Tyler Perry (born September 13, 1969) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and author.
, Tyler Perry's films have earned him nearly $400 million worldwide, not including his plays.
In 2008, Perry earned around $75 million, placing him just outside the top five highest-paid men in Hollywood.
[www.singersroom.com/news/4143/Tyler-Perry-and-Simon-Cowell-Have-Forbes-In-Common]
Film
Produced for $5.5 million, his first movie,
Diary of a Mad Black Woman, grossed $50.6 million, while scoring a 16 percent approval rating at the film review web site,
Rotten Tomatoes. On its opening weekend, February 24, 2006, Perry's film version of
Madea's Family Reunion opened at number one at the box office with $30.3 million. The film eventually grossed $65 million; as with
Diary, almost all of the
Madea's earnings originated in the United States. Perry and the co-stars promoted the film on the
Oprah Winfrey show.
[Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion (2006)]
Perry's next LionsGate project,
Daddy's Little Girls, starred Gabrielle Union and Idris Elba and was released in the U.S. on February 14, 2007. It grossed over $31 million.
[Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls (2007)] Perry wrote, directed, produced and starred in his next movie,
Why Did I Get Married?, released on October 12, 2007. It opened number one, grossing $21.4 million at the box office that weekend. It is loosely based on his play of the same name. Filming began March 5, 2007, in
Whistler, British Columbia,
Vancouver, then Atlanta, where Perry 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 #2 with a $20,082,809 weekend gross.
[Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns (2008) - Weekend Box Office Results] The Family That Preys opened on September 12, 2008, and grossed over $37.1 million.
