Kriti Mehrotra
While there’s no denying Amazon Prime Video’s ‘Maxine’s Baby: The Tyler Perry Story‘ is essentially a tribute to the titular Hollywood mogul’s late mother, it is also a dive into who he really is. After all, it chronicles every aspect of his journey from a young boy growing up in an abusive household in New Orleans, Louisiana, to a studio head with an almost unparalleled success rate. Yet for now, if you simply wish to learn more about his personal life — in particular, the details surrounding the man he believed to be his father and his biological one — we’ve got you covered.
Did Tyler Perry Find His Biological Father?
For all intents and purposes, Tyler was born to Willie Maxine Campbell Perry and her husband of six years, Emmitt Perry Sr., as their third of four kids on September 13, 1969, as Emmitt Perry Jr. However, the relationship between this father-son duo was far from pleasant, familial, or affectionate owing to the fact the former was allegedly verbally, mentally, as well as physically abusive. Though arguably the worst aspect is reportedly the way this youngster got the brunt of it, which is why he legally changed his name to Tyler at the age of 16 in the hopes of distancing himself.
It then took nearly a decade, but Tyler was eventually able to forgive Emmitt Sr. for everything (without a single apology) upon realizing that carrying his innate pain would only hurt him more. As per the documentary, this was around the same time he’d learned his father had been raised similarly — with abuse at the front and center — making him understand his position a lot better. Nonetheless, he still had this feeling there was something else too since he’d never once felt care or love from that man, which soon proved true in one of the most unexpected ways imaginable.
Tyler was around 30 when his mother conceded Emmitt Sr. was so harsh on him because he didn’t once believe them to be biologically related, so he took a DNA test following her demise in 2009. That’s when it came to light they indeed were not related by blood, filling this rising entertainer with utter relief as his “image of a father was not somebody who could do [what he did] to their child.” Yet, he has never judged or blamed his mother for anything as he understands she loved her husband, cared for him, and believed him to be a great provider for their family till the very end.
The truth is Tyler only opened up regarding each aspect of this ordeal after Maxine’s demise since he knew if he did so earlier, it would genuinely cause her a lot of despair as well as embarrassment. “She suffered so much horror in her life — surviving breast cancer, the abuse from my father, the belittling, the beatings,” he once candidly told Oprah Winfrey. “And I just could not be a source of pain. I knew if I spoke about this, that she would be hurt. So I didn’t. … I feel this tremendous sense of, ‘Now it’s time for me to take care of me and get some of this stuff out of me and be free from it.'”
On the other hand, Emmitt Sr. has preferred to maintain his silence on the matter despite the fact Tyler is still financially supporting him — they’re ostensibly estranged in every other sense. Coming to whether this actor, filmmaker, playwright, as well as studio head has been able to locate his biological father until now, the answer is no — he has tried and reportedly continues to try to this day, yet to no avail.
