Tyler Perry (born Emmitt Perry Jr. on September 13, 1969, in New Orleans) is a prolific American filmmaker, actor, and playwright best known for creating and portraying the iconic character Mabel "Madea" Simmons, a tough elderly woman who first appeared in his 1999 stage play I Can Do Bad All by Myself. After overcoming a traumatic childhood marked by abuse and a name change at age 16, Perry found his breakthrough with the 2005 film Diary of a Mad Black Woman and went on to build a media empire, including the long-running TV series Tyler Perry's House of Payne and a major partnership with Oprah Winfrey's OWN network. His productions have grossed over $660 million, and in 2011 Forbes named him the highest-paid man in entertainment, with his net worth later reaching an estimated $1 billion. Despite his immense commercial success, his work has often been criticized by scholars and critics for perpetuating negative stereotypes of African Americans. Perry has also starred in major Hollywood films like Gone Girl (2014) and Don't Look Up (2021), and he has received numerous accolades, including the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 2021 and a spot on Time's 100 most influential people list in 2020.