Today's Actor

Tyler Perry, the merican actor, director,playwright, screenwriter, producer, and author. Already a successful artist in Southern theater, Perry began to make national celebrity status in 2005 with the release of his first movie, Diary of a Mad Black Woman. In 2009, Perry was ranked by Forbes magazine as the sixth highest-paid man in Hollywood. As of July 2009, Perry's films had grossed nearly $400 million worldwide.
Around 1990, he moved to Atlanta, where two years later I Know I've Been Changed was first performed at a community theater, financed by the $12,000 life savings of the 22-year-old Perry. It included Christian themes of forgiveness, dignity and self-worth, while addressing issues such as child abuse and dysfunctional families.
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 that "the 300 live shows he produces each year are attended by an average of 35,000 people a week."

Perry professes to be a devout Christian. He has become good friends with Oprah Winfrey, Will Smith and Janet Jackson.

On July 20, 2009, Perry sponsored 65 children from a Philadelphia day camp to go to Walt Disney World, after reading that a suburban swim club (Valley Swim Club, Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania) had shunned them.Perry wrote on his website, "I want them to know that for every act of evil that a few people will throw at you, there are millions more who will do something kind for them."

On December 8, 2009, Tyler's mother, Willie Maxine Perry, died at the age of 64, following an illness. As of 2010, Perry remains unmarried. He lives and works in Southwest Atlanta where he operates the Tyler Perry movies and TV studios. In August 2010, it was reported that Perry had purchased Dean Gardens, a 58-acre (230,000 m²) estate in the Atlanta suburb of Johns Creek. Perry was reportedly planning to tear down the existing 32,000-square-foot (3,000 m²) mansion and build a new, environmentally friendly home on the property.