| Madea | |
|---|---|
 Madea serving time in prison for committing a series of crimes as seen inMadea Goes to Jail | |
| First appearance |
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| Created by | Tyler Perry |
| Portrayed by | Tyler Perry |
| In-universe information | |
| Full name | Mabel Earlene Simmons |
| Family |
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| Spouse |
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| Children |
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Mabel "Madea"Earlene Simmons is a character created and portrayed byTyler Perry. She is portrayed as a tough, street-smart elderlyAfrican-American woman.[1]
Madea is based on Perry's mother and his aunt. In Perry's own words, Madea is "exactly thePG version of my mother and my aunt, and I loved having an opportunity to pay homage to them. She would beat the hell out of you but make sure the ambulance got there in time to make sure they could set your arm back because the love was there inside all of it."[2]
The Madea films and plays are comedies, but all contain serious themes and are intended to deliver moral messages about issues such as infidelity, spousal abuse and the consequences of one's actions.
Madea also appears outside of her movie universe in two sketches onThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, in one occasion as the White House Press Secretary and the second cameo as herself, always aside Fallon's impression of then and current presidentDonald Trump.[3][4]
Madea was born inGreensburg, Louisiana[5] on June 26, 1935, and raised inNew Orleans, Louisiana, and it was confirmed inBoo 2! A Madea Halloween, when she went to a police station and saw her name on a wanted poster.
In the title sequence toMadea Goes to Jail, her suspended driver's license indicates her birth date as April 26, 1962.
Her age varies in different movies and plays. Madea was 68 in the first play,I Can Do Bad All by Myself, as well asMadea's Class Reunion. InA Madea Homecoming, set in 2022, it is said she is 95 years old, but with a birth year of 1935, she would actually be 87.
She is described as being brought up in poverty, growing up in ashotgun house with her parents and siblings. Madea has stated that although her family didn't have much, they had love.[6]
When she was in her early teens, her family moved toAtlanta, Georgia, where they lived on the west side. She attended Booker T. Washington High School and was a cheerleader. InI Can Do Bad All by Myself, we learn that she once lived inCleveland, Alabama, but later returned to Atlanta.
According toA Madea Christmas: The Play, Madea's mother, "Big Mabel" Murphy, was ahooker during Madea's childhood and was not at all religious. Madea grew up with little knowledge of religion, explaining why she has a tendency to misquote theBible. Madea makes frequent reference to herself once being a hooker and a stripper.
Her maiden name is not stated, but it is presumably either Baker or Murphy, the last names of her father and mother, respectively.
It is not revealed where and when she met her first husband, Johnny. Madea and Johnny had their first child, Michelle, as young teens, possibly 15 or 16. When Madea was 18, she got pregnant with her other daughter, Cora, through a one-night stand. Sometime later, Madea and Johnny had a son, William. All of her children are said to be married and had children. Madea and Johnny raised two of their grandchildren, Maylee and Vianne, after their daughter's death from drug addiction.
InMadea Goes to Jail, we learn Madea's criminal record began at age nine with a charge oftheft. She was charged with her first felony at this age and her crimes began progressing toillegal gambling at age 18, which later evolved intocheck fraud,identity theft,insurance fraud (related to her nine deceased husbands),assault,attempted murder,road rage (usually when Madea is in vehicle), and vehicle theft.
InDiary of a Mad Black Woman, Madea and her granddaughter Helen McCarter were both arrested and charged with "criminaltrespassing, recklessendangerment, criminal possession of ahandgun, assault with a deadly weapon, [driving on a] suspended license, expired registration, reckless driving, and a broken taillight". This causedJudge Mablean Ephriam to place Madea on house arrest while Helen was placed on a bail of $5,000.00.
InMadea's Family Reunion, Madea was brought before Judge Ephriam once again after she removed herankle monitor in order to purchase her brother Joe's medication, in effect violating her house arrest. After rigorous efforts, Brian was finally able to persuade Madea to accept Judge Ephraim's ruling to become the foster mother of Nikki Grady.
InMeet the Browns, Madea was arrested for causing ahigh speed chase following a routine traffic stop, resisting arrest, and assaulting a police officer while Joe fled the area claiming that Madea kidnapped him.
InMadea Goes to Jail, Madea was brought before Judge Ephriam because of the car chase in the last film. Because Brian and assistant district attorney Linda Davis brought up the fact that the arresting police officers failed to read Madea herMiranda rights, Judge Ephriam scolded the police officers that were present for that negligence. Because of this, Judge Ephriam lets Madea go on a technicality while suspending her already suspended driver's license and having her undergo anger management therapy that was overseen byPhil McGraw. Later on, she was arrested once again for removing a woman'sPontiac Solstice with a forklift and damaging it in the parking lot of theBig Kmart after the woman stole Madea's parking spot. She was sentenced to 5 to 10 years in prison byJudge Greg Mathis. This is later overturned due to the illegal tampering of Linda Davis and she is part of the "Georgia Seven" that are released.
InMadea's Big Happy Family, Madea smashes her car into the fast-food restaurant Snax out of frustration that the manager Sabrina won't give her food, even using excuses related to her Cadillac's technical problems in order to persuade the manager to give her food while waiting. No police action was brought up.
