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Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry are a match made in heaven and their latest venture proves that true! Last week Perry’s “The Haves and The Have Nots” premiered on OWN with a unprecedented 1.77 million viewers, making the new scripted-series the network’s highest rated debut! #TeamBeautiful caught up with the casts from both of Tyler Perry’s new shows and they revealed how he starts his day, what makes him an amazing part of Black entertainment and why that OWN money is blessed!

MUST SEE: Miss Sophia Meets Madea: Oprah and Tyler Perry Team Up For Hilarious OWN Promo (VIDEO)

HelloBeautiful: How did you prepare to play the role of a mother who is so devoted to her wayward daughter?

Crystal R. Fox (“The Haves & The Have Nots”):

You know what it was for me? I had an audition for two roles on this particular show and I wanted Hanna because she reminded me of my grandmother. My grandmother lived in North Carolina and worked at the mill– aunts, uncles and everybody, worked at the mill. But they came home and they were wonderful family people.

My sense of family which has been distant from my real life has been something that has been lasting for me because of those people. And, so, their angst to me, was always about the care of their family, not for themselves, not just a reward about random stuff. They worked hard as I don’t know what, and the main thing they were worried about was their family. And so my character is really in love with the relationship I have with my son because I raised them both as a single parent, this one [Tika Sumpter’s character] went, left, but there is always unconditional love, hoping that she’ll be back. But my son grew up to be this man that I always wanted him to be. I definitely want to make sure that I portray someone that has a spiritual background, but I am not holier than thou; very very human, very very fallible. The truth is always what she’s aiming for because of the hard things she has gone through in life, and I think, and I believe, that over and over, Mr. Perry will explore, “what made her go to God?”

HB: How do you feel about the way Tyler Perry portrays Black women?

Oh my goodness. Well, I feel like he was so excited about this character. When he would look at me and tell me, “Crystal, wait till you read the things that she says.” I don’t know who he’s loving through these words, but he is loving somebody that has touched his life. And what I’m gratified by is that they move me, and if I deliver it, he’s moved back. So, I don’t know who he is paying homage to. But it is a love for women and how we talk and how we feel and if there was something that didn’t work and if I ask him about it, he looked at me one time and there was something I couldn’t say, he said, “you cant say it can you?” I said, “no!” He said, “Change it! Change it. Fill it with what you would do.” He allows for that. And I honor and respect that, and I keep waiting, and if its off, he’ll let me know. But he’s let me keep 99.9%. That other little percent is only cause he says, “you said you wanted to do this.”

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For 2024’s iteration of MadameNoire and HelloBeautiful’s annual series Women to Know, we knew we wanted to celebrate the people who help make the joys of film and television possible. To create art is to create magic. This year, we spotlight Hollywood Executive’s changing the face of cinema.