Madea

Mabel "Madea" Simmons
First appearance	I Can Do Bad All By Myself
Last appearance	I Can Do Bad All By Myself
Created by	Tyler Perry
Portrayed by	Tyler Perry
In-universe information
Occupation	Jailbird/criminal
Spouse	Willie Humphrey (ex-husband; mentioned in Don't Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings: Madea's Uninhibited Commentaries on Love and Life) Johnny (deceased)
Children	Michell Simmons-Griffin (deceased) Cora Jean Simmons-Brown (daughter, with Brown) William (son) Nikki Grady (daughter, adopted)
Relatives	) Myrtle (daughter-in-law) Helen McCarter (granddaughter) Isaac (nephew) Donna (niece through marriage) Vickie (niece through her marriage to Johnny) Sonny (nephew) Victoria Breaux (niece) Lisa Breaux (grandniece) Vanessa (grandniece) Nima (great-grandniece) Jonathan (great-grandnephew) Brian Simmons (nephew) Deborah Simmons (niece through marriage) Tiffany Simmons (grandniece) B.J. Simmons (grandnephew) Sonny (nephew) Angela (niece)

Mabel Simmons, commonly known as "Madea" is a fictional character created and portrayed by Tyler Perry. Madea is an aggressive, grey-haired, bespectacled black matriarch. She will argue with anyone, frequently threatens people by pulling a gun out of her purse, and is known for her unique pronunciation and enunciation of words as reflected in her tag lines, "I oughta punch chur in da face!" She is part of a large family, with many children and grandchildren. Her name is spelled "Mable". "Madea" or "Madear" is a typical Southern name for a grandmother; the term is a shortened form of "Mother Dear".

Although Madea is featured heavily in most of Perry's plays and films, including Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Madea's Family Reunion, Meet the Browns, Madea Goes to Jail, and most recently, I Can Do Bad All By Myself, the argument can be made that she is not the protagonist of them, but more so the comic relief to the plays and films' dramatics settings.

Character history

Madea, whose real name is Mable Simmons, was born — according to most accounts — in rural Greensburg, Louisiana, on January 31, 1935. According to Don't Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings: Madea's Uninhibited Commentaries on Love and Life, she had several brothers, two of whom were Frederick (in the book) and Joe (who appears in the movies) and an illegitimate brother named Willie Humphrey, who she was briefly married to. In Madea's Family Reunion, she has a sister, named Irene, who dies. Also in the book, she gives details of her mother, "Big Mable" Murphy, who according to Madea, was a big woman too. She was described as being very gentle and mild-mannered, a very kind and peaceful woman... until you got her started.

When she was 16, her family moved to New Orleans, Louisiana into a shotgun house.

She attended Booker T. Washington High School where she was a cheerleader. She mentions in Don't Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings: Madea's Uninhibited Commentaries on Love and Life that her mother and daddy would not let her go out until she was seventeen or eighteen.

Family in the plays

Madea has an older sister named Irene, who has a son named Sonny. Irene dies sometime before the Family Reunion play begins, as it begins with them leaving her funeral. It's shown that Madea did not care too much for her, even stating that she was happy Irene died and that she probably died on purpose just so she wouldn't have to repay Madea loaned money. She helps Irene's son out in the play Madea Goes to Jail by allowing him to stay at her home rent free. Irene also has a daughter named Sheila.

Madea's first husband is named Jonny, father of Michelle and William. Jonny died at some point, but seems to have been active in the upbringing of his granddaughters, Vianne and Maylee, based on conversations about him in I Can Do Bad All By Myself. Madea implies that she was glad when he died, indicating they did not have a good marriage. Jonny has a niece named Vickie who appears in the family reunion play. Vickie has four boys of her own.

