Top Five Most Read Stories This Week

  1. Phillip Phillips Had Eight Operations During American Idol Run, His Father Says

    1 Phillip Phillips Had Eight Operations During Idol Run

  2. 2 Kristen Stewart & Rob Pattinson Share a Kiss in Cannes

  3. 3 How Ace Young Planned His Proposal on Live TV to Diana DeGarmo

  4. 4 Actor Michael McKean Mowed Down on New York Sidewalk

  5. 5 Kristen Stewart 'Wanted' to Go Topless in New Movie

LAST UPDATE: Saturday May 26, 2012 05:10AM EDT

PEOPLE Top 5 are the most-viewed stories on the site over the past three days, updated every 60 minutes

Tributes

Tyler's Perry's Mom, Who Inspired Madea, Dies

Wednesday December 09, 2009 10:30 AM EST

Tyler's Perry's Mom, Who Inspired Madea, Dies

Willie Maxine Perry and son Tyler Perry

Frazer Harrison/Getty

Actor and producer Tyler Perry's mother, Willie Maxine Perry, has died at age 64.

"Willie Maxine Perry. February 12, 1945 to December 8, 2009. Thank you for all your prayers," a terse message on Perry's Web site said Tuesday.

There were no other immediate details about her death.

Perry, 40, credited his mother, a preschool teacher in New Orleans, as the inspiration for his most popular character, Madea. He recently recounted details of his troubled childhood, including how his mother tried and failed to leave his abusive father.
– Michael Y. Park

See what other readers have to say about this story – or leave a comment of your own

The latest on Tyler Perry

PeopleTVJessica is Très Chic at Cannes!

Advertisement

Promotion

From Our Partners