Tyler Perry ( born Emmitt Perry Jr. ; September 13 , 1969 ) is an American actor , comedian , filmmaker , writer , and songwriter , specializing in the gospel genre . In 2011 , Forbes named him the highest paid man in entertainment ; he earned US$ 130 million between May 2010 and 2011 . Perry is known for both creating and performing as the Madea character , a tough elderly black woman . Perry has also created several television shows , his most successful of which is Tyler Perry 's House of Payne , a show that ran for eight seasons on TBS from June 21 , 2006 , to August 10 , 2012 . On October 2 , 2012 , Perry struck an exclusive multi-year partnership with Oprah Winfrey and her Oprah Winfrey Network .
Tyler Perry is a person.