This time the community came out in droves, and soon the musical moved to Atlanta's prestigious Fox Theatre. In 1998 his perseverance paid off and a promoter booked I Know I've Been Changed for a limited run at a local church-turned-theatre. He forged a powerful relationship with the church, and he kept writing. He spent months sleeping in seedy motels and his car but his faith-in God and, in turn, himself-only got stronger.

He spent all the money but the people never came, and Tyler once again came face to face with the poverty that had plagued his youth. The letters inspired a musical, I Know I've Been Changed, and in 1992 Tyler gathered his life's savings and set off for Atlanta in hopes of staging it for sold out crowds. Born into poverty and raised in a household scarred by abuse, Tyler fought from a young age to find the strength, faith and perseverance that would later form the foundations of his much-acclaimed plays, films, books and shows.It was a simple piece of advice from Oprah Winfrey that set Tyler's career in motion.Įncouraged to keep a diary of his daily thoughts and experiences, Tyler began writing a series of soul-searching letters to himself-letters full of pain, forgiveness, and, in time, a healing catharsis. Tyler Perry's inspirational journey from the hard streets of New Orleans to the heights of Hollywood's A-list is the stuff of American legend.

He is currently single and has never been married. His best-known character is 'Madea', who is a physically imposing and overbearing but well-intentioned woman who serves both as comic relief and as the loud voice of conscience for the protagonists of Perry's works. Tyler Perry is an American playwright, screenwriter, actor and director and producer of indie films and stage plays.

List of tyler perry movies and plays