Tyler Perry (born Emmitt Perry Jr., September 13, 1969) is an American actor, filmmaker, and playwright. He is the creator and performer of Mabel "Madea" Simmons, a tough elderly woman, and also portrays her brother Joe Simmons and her nephew Brian Simmons. Perry's films vary in style from orthodox filmmaking techniques to filmed productions of live stage plays. Many of his stage-play films have been subsequently adapted as feature films. Madea's first appearance was in Perry's play I Can Do Bad All by Myself (1999) staged in Chicago.

Perry wrote and produced many stage plays during the 1990s and early 2000s. He also developed several television series, most notably Tyler Perry's House of Payne, which ran for eight seasons on TBS from 2006 to 2012. In 2011, Forbes listed him as the highest-paid man in entertainment, earning US$130 million between May 2010 and May 2011. In 2012, Perry struck an exclusive multi-year partnership with Oprah Winfrey and her Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). The deal featured scripted projects such as The Haves and the Have Nots. Recent shows include BET's The Oval.

Perry has also acted in films not directed, written or produced by himself, including films such as Star Trek (2009), Alex Cross (2012), Gone Girl (2014), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016), Vice (2018), Those Who Wish Me Dead (2021), and Don't Look Up (2021). Perry has also done voice acting for animated films such as The Star (2017) and PAW Patrol: The Movie (2021).

Over his career Perry has received criticism from scholars and critics who believe his films traffic in negative and offensive portrayals of African-Americans. However Perry's films have grossed more than $660 million and together with his film and television projects, Perry is worth $1 billion. Perry was included in Time's list of the 100 most influential people of 2020. He received the Emmy Award's Governors Award in 2020, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 2021 and was inducted into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame in 2022.