Madea's daughter, Michelle Griffin, was born sometime when Madea and Johnny were teenagers. As she grew older, Michelle apparently became a prostitute who was neglectful of her two daughters, Vianne and Maylee who appeared in the play I Can Do Bad All By Myself. According to Madea and Vyanne, Maylee and Vyanne don't have the same father. Vyanne's father was a drunk that didn't spend enough time with her. Madea explains that Michelle did not know the father of Maylee and called her Maybe because she was sleeping with four or five men when she got pregnant. Madea changed it to Maylee when she took her and Vianne out of the projects to raise them. Maylee has a 14-year-old daughter whose named Kiesha, who becomes pregnant. She died of an unknown illness later on.

Madea's daughter Cora Simmons is the only one of her children to appear in most of the plays and movies and the most recognized. Cora is a saved Christian woman. Cora was married to a man who, unknown to her, molested their two daughters Tina and Lisa when they were children, a fact the girls hid from her until Madea's Family Reunion play. Tina and Lisa only appear in Madea's Family Reunion, but the only ones of Madea's granddaughters to be mentioned all the time. Cora thought that Jonny was her daddy like William and Michelle until Class Reunion where Madea is reminded that Brown is Cora's father, as a product of a one night stand during their prom in 1953, making her 50 years old in her first appearance, as well as Class Reunion when her parents attend their 50th class reunion. After then, Cora becomes close to Mr. Brown and goes to visit his family in Meet the Browns for Brown's father funeral and takes him to the hospital in What's Done in the Dark. Their father/daughter plot line is carried into the movie universe in Meet the Browns, the TV series Tyler Perry's House of Payne, and its spinoff series Meet the Browns.

Madea's youngest and only son William is married to myrtle. Depending on the chronological order of the plays, he could be older than Cora. His oldest daughter, Helen, is in her mid-to-late 30s during the play Diary of a Mad Black Woman, making him somewhere in his 50s, whereas Cora is only 50, being born in 1953 when Madea was 18. In the film, his wife is as old as his mother, which would put him older than Cora in the film version as well. William and Myrtle have three children together: Helen, Jackie, and Gina. It was rumored that they have a son named after William. William was a businessman who owned a barbershop, laundromat, corner store, and a diner. William worked to take care of his family.

Madea's daughter-in-law is Myrtle, portrayed by Tamela Mann, who only appears in Diary of a Mad Black Woman the play (but appears more than once in the film series). This may be because Tamela Mann takes over the role as Madea's daughter Cora Simmons in later plays, thus, limiting Myrtle to off-stage appearances such as having characters speak to her on the phone (such as in I Can Do Bad All by Myself). In the film, she is portrayed by the elderly actress Cicely Tyson, enabling her to appear more than once in the film version. In both versions, Myrtle is the wife of William, Madea's only son and the mother of Helen, Jackie, and Gina, all whom have either appeared or been mentioned in one of the plays (though, only Helen is known to exist in the movie). Her background and age, however, differ in the play and the movie. In the play time line, Myrtle is in her 50s and may have lived in her own house. She and William were very young when their oldest, Helen, was born due to the fact that there would be a less than 20-year difference in their age between Helen's (mid-to-late 30s) and Madea's (68). In the film time line, Myrtle is in her 70s, and she was placed in a retirement home. Because she and William were older when Helen was born (stating she was 39 years old), their marriage appeared to have been stronger, which is strongly emphasized in the second movie of her appearance. She mentioned once that when she was going to tell William something he would say the very thing she was going to say. Myrtle also noticed William's heartbeat matched hers. Myrtle also mentioned that before all her children were born, she and her mother prayed, which she believed enabled her to give birth despite being almost 40.

Family only in films

The family tree is different in the films than in the plays. Cora is still Madea's daughter with two daughters of her own whom were referenced in the film version of Meet the Browns. While Helen remains the same, her mother, Myrtle, is now in her 70s, not 50s. It can be assumed that Madea's age and the age of her son, William, has increased as well. In addition to these changes of the original family members, Madea now has a niece named Victoria who has two daughters, Vanessa and Lisa. She has a brother named Joe who has two children named Brian and Donna. Brian is married to Debra and has two children, Tiffany and BJ (Brian Jr.). Donna is the daughter of Joe who appeared in Madea's Family Reunion and is married to Isaac. Joe's family is the newest addition to the Simmons family tree. In the film version of Madea's Family Reunion, Madea took in Nikki. Madea had a choice to either do so or go to jail because she took off her house arrest bracelet that she wore in Diary of a Mad Black Woman. Apparently, Madea adopted her permanently as she appeared in the very first episode of TBS television series Tyler Perry's House of Payne still being taken care of by Madea, however Nikki did not appear in Madea Goes to Jail and there was no mention of her whereabouts, although if the film takes place three years after Madea's Family Reunion, she would be in college.

