Aisha Tyler

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**Aisha Naomi Tyler** (born September 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, director and talk show host. She is known for playing Andrea Marino in the first season of *Ghost Whisperer*, Dr. Tara Lewis in *Criminal Minds*, Mother Nature in the *Santa Clause* films and voicing Lana Kane in *Archer* as well as recurring roles on *CSI: Crime Scene Investigation*, *Talk Soup* and *Friends*. She is formerly the co-host of CBS's *The Talk*, where she won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host and currently hosts *Whose Line Is It Anyway?*. She also hosted Ubisoft's E3 press conferences and has lent her voice to the video games *Halo: Reach* and *Gears of War 3*.

## Early life

Tyler was born in San Francisco, California, the daughter of Robin Gregory, a teacher, and James Tyler, a photographer. The family spent one year in Ethiopia and later spent time living in an ashram in Oakland, California.

She pursued an early interest in comedy at McAteer High School in San Francisco, which had a special program called School of the Arts, now named Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts. Tyler attended high school with Sam Rockwell and Margaret Cho. She had a crush on Rockwell, and followed him into acting class one day, leading to her interest in improv and sketch.

Tyler graduated from Dartmouth College in 1992. She was a member of The Tabard, a co-ed fraternity. At Dartmouth, she co-founded and sang in the Dartmouth Rockapellas, an all-female a cappella 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 moving to Los Angeles in 1996

## Career

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Tyler's 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 canceled 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 featured in *Friends* as Dr. Charlie Wheeler, Joey's and then Ross' girlfriend, in the ninth and tenth seasons. She followed this up with guest spots on *CSI: Miami* and *Nip/Tuck*, as well as balancing season-long recurring roles on both *CSI: Crime Scene Investigation* and *24* during the 2004–2005 television season. She also filmed her own sitcom pilot for CBS, which was not picked up. She has guest-starred on *MADtv*.

Following her regular role on the CBS series *Ghost Whisperer* during its first season, Tyler appeared in several films, including *The Santa Clause 2*, *The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause*, *.45*, and the comedy *Balls of Fury*. In 2007, she filmed the thriller *Death Sentence* and the crime drama *Black Water Transit*. She also continues to appear on television, with appearances on *Boston Legal*, *Reno 911!*, *The Boondocks*, and as a guest film critic on several episodes of *At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper*, filling in for the absent Roger Ebert while he recuperated from surgery.

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Tyler has moved into print media as a regular contributor to *Glamour*, *Jane*, and *Entertainment Weekly* magazines. Her first book, *Swerve: A Guide to the Sweet Life for Postmodern Girls*, was released in January 2004. Tyler plays on the *World Poker Tour* in the Hollywood Home games for the Futures Without Violence charity. She also made a guest appearance on Kanye West's single "Slow Jamz", which featured Twista and Jamie Foxx. Philanthropy and charity work are very important to Tyler, and she regularly does volunteer work for the American Red Cross, The Trust for Public Land, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and the International Rescue Committee.

Tyler appeared in a nude pictorial, along with other celebrities, in the May 2006 issue of *Allure*. The annual Nude Issue raises money to combat skin cancer.

In May 2009, it was announced that ABC had given Tyler her own talk show pilot, *The Aisha Tyler Show*. In early May 2010, she presented the "Welcome to the Beta" video for *Halo: Reach*. She also voiced a minor character in the game.

In 2009, she began her starring role voicing Lana Kane in the FX series *Archer*, which premiered on January 14, 2010 and has run for a total of 9 seasons as of 2018. In August 2010, Tyler began appearing in a recurring guest spot on *The Stephanie Miller Show*. The segment is named "Tuesdays With Tyler". Tyler appears either in-studio or via phone when she is not otherwise committed to one of her acting roles. While Hal Sparks was out of the country, Tyler filled in as the third member of the Stephanie Miller Sexy Liberal Comedy Tour on three shows in August 2011.

Also in 2009, Tyler performed her stand-up comedy routine, live at the Fillmore Theatre.

Starting on July 26, 2011, Tyler started her own weekly podcast, *Girl on Guy*, where she interviews her favorite celebrity friends and discusses topics guys love. *Girl on Guy* is available on her website for download using iTunes, mp3, and RSS. The show launched as the No. 4 comedy podcast on iTunes and currently is the No. 2 comedy podcast, and the No. 7 overall podcast on iTunes. The first weekly installment of *Girl on Guy* featured guest H. Jon Benjamin, the second featured the host of Current TV's former show *InfoMania* Brett Erlich on August 1, 2011, and the third featured *Archer* creator Adam Reed on August 9, 2011.

