Tyler Perry Tyler Perry is an award - winning playwright , screenwriter , actor , director , and author known for his comic morality plays and their feature film adaptations . In his first appearance outside of his own projects , he played Admiral Richard Barnett , the Starfleet Academy commandant , in ' s , directed by J . J . Abrams . Born in New Orleans , Louisiana , Perry ' s childhood was marred by poverty and physical abuse . In 1992 , he was inspired by to write a series of letters to himself of his troubled childhood . These letters ultimately became the hit musical " I Know I ' ve Been Changed " , which struggled before finally having a successful run in 1998 . His next play , a staging of Bishop T . D . Jakes ' book " Woman Thou Art Loosed " , was an immediate hit . Perry , now living in Atlanta , Georgia , created his own successful touring company and produced a number of highly - popular morality plays , all aimed primarily at African - American audiences . Many of these works feature the character of , whom Perry portrays himself . Madea , a no - nonsense matriarch , serves as both comic relief and as the ( loud ) voice of reason in Perry ' s plays . Some of Perry ' s plays were recorded for DVD , and between ticket sales and DVD sales , his plays have grossed over US $ 75 million . Among his biggest hits are " Diary of a Mad Black Woman " , " Madea ' s Family Reunion " , and " Madea ' s Class Reunion " . Perry ' s first foray into Hollywood occurred when he adapted his " Diary of a Mad Black Woman " into a US $ 5 . 5 million feature film , released in February 2005 . Perry played three roles in the film ( including Madea ) and he was also a producer . The film debuted at # 1 , earning an unexpected US $ 21 . 9 million at the box office in its first weekend of release and closing with over US $ 50 million . Perry followed the success of " Diary " with adaptations of his plays " Madea ' s Family Reunion " in 2006 and " Why Did I Get Married ? " in 2007 . An original film , " Daddy ' s Little Girls " ( starring Gabrielle Union ) , was released between them . Perry directed all of these films himself and starred in the first two . All three films were financially successful . In addition , Perry created a hit situation comedy television series called " Tyler Perry ' s House of Payne " , currently airing in syndication on TBS . He has directed and co - written every episode of this series , which first ran for ten episodes in the spring of 2006 and premiered on TBS in June 2007 . In 2006 , Perry published his first novel , " Don ' t Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings : Madea ' s Uninhibited Commentaries on Love and Life " . The book became a national best - seller and was voted the Book of the Year and Best Humor Book at the 2006 Quill Awards . Perry ' s next film was an adaptation of his play " Meet the Browns " in 2008 , followed by " The Family That Preys " that same year . This latter film starred actress Alfre Woodard . In January 2009 , a television series version of " Meet the Browns " premiered on TBS , which Perry produces , writes , and directs . His next two films , " Madea Goes to Jail " and " I Can Do Bad All By Myself " , both opened in 2009 . Perry ' s films have thus far grossed over US $ 370 million at the North American box office . On 22 January 2010 , Perry participated in the fund - raising program " Hope for Haiti Now : A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief " . He was among the celebrities who operated the phones for the benefit , along with his " Star Trek " co - stars Chris Pine and Zoë Saldana , actress Jeri Ryan , actor Christian Slater , and Robin Williams . Perry completed work and has seen the theatrical release of his new film " For Colored Girls " starring Whoopi Goldberg . He also replaces Morgan Freeman as James Patterson ' s Alex Cross in " Alex Cross " , sequel to Ashley Judd ' s " Kiss The Girls " and which also stars Rachel Nichols . Perry is not a " Star Trek " fan and only decided to appear in 2009 ' s " Star Trek " because he appreciated the work of J . J . Abrams . According to Perry , however , had he seen before signing on , he would have turned down the offer . He has since stated that , after watching the theatrical trailer for Abrams ' " Star Trek " , he may become a Trekkie .