Tyler Perry’s Mother, Willie Maxine Perry, Dies at 64

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Willie Maxine Perry, the mother of movie mogul Tyler Perry, died this afternoon, according to reports on tylerperry.com. Prayers have been sent up and condolences have already begun to pour into Atlanta from around the country and across the globe for the history-making filmmaker. Willie Maxine lived long enough to see her son Tyler, 40, transform himself from an emotionally-crippled boy into a barrier-breaking movie icon who built the first-ever African American-owned film studio in Atlanta. 

Perry’s mother was a bedrock of strength during Perry’s tumultuous upbringing in New Orleans, although they both were physically and emotionally abused by Perry’s father Emmitt, Sr. 


Willie Maxine was a pre-school teacher who worked most of her adult life at the New Orleans Jewish Community Center. She was 64 years old. –terry shropshire



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