Sep 13, 1969

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Perry was one of four children. His childhood in New Orleans was marked by poverty and physical abuse, which sparked him to attempt suicide. Perry once blamed his lack of success on his parents and others. He was once homeless and lived in his car for six months.

After years of intense anger and deep resentment, Perry experienced an awakening. One day while he was watching The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1992, he took some advice—it can be cathartic to put feelings down on paper. So Perry began wri... ... (read more...) ting letters to deal with his painful childhood. These letters eventually became his plays.

When Perry's work failed at the box office and was left penniless, he blamed others. Perry is now said to have found that because he had allowed so much anger from his turbulent past to build inside of him, he always found a way to self-sabotage his ventures.

Perry eventually confronted his abusers and took responsibility for his previous failures. His perception of his own writing changed, and he came to terms with his past.
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His first movie, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, produced on a budget of under $5 million, became an unexpected hit, prompting widespread discussion among industry watchers about whether middle-class African Americans were simply not being addressed by mainstream Hollywood movies.

On opening weekend, February 24, 2006 Perry's film version of Madea's Family Reunion opened at number one with $30 million, more than triple the amount it cost to make.

His next project for Lionsgate Entertainment, Daddy's Little Girls, starring Gabrielle Union, is currently in production.