In October 2011, it was announced that Tyler would join the cast of *The Talk* as a permanent co-host, replacing Holly Robinson Peete. Her first full week as a co-host was October 24 through October 28, 2011. Tyler is known for being expressive and outspoken on The Talk, especially about African American culture and stereotypes, LGBT rights, and women's rights. Tyler presented Ubisoft's press conference at E3 2012 in June, which received some backlash from fans who didn't believe Tyler was a gamer. This caused Tyler to respond with a poem about how she has been playing video games "since you were a twinge in the left side of your daddy's underoos". She returned to host the publisher's press conference the following year. Tyler's second book, *Self-Inflicted Wounds: Heartwarming Tales of Epic Humiliation*, debuted in July 2013, later becoming a *New York Times* bestseller; it was inspired by questions asked of guests on *Girl on Guy*.

In March 2013, Tyler was confirmed to be the new host of the American version of *Whose Line Is It Anyway?*. She also appears briefly as herself in the video game *Watch Dogs* and is featured in the music video for the "Weird Al" Yankovic song "Tacky". Tyler was also the original voice for the character Daisy Fitzroy in the 2013 video game *BioShock Infinite*, but her recordings were not used and the role went to Kimberly Brooks. She was nominated for Personality of 2014 in Golden Joystick Award 2014.

In June 2015, it was announced that Tyler landed a recurring role on the eleventh season of *Criminal Minds* as Dr. Tara Lewis. Although she served as a temporary replacement for Jennifer Love Hewitt, who was on maternity leave, her status was elevated to main cast member in season 12.

In 2016, Tyler started a Kickstarter campaign to fund her directorial feature film debut, *Axis*. The film was shot over seven days in May 2016. *Axis* was released via video-on-demand on April 10, 2018.

On the June 15, 2017, episode of *The Talk*, Tyler announced that she would be leaving the show at the end of the seventh season due to her busy schedule with three other television shows and directing films. She said she would return as a guest host and to promote her various projects.

## Personal life

Tyler married attorney Jeff Tietjens in 1992 or 1994 (sources differ). The pair separated in January 2015 and Tietjens filed for divorce in April 2016. It was finalized in May 2017. Tyler stated on *WTF with Marc Maron* that she was married for 25 years.

Tyler is a descendant of 19th century Texas congressman John Hancock through his illegitimate son, Hugh Hancock. Hugh, a graduate of Oberlin College, was a prominent activist in the African-American community of Austin, Texas and leader in the Republican Party.

Tyler is a vocal advocate for the rights of the LGBTQ community.

