Personal Life
Perry describes himself as a Christian. He has become good friends with Janet Jackson, Will Smith, and Oprah Winfrey. Many of the themes in his work reflect theology and social behavior indicative of the predominantly Black church culture, such as the many scenes in both his stage and screen work that feature church settings and worship styles commonly found in predominantly African American churches, including showcases of gospel music and artists.
In 2007, he bought a 17-acre estate in the Paces neighborhood of Buckhead, Atlanta.
On July 20, 2009, Perry sponsored 65 children from a Philadelphia day camp to visit Walt Disney World, after reading that a suburban swim club, the Valley Swim Club in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, had shunned them. He wrote on his website, "I want them to know that for every act of evil that a few people will throw at you, there are millions more who will do something kind for them."
On December 8, 2009, his mother, Willie Maxine Perry, died at age 64, following an illness. As of 2012, he is unmarried. He lives and works in Southwest Atlanta where he operates the Tyler Perry movies and TV studios. In August 2010, it was reported that he had purchased Dean Gardens, a 58-acre (230,000 m2) estate in the Atlanta suburb of Johns Creek. He was reportedly planning to tear down the existing 32,000-square-foot (3,000 m2) mansion and build a new, environmentally friendly home on the property.
As of October 2012, he reportedly owns a house in the hills above Hollywood in Los Angeles.
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Famous quotes containing the words personal and/or life:
“The white man regards the universe as a gigantic machine hurtling through time and space to its final destruction: individuals in it are but tiny organisms with private lives that lead to private deaths: personal power, success and fame are the absolute measures of values, the things to live for. This outlook on life divides the universe into a host of individual little entities which cannot help being in constant conflict thereby hastening the approach of the hour of their final destruction.”
—Policy statement, 1944, of the Youth League of the African National Congress. pt. 2, ch. 4, Fatima Meer, Higher than Hope (1988)
“You are told a lot about your education, but some beautiful, sacred memory, preserved since childhood, is perhaps the best education of all. If a man carries many such memories into life with him, he is saved for the rest of his days. And even if only one good memory is left in our hearts, it may also be the instrument of our salvation one day.”
—Feodor Dostoyevsky (1821–1881)