Tyler Perry

“Macaroni and cheese was my mother's special dish. She'd also make jambalaya and dirty rice and bake a ham that would be incredible. And greens. But if you were looking for vegetables and healthy things, there weren't a lot of those.”

“I want to own a network. I want to own a network where you can turn it on with your family all day long and get positive reinforcement.”

“I think there's something that happens at 40 where you settle into your own skin and you stop caring what people think - you realize life is a gift from God and you want to live it to the fullest.”

“What I've found about it is that there are some folks you can talk to until you're blue in the face--they're never going to get it and they're never going to change. But every once in a while, you'll run into someone who is eager to listen, eager to learn, and willing to try new things. Those are the people we need to reach. We have a responsibility as parents, older people, teachers, people in the neighborhood to recognize that.”

“You don't try to do anything that Morgan Freeman does. He was the voice of God in a movie. That's Morgan Freeman!”

“The heart of who I am as a person and as a man is forgiveness, after forgiving my father for a lot of things that were done when I was child.”

“I'm not an artist. I set the camera up and tell my story.”

“I look at the stories that Spike Lee tells... Great stories. Great director, great storyteller.”

“There are a lot of people who have dreams, goals, and hopes, but there aren't a lot who get to see them realized.”

“What I've been able to do with my character, Madea, and the other characters, with the jokes, is use it as an anesthetic to get to the heart and soul of real issues. And what I've found on stage over the years is that, while making people laugh, I can drop in pearls of wisdom.”

“There's this great thing called the 'Chitlin' Circuit,' which I started my shows on and back in the day when, you know, Ray Charles and Billie Holiday and Duke Ellington, they couldn't get into white establishments, so they went on this circuit and toured. They were huge stars in their own community, you know, and that's pretty much my same story.”

“I've been on 'Oprah' a dozen times, and cried once.”

“I love to give. I've been a giver all my life.”

“I don't do divas. I don't do entourages. I don't do the Hollywood crap.”

“When black women are down with you and in your corner, you have an ally that will move Heaven and Earth.”

“I get a lot of flack from critics that my comedies are all over the place, my dramas are all over the place, they're schizophrenic - as if I don't know that!”

“Being on the 'Alex Cross' set, and watching and learning about and paying attention to everything that was going on there, I realized, 'Here is a moment for me to learn.'”

“Ever since I've been blessed with success, I've struggled a little with anonymity and even family. I've had people calling asking for money, and I have to ask them first, 'Are you working? Have you been trying to help yourself?' Then I feel like I can help.”

“I have very simple tastes. An ex-girlfriend used to tell me I have the palate of a kid because there are only five or six foods that I love. And if you rotate them on a regular basis, that's all I need to eat - like arugula, spinach, and grilled chicken.”

“I know that there are a lot of people out there with stories far worse than mine but you, too, can make it. To those of you who have, welcome to life. I celebrate you.”