Bio
Aisha Tyler is an American actress and stand-up comedian best known for her role as Andrea Moreno in the television fantasy series Ghost Whisperer, from 2005-2006.
She also starred in the conspiracy thriller action drama television series XIII, from 2011-2012, and is currently a permanent panelist on the daytime chat show The Talk, since 2011.
Tyler was born in San Francisco, California, the daughter of Robin Gregory, a teacher, and Jim Tyler, a photographer. Her parents divorced when she was 10 and she was raised by her father.
She pursued an early interest in comedy during high school, when she would skip her regular courses to attend local comedy improv classes. She also attended theatre classes at San Francisco's School of the Arts High School.
She attended Dartmouth College where she earned a degree in government with a minor in environmental policy and was a member of The Tabard, a co-ed fraternity.
At Dartmouth, she co-founded and sang in the all-female a cappella group, The Dartmouth Rockapellas, a group devoted to spreading social awareness through song.
After briefly working for a San Francisco advertising firm, she toured the country pursuing a comedy career before finally moving to Los Angeles, California in 1996.
Her career in television took off in 2001 with jobs as the host of Talk Soup and the reality-dating series The Fifth Wheel, although Talk Soup was cancelled the following year and Tyler left The Fifth Wheel in 2002, to pursue other interests.
Tyler has devoted a significant amount of her time to independent projects, including a role in the play Moose Mating, for which she received an NAACP Image Award. She also wrote, directed, and starred in the independent short film The Whipper.
Moving into acting, Tyler played the first and only African American recurring character on Friends. She took part in the ninth season.
She followed this up with guest spots on CSI: Miami and Nip/Tuck, as well as balancing recurring roles on both CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and 24 during the 2004-2005 TV season.
She also filmed her own sitcom pilot for CBS, which wasn't picked up.
Following her regular role on the CBS series Ghost Whisperer during its first season, Tyler appeared in several movies, including The Santa Clause 2, the sequel The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, .45 and the comedy Balls of Fury alongside Christopher Walken.
She also appeared in the thriller Death Sentence and the crime drama Black Water Transit.
She also remains a fixture on television, with appearances on Boston Legal and as a guest movie critic on Ebert and Roeper, filling in for the absent Roger Ebert, who was recuperating from surgery.
Tyler has moved into print media as a regular contributor to Glamour and Jane magazines; her first book, Swerve: A Guide to the Sweet Life for Postmodern Girls was released in January 2004. She is often cited as one of the "rising stars to watch" in the entertainment industry.
Tyler also plays on the World Poker Tour in the Hollywood Home games for the Childhelp USA charity. She also made a guest appearance on Twista's single "Slow Jamz" which also featured Kanye West and Jamie Foxx.
Tyler appeared nude in the May 2006 issue of Allure. She is 6 ft. (1.83 m) tall.
Since 1992, Tyler has been married to lawyer Jeff Tietjens. Tyler and her husband are avid fans of beer; both are home brewers.