On 1st September 2020, Forbes announced that there is a new Hollywood billionaire. Guess who it is. Tyler Perry. The actor, director, producer, and screenwriter is now one of the film industry’s wealthiest persons from a humble background.
That aside, who is Tyler? Where was he born? And how did he grow up? For these and much more, make sure that you read this piece comprehensively.
Let’s Go!
Table of Contents
Personal Details
Net Worth: $1 Billion
Salary: $80 Million
Full Name: Emmitt Perry Jr.
Date of Birth: 13th September 1969
Place of Birth: New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Age: 51
Profession: Actor, Film Director, Producer, Screenwriter, author
Active Years: 1992 to date
Partner: Gelila Bekele (Not Together)
Children: 1
Height: 1.96 m
Early Life of Tyler Perry
Emmitt Perry Jr. was the name given to Tyler when he was born on 13th September 1969 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Emmitt Perry Sr. and Willie Maxine Perry are his parents. His dad was a carpenter and was so strict. This nearly made Tyler commit suicide.
Perry has three siblings. Due to his father’s beatings when he reached sixteen, he legally changed his name from Emmitt to Tyler. This was to forget about his father.
After growing up, he discovered that Emmitt Perry Sr. wasn’t his biological dad. This is after he conducted a D.N.A. test. Tyler Perry didn’t finish high school but got his G.E.D. in the early 2000s.
Many don’t talk about due embarrassment Tyler wasn’t and told everyone that he was molested twice while young. Later he discovered that Emmitt Perry Sr. had molested one of his childhood friends.
Tyler lost his mother on 8th December 2009 when she was sixty-four years.
Career Life of Tyler Perry
Where did Tyler start from becoming a famous actor, screenwriter, author, and producer? In this part, we will discuss that and more.
Started Acting on Stage
Tyler started with stage films two years after moving to Atlanta in 1990. The first stage film he featured on was I Know I’ve Been Changed. The stage film was about child abuse, dysfunctional families, forgiveness, dignity, and self-worth.
However, it didn’t get the reception he was hoping for. He later wrote it after six years and presented on stage again at the House of Blues.
He went on a tour in the U.S. after coming up with new stage productions. As Forbes reports, by 2005, Tyler had sales of more than $100 million in tickets, $30 million in videos, and approximately $20 million in merchandise.
After he had done three hundred live shows in a year and as per estimates, thirty-five thousand people attended his shows a week.
The African-Americans loved Tyler’s shows.
In the Film Industry
After raising a $5.5 million budget, Tyler Perry decided to produce his first movie, “Diary of a Mad Black.”
In the U.S. alone, the film earned over $50.6 million.
His first time as a film director was on Madea’s Family Reunion in 2006. And ever since, he has been the director of all Madea films.
Daddy’s Little Girls was his next project, which was released on 14th February 2007. The film featured top actors like Idris Elba and Gabrielle Union. In the same year, he was the scriptwriter, producer, director, and actor in Why Did I Get Married?
All of his movies are co-produced and distributed by Lion Gate Entertainment, but he has all the copyright owners under Tyler Perry Films’ name.
Some of the films he has been part of include;
- Meet the Browns
- The Family that Preys
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows
- Gone Girl
Personal Life of Tyle Perry
Tyler’s best friends are Oprah Winfrey, Will Smith, and Janet Jackson. He is a Christian, and that is captured in many of his film’s most stage productions.
Gelila Bekele gave birth to a son who is Tyler Perry’s. This was in late 2014, but as of 2020, Tyler reported that he is single.
Total Net Worth
Tyler Perry has a net worth of over a billion U.S. dollars. This was revealed in 2020, and his annual salary is $80 million.
Other than that, he owns several businesses and assets.
One of his assets is the Atlanta mansion he sold to Steve Harvey. The home is on a seventeen-acre land and sold at about $15 million.
In 2017 he bought a house in Mulholland Estates in L.A. He later sold the home in L.A. for a whopping $14.5 million to Pharrell Williams. Additionally, he is the owner of various vacation properties in Wyoming and the Bahamas.
Tyler signed a partnership deal with Oprah Winfrey Network in 2012. The agreement was to see Perry produce scripted Tv shows for O.W.N.
Perry also has a private jet (Gulfstream III) whose cost is approximately $125 million after customization.
As of now, Tyler lives and works from Southwest Atlanta.