Other information

Madea is 68 in the first play I Can Do Bad All By Myself and in Madea's Class Reunion, where she attends her 50-year class reunion. Her ages in the other plays are unknown, however, considering they take place between these two plays, her age may be the same (the age of her granddaughter Helen, who is somewhere in her mid-30s, leaves this questionable).

Madea has had 9 husbands, one by the name of Jimmy, and Jonny, who was Madea's second husband. When each dies, she collects their life insurance checks. Madea claims to have either shot them or poisoned them by sweet potato pie, those for whose death she is unwilling to wait. After each husband dies, they are buried quickly. Madea claims, "I'm tryin' to get to the insurance company by five, and the casino by nine!"

In spite of her less-than-glowing reputation with her marriages and the law, Madea helps women realize how badly they get treated by men, instructs them on what to do about the mistakes they have made in their life choices, and leads them toward the path of forgiveness and moving on. Madea also helps others shed some light on their own life instead of looking at someone else's. On numerous occasions she has accepted family members into her home out of her own accord, including granddaughter Helen (the movie Diary of a Mad Black Woman), granddaughter Vianne (I Can Do Bad All By Myself), Vanessa and her two kids (Madea's Family Reunion), and ex-convict Bobby Mitchell (I Can Do Bad All By Myself).

Madea's home is a spacious, early-1900s style house on a street corner at 1197 Avon Avenue in southwest Atlanta, Georgia. There are at least five bedrooms, and Joe sleeps in a room downstairs (when Madea answers the door at night in Diary of a Mad Black Woman, the movie). The kitchen is on the left when one walks in the house, and beyond that is the living room, where Joe can usually be found. To Madea's annoyance, Mr. Leroy Brown is her next-door neighbor and has a barking dog that Madea gets tired of and feds a whole bottle of sleeping pills. Madea's best friend, Ella Kincaid, is Madea's next-door neighbor also. Outside, the yard is fenced and Madea's green 1970 Cadillac DeVille is parked on the street. Joe cannot drive. In Meet the Browns, she drove a 2001 Toyota Avalon, however, during the highway hi-speed chase, she was ceased by the Honda Accord police cars when the car ran out of gas.

On television

Madea has made occasional appearances on the TBS television series Tyler Perry's House of Payne. Again, Madea resides in Atlanta, and serves as the adopted mother to Nikki. Madea first encounters the Payne family when her adopted daughter has an altercation at school with Curtis Payne's great-nephew Malik. Curtis takes a particular disliking to Madea, who—as expected—is not intimidated by Curtis at all. Ever since, Curtis has become afraid of Madea and has nightmares about her.

A year later, Curtis tries to stop everyone from having the Christmas spirit so when Curtis falls asleep he dreams that Madea is the ghost of past, present, and future, and she tries to teach him a lesson.

About another year later, Curtis' wife Ella chastises him for taking her for granted. That night Curtis has an extended nightmare where he is married to Madea instead of Ella.

On another TBS series, Meet the Browns, Madea is said to be the mother of Cora Simmons, as the result of a one-night stand with the show's lead character, Leroy Brown. Madea is made fun of many times by Mr. Brown and mentioned many times by daughter Cora. She is an unseen character in the series and has yet to appear on camera.

In books

Perry has written a book in the character's persona titled Don't Make A Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings: Madea's Uninhibited Commentaries On Love And Life, which was published April 11, 2006.

Reception

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."

See also

• Cross-dressing in film and television

External links

• Official website