), offered another tale of romantic tumult. He later wrote and directed himself in Good Deeds (2012), a drama about a CEO seeking personal fulfillment Madea’s Witness Protection (2012) Boo! A Madea Halloween (2016) and its sequel (2017) and A Madea Family Funeral (2019). In 2010 Perry wrote and directed Why Did I Get Married Too?, in which he also starred, and For Colored Girls, an adaptation of Ntozake Shange’s groundbreaking ensemble theatre piece For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf (1975). Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. He additionally began writing and directing films that were not based on previous work, such as Daddy’s Little Girls (2007) and The Family That Preys (2008). A 2007 adaptation of his play Why Did I Get Married? (2004), an exploration of modern relationships, allowed Perry to move beyond the Madea character on-screen. He reprised the role of Madea in subsequent film adaptations of his plays, which he also produced and directed. Its feel-good narrative, in which Madea counsels her granddaughter through a failed marriage, helped Perry gain a wider audience. Perry moved to feature films in 2005 by writing, producing, and acting in a screen version of Diary of a Mad Black Woman. She was a recurring figure in a number of his later plays, such as Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2001 film 2005), Madea’s Family Reunion (2002 film 2006), Madea’s Class Reunion (2003), Madea Goes to Jail (2005 film 2009), Madea’s Big Happy Family (2010 film 2011), A Madea Christmas (2011 film 2013), and Madea’s Neighbors from Hell (2014). The brutally honest, rambunctious gun-toting grandmother, whose name comes from the frequent African American contraction of “Mother Dear,” was played by Perry in drag. Perry’s trademark character, Madea, was created in his play I Can Do Bad All by Myself (2000 film 2009). Jakes, grossed more than $5 million in five months. Perry’s second stage production, a 1999 adaptation of Woman, Thou Art Loosed! by T.D. Perry’s work was distinct in its blend of traditional theatre with African American Southern entertainment, which had been largely untapped by larger commercial enterprises. In 1998, however, he restaged the play and sold out performances for eight days in a row before moving it to Atlanta’s nationally acclaimed Fox Theatre. His self-funded production-in which he also starred-received almost no attention and sent him into extreme poverty. Perry worked a number of odd jobs to raise money for its first staging, which took place in Atlanta in 1992.
After he heard television personality Oprah Winfrey suggest that writing down personal experiences could be cathartic, Perry began to keep a journal, which evolved into his first play, I Know I’ve Been Changed. He grew up with a physically abusive father (he later changed his name to disassociate himself from his father), attempted suicide, and dropped out of high school, although he eventually passed a high-school equivalency exam. Tyler Perry, original name Emmitt Perry, Jr., (born September 13, 1969, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.), American playwright, actor, screenwriter, producer, and director whose works-in which he often portrayed the character Mabel (“Madea”) Simmons, an outspoken grandmother-combined humour, religious wisdom, and personal triumph.