His first movie was 2005's Diary of a Mad Black Woman, adapted from his 2001 play and featuring his most famous character, the outspoken, gun-toting, 66 grandmother, Madea. Since then millions of people have turned out to see Tyler's work. He kept on pursuing his dream, and in 1998 it finally took flight, when hundreds of mostly African-American fans lined up to buy tickets for the seventh staging of the show he'd devoted his life to, I Know I've Been Changed. When that effort failed (and failed, and failed, six times over), he was left homeless, disheartened, and broke-but not broken. In 1992 Tyler moved to Atlanta with the dream of staging his first play. The trauma left him confused and angry-one especially 'nasty' outburst got him kicked out of high school-but he found an outlet in writing about his life. Outside the home he was also sexually abused, as he recently revealed on my show. Tyler, 41, grew up in New Orleans, in a physically abusive home. There's a similarity in our paths: Each of us has been on a journey that can only be called a miracle. It doesn't surprise me that Tyler Perry and I have become close friends in recent years. Perry sits down with Oprah to talk about his journey from struggling artist to superstar. The director, playwright, and actor is the first black studio mogul in American history-but 14 years ago he was living in his car.
