Tyler Perry has come a long way from his tough childhood growing up in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The Madea star was born Emmitt Perry Jr. to mom Willie Maxine Perry and dad Emmitt Perry Sr., and has previously described his childhood, which was marred with poverty and abuse, as a living hell.
When he was 16, he took on the first name Tyler to distance himself from his father, and in his 20s, he moved to Atlanta, where he began his career as a playwright, filmmaker and actor.
Stepping into the spotlight
He made his directorial debut in 2006 with an adaptation of Madea's Family Reunion, which has spawned into a wide-ranging franchise of movies that he has both starred in and directed.
The movie franchise came to an end in 2019 with Madea Family Funeral, its 11th and final installment. Per Variety, across all 21 movies that Tyler has made with Lionsgate, they generated over $1 billion in ticket sales.
Net worth
Tyler's net worth is not far from that eye-watering amount. In 2020, he officially became a billionaire, and per Forbes, today has a net worth of $1.4 billion.
According to the outlet, his wealth comes both from his cut as a producer and from a library of media dating back to the early 1990s, and the fact that he owns 100% of the content he's created in the last three decades.
Speaking with Forbes in September 2020 about his rags to riches story, he noted: "I love when people say you come from 'humble beginnings,'" adding: "[It] means you were poor as hell."
"You got to understand, I had no mentors," he further shared. "My father doesn't know anything about business, and my uncles and mother, they know nothing about this. I didn't go to business school. Everything I've learned, I've learned in progress."
How he spends it
At the time, Forbes further reported that among Tyler's assets are homes in Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles and Jackson Hole, Wyoming, as well as two planes, plus he also owns a 330-acre studio lot in Atlanta, where he shoots much of his projects.
One of his properties, his eight bedroom, and 12 bathroom, $43 million Beverly Hills home, is of special notoriety, as it's where Meghan Markle and Prince Harry briefly lived when they left England and the royal family.
Personal life
Tyler is largely private about his personal life. From around 2009 to 2020, he was in a relationship with Ethiopian model, filmmaker and activist Gelila Bekele, and in November 2014, they welcomed a son, Aman. Tyler confirmed he was single in 2020.