Tyler Perry (born Emmit Perry Jr.) is an American actor, writer, producer, comedian, and director. He is best known for creating and portraying the character Madea, a tough older black woman. He’s also had a lot of success on stage and in television shows like Tyler Perry’s House of Payne. Perry’s films are different in style, ranging from traditional filmmaking techniques to live-action filming. Many of Perry’s stage plays were later made into a movie. Perry has also starred in films that he did not direct or in which he was not the director.
Tyler Perry net worth
It is not a secret that Tyler Perry net worth started with film production. Currently, Tyler Perry has an estimated net worth of $1.4 billion. Terry approached the production studio Lionsgate with a proposition based on his own success. Perry would raise half the money for an upcoming film that would need a $5.5 million budget. Lionsgate contributed the other half, taking a small fee for marketing and 12% for distribution. Following these expenses, they would share the profits equally. Diary of a Mad Black Woman was the debut film under this deal, which was released in 2005. Domestically, the picture made $50.6 million, with an extra $150 million in TV syndication and home video sales. Perry owns the content and keeps half of the profits as part of his deal with Lionsgate.
Perry’s directorial debut came in 2006 with his second film, Madea’s Family Reunion, which opened at number one at the box office with $30.3 million. The film made a total of $65 million at the box office. (And he went on to direct all of Madea’s subsequent films.)
Tyler was the producer of 14 Madea films. These films have raked in almost $700 million in box office revenue. Each picture was made for less than $10 million. Perry takes home the lion’s share of the revenues from each of his films since he writes, directs, and produces almost all of them himself. Around $300 million is the lion’s share.
Perry’s films are typically aimed at African-American audiences and often contain subtle references to Christianity.
Tyler Perry Early life
Emmitt Perry, Jr. was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on September 13, 1969. He did not complete high school but did receive a GED. Tyler began writing to heal his emotional wounds after being assaulted by several family members when he was young. In his early twenties, he was motivated to pursue a career in writing after seeing an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show on people who inspired him to pursue a career in the field.
Perry found that writing provided a nice break. He wrote a series of letters to himself, which later served as the basis for the musical I Know I’ve Been Changed. This and his previous stage plays immediately found an audience in Atlanta and beyond, peaking at more than 35,000 viewers per week.
Perry reportedly sold over $100 million in theater tickets and $30 million in DVDs and merchandise before even filming a single Hollywood film.
Tyler Perry TV success
From June 21, 2006, until August 10, 2012, Perry’s famous comedy Tyler Perry’s House of Payne ran for eight seasons. The series first aired on the CW and drew unexpectedly high ratings for the fledgling network. TBS lured Perry and Payne away from the CW by offering him a $200 million production guarantee and a 90-episode commitment. Oh, and Tyler would be the star of the program. Tyler famously spent only $60 million on the film’s production. The remaining $140 million he kept for himself.
Meet the Browns, which aired on TBS in January 2009 and was canceled on November 18, 2011, was also written, directed, and produced by him.
Tyler Perry Other works
Perry has had a handful of acting roles in films such as Star Trek (2009), Alex Cross (2012), Gone Girl (2014), and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016) and Vice (2018).
Perry is also the author of two books: Don’t Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings: Madea’s Uninhibited Commentaries on Love and Life (2006), which sold 30,000 copies and opened at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, and Higher is Waiting (2017), which debuted at #5.
Tyler Perry Studios
Tyler Perry Studios, an Atlanta-based film production company, was created in 2006.
Finally, in 2019, Perry revealed Tyler Perry Studios’ new home, which is situated on the 330-acre former Fort McPherson military base that he bought four years ago. It served as a Confederate military post during the Civil War. Perry bought the home for $30 million and spent $250 million on improvements and renovations.
Tyler Perry The Walking Dead
In the place, The Walking Dead was filmed. An exact duplicate of the White House, a trailer park, a luxury hotel, and a 16,000-square-foot house are among the permanent sets that take up almost 50,000 square feet of the studio lot. The Marvel blockbuster Black Panther was the first film to be shot on the premises.
It is one of the world’s largest studios, and Tyler became the first African American to own one. In one year, other studios like Netflix and Amazon spent $100 million renting the studio’s facilities for their productions.
Tyler Perry Personal life
At the age of 16, Perry changed his first name to Emmitt Perry Jr. to distance himself from his abusive father. A DNA test revealed years later that Emmitt Sr. was not Perry’s real father.
Perry has been dating model and social activist Gelila Bekele since 2009, despite the fact that they are not married. Bekele gave birth to their son, Aman Tyler Perry, in November 2014.
Perry is active in a variety of charities and frequently helps people in need outside of television and film. For example, in 2009, Perry sponsored a visit to Walt Disney World for 65 children from a day camp in Philadelphia.
Tyler Perry Real estate
Perry spends most of his time in Atlanta, where he is now building a large house not far from Tyler Perry Studios’ headquarters. He intends to turn a part of the area into an organic farm (In May 2016, Perry sold his 35,000-square-foot Atlanta estate for $17.5 million, where he had lived for nine years.)
Perry also has a 14,000-square-foot estate on the Bahamas’ White Bay Cay island, which sits on 50 acres. In 2009, he reportedly paid $6.4 million for the property.
Perry sold a 10-bedroom house in Los Angeles’ Mulholland Estates for $14.5 million in 2018, just nine months after buying it. Pharrell Williams, a rapper and musician, bought the property from him.
He also owns another home in Los Angeles which is located in the highly exclusive gated community Beverly Ridge Estates. Perry built a 25,000-square-foot mansion on the 22.5-acre lot. In May 2020, it was revealed that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have rented the home while they build a new life for themselves in Los Angeles. Based on similar sales nearby, this home is worth over $20 million.