In the animated filmMadea's Tough Love, Madea is arrested forexcessive damage to public property (which she unintentionally committed while chasing after two unruly skateboarders Netta and Dang Dang), twobench warrants, 25 unpaidparking tickets, and an unpaid speeding ticket. Judge Michaels sentences her to do community service work at theMoms Mabley Youth Center. In addition, Judge Michaels had a special ankle monitor placed on Madea to make sure she does her community service and enlists two police officers named Fred and Frank to keep an eye on her. After Madea is filmed spanking Netta, Judge Michaels reassigns Madea to fulfill the rest of her sentence on house arrest much to the annoyance of Joe. Madea was released from the sentence when the truth about mayoral candidate Betsy Holliday's secret illegal activities were exposed proving that Madea was right about her.
Madea has appeared in several plays (which have been filmed for repeated viewing), fully produced movies, a couple oftelevision programs (guest appearances), one book and oneanimated film. The character made her first appearance in the 1999 playI Can Do Bad All by Myself, later appearing in numerous other plays by Perry, then appearing in films based on those plays.
In theTBScomedy dramaHouse of Payne pilot episode "Bully and the Beast", Madea was the foster mother of Nikki. She factored into the plot through a school altercation between her adopted daughter and Curtis Payne's great-nephew Malik. Curtis takes a particular disliking to Madea who is not in the least bit intimidated by Curtis at all. Rather conversely, Curtis became intimidated by Madea and had nightmares about her.[11]
In the episode "The Wench Who Saved Christmas", Curtis tries to discourage everyone from having the Christmas spirit. He later fell asleep and dreamt that Madea was the Ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future. In this form, she tried to teach him a lesson about his killjoy behavior.[12]
In the episode "Wife Swap", Curtis' wifeElla chastises him for taking her for granted. That night, Curtis has an extended nightmare where he is married to Madea instead of Ella.[13]
On another TBS series,Meet the Browns, Mable is said to be the mother of Cora Simmons as a result of aone-night stand with the show's lead character, Mr. Leroy Brown. She is anunseen character throughout the series.[14]
On January 21, 2015, Madea made a special guest appearance in theOprah Winfrey Network comedy series,Love Thy Neighbor. The episode titled "Madea's Pressure Is Up" aired as part of the 3rd season ofLove Thy Neighbor.
In a commercial forBET+, Tyler Perry explained this streaming service to Madea and Joe at the time when they were arguing on what to watch on TV.[15]
This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in multiple films and/or television series in the franchise.
Don't Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings: Perry wrote the book in the character's persona. The book was published on April 11, 2006.
In 2009,Entertainment Weekly put the character on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "Whether she's going to jail or just opening up a can of whupass, Tyler Perry's Madea is the profane, gun-toting granny you never had but (maybe) wish you did."[16]
On April 1, 2013,Orlando Jones pulled anApril Fools' Day prank, informing the public via hisHuffington Post account that he would be replacing Perry as Madea. Jones led the public to believe that the decision had come amid Perry's prior obligations, assistingOprah Winfrey with her strugglingOWN network. As part of the prank, Jones released a photo of himself to the public in which he was impersonating Madea. In addition, he incorporated several pretend quotes seemingly issued by Perry, both acknowledging the news and giving Jones his blessing to continue on with the character. Unaware of the prank, fans responded with outrage and criticism. As result of increasing outcries from fans, Perry informed the public on April 15, 2013, that the news was untrue. Perry was quoted as stating "That was an April Fool's joke thatHE did. Not true. And not funny. When I'm done with Madea, she is done."[17]
Perry has been accused ofminstrelsy and playing into black stereotypes with the Madea character, most notably by fellow black directorSpike Lee. Perry's argument with Lee dates back to a 2009 interview in which Lee referred to Perry's films as "coonery buffoonery".[18] Lee equated the Madea movies with the old-timeminstrel shows which lampooned black people as dim-witted, lazy, buffoonish, superstitious and happy-go-lucky,[19][20] and further stated that if a white director made a movie depicting black people in such a manner he would be ostracized.[18] Perry responded by stating that his films were meant as entertainment and should not be taken so seriously, saying, "I am sick of him talking about me. I am sick of him saying, 'This is a coon, this is a buffoon.' I am sick of him talking about black people going to see movies. This is what he said: 'You vote by what you see'—as if black people don't know what they want to see. I am sick of him. He talked aboutWhoopi, he talked aboutOprah, he talked about me, he talked aboutClint Eastwood. Spike needs to shut the hell up!"[21] Perry has been criticized for stereotyping black femininity using black masculinity.[22] Some critics believe that the characterization of Madea, in addition to other black women featured in Madea films, works to legitimize harmful and damaging stereotypes. There is growing concern around these depictions of blackness as critics believe they can have a negative impact on how black women see themselves in society and how they are perceived by others.[23] In addition, Tyler Perry's role as Madea has received criticism due to some viewing his cross-gender acting as a misappropriation of drag culture. Critics have alleged Tyler Perry perpetuates patriarchal ideology through his characterization of Madea and her interactions with other protagonists.[24]
Madea avenging.
