Tyler Perry has built an entertainment empire. He owns one of the largest independently operated studios churning out content today, and he's one of the richest people in showbiz.

But he had to start somewhere.

Fifteen years ago, Perry wrote, produced and starred in his first movie, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, about Helen, a housewife who has an emotional and spiritual awakening after her husband of 18 years unceremoniously leaves her for another woman. She's aided in her recovery by a diary in which she chronicles her deepest feelings—and by her fiery, wisecracking granny, Madea, who helps Helen calculate her self-worth. Literally, at one point.