## Filmography

### Director

 2015
 2017–2018
 2019
 2020

## Published works

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## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Aisha Tyler (1970- )". Archived from the original on February 28, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170228194250/http://www.filmreference.com/film/35/Aisha-Tyler.html. Retrieved July 28, 2008.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Serpe, Gina (October 24, 2011). "From Talk Soup to The Talk: Aisha Tyler Makes Her Morning-Show Debut!". E! News. http://www.eonline.com/news/from\_talk\_soup\_talk\_aisha\_tyler\_makes/271160. Retrieved January 1, 2012.
3. ↑ "Adam Carolla Podcast". March 9, 2009. https://archive.org/details/2009.03.10acp-Tyler. Retrieved April 13, 2008.
4. ↑ "In Bed With Joan - Episode 18: Aisha Tyler". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4oqc8OdppY. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
5. ↑ "Talk the Talk". *CBS Watch!*. Archived from the original on April 27, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160427031901/http://www.cbswatchmagazine.com/2013/05/talk-the-talk/. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
6. ↑ "Aisha Tyler ’92 on the Power of Mistakes (Forbes)". Dartmouth College. Archived from the original on April 25, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160425225313/http://now.dartmouth.edu/2013/07/aisha-tyler-92-power-mistakes-forbes. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Celebs in the Ivy League". http://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/gallery/celebs-in-the-ivy-league/ss-AA8guno#image=26.
8. ↑ "TONIGHT, TOMORROW WILL DECIDE WHO GETS LAST LAUGH", *Seattle Post-Intelligencer* (November 24, 1995).
9. ↑ Tyler, Aisha N. (August 30, 2017). "Contemporary Black Biography". https://go.gale.com/ps/retrieve.do?resultListType=RELATED\_DOCUMENT&searchType=ts&userGroupName=umd\_towson&inPS=true&contentSegment=&prodId=BIC&docId=GALE%7CK1606002300&it=r.
10. ↑ VanDerWerff, Emily Todd (2018-06-15). "What Aisha Tyler learned from failing" (in en). https://www.vox.com/2018/6/15/17466448/aisha-tyler-interview-podcast.
11. ↑ "Aisha Tyler". http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0878768/.
12. ↑ Template:Citation
13. ↑ Template:Cite book
14. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
15. ↑ Joyce Eng (May 8, 2009). "Aisha Tyler Nabs Talk Show Pilot". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on May 20, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090520111614/http://www.tvguide.com/News/Aisha-Tyler-Talk-1005895.aspx. Retrieved May 8, 2009.
16. ↑ Off to voice a character in Halo:Reach tomorrow. Dreams really do come true, twitter.com, February 24, 2010.
17. ↑ Eng, Joyce (December 1, 2009). "FX Sets Midseason Schedule - Today's News: Our Take". TVGuide.com. http://www.tvguide.com/news/fx-sets-midseason-1012661/. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
18. ↑ "Archer on FXX: Cancelled or Renewed for Season 10?". https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/archer-fxx-cancelled-renewed-season-10/. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
19. ↑ stephaniemiller.com
20. ↑ "Stephanie Miller Sexy Liberal Comedy Tour". June 8, 2011. Archived from the original on June 27, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110627004724/http://www.sexyliberal.com/2011/06/08/detroit-mi-082011-detroit-opera-house-sexy-liberal-show-with-stephanie-miller-john-fuglesang-and-aisha-tyler/. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
21. ↑ "Aisha Tyler Is Lit: Live at the Fillmore (2009)". https://m.imdb.com/title/tt1361808/.
22. ↑ Evan Narcisse (June 13, 2012). "Aisha Tyler Rants "I've Been a Gamer Since Before You Could Read."". Retrieved on September 19, 2013.
23. ↑ "Dear Gamers:". *facebook.com*. June 12, 2012. https://www.facebook.com/notes/aisha-tyler/dear-gamers/10151040991508993. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
24. ↑ Rachel Hansen (February 28, 2013). "His line: Improv master Ryan Stiles returns to the PAC". Retrieved on September 19, 2013. Template:Subscription required
25. ↑ Template:Cite tweet
26. ↑ Meredith Jacobs (June 22, 2015). "'Criminal Minds' Season 11: Aisha Tyler will recur as Hotch looks to replace Kate". http://www.inquisitr.com/2193773/criminal-minds-season-11-aisha-tyler-recurring-as-best-replacement-for-kate/. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
27. ↑ Wagmeister, Elizabeth; Wagmeister, Elizabeth (2016-08-10). "Aisha Tyler Promoted to Series Regular on ‘Criminal Minds’" (in en). https://variety.com/2016/tv/news/aisha-tyler-criminal-minds-season-12-series-regular-1201834663/.
28. ↑ "Aisha Tyler to make feature directing debut on Kiickstarter-funded Axis." "Variety", Retrieved January 16, 2017.
29. ↑ Candice Frederick (March 6, 2018). "'Axis' Director Aisha Tyler Is Proving Hollywood Doesn't Know Its Audience". VICE. https://www.vice.com/en\_us/article/d3wq7k/axis-director-aisha-tyler-is-proving-hollywood-doesnt-know-its-audience. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
30. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
31. ↑ Tyler, Aisha (April 10, 2018). "Aisha Tyler’s Guide to Recovering From Disaster". *"Talkhouse"*. http://www.talkhouse.com/aisha-tylers-guide-to-recovering-from-disaster/. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
32. ↑ Maureen Lee Lenker (June 15, 2017). "Aisha Tyler leaving The Talk". Ew.com. http://ew.com/tv/2017/06/15/aisha-tyler-leaving-talk/. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
33. ↑ Hilary Lewis (June 15, 2017). "Aisha Tyler Leaving CBS' 'The Talk'". *The Hollywood Reporter*. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/aisha-tyler-leaving-cbs-talk-1013879. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
34. ↑ Lee, Esther (April 15, 2016). "Aisha Tyler, Husband Jeff Tietjens to Divorce After More Than 20 Years of Marriage", *Us Weekly*. Retrieved on June 15, 2017.
35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 "Aisha Tyler Ordered to Pay Ex Husband $2 Million in Divorce". TMZ.com. May 18, 2017. http://www.tmz.com/2017/05/18/aisha-tyler-divorce-pay-ex-husband-two-million/. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 "*The Talk*'s Aisha Tyler and Husband Divorcing After More Than 20 Years of Marriage", Time Inc., *People* (United States) (April 15, 2016). Retrieved on April 15, 2016. Archived from the original on April 16, 2016.
37. ↑ Boone, John (April 18, 2016). "Aisha Tyler Opens Up About Divorce After 20 Years of Marriage: 'I'll Always Love Him'". *Entertainment Tonight*. http://www.etonline.com/news/186966\_aisha\_tyler\_opens\_up\_about\_divorce\_after\_20\_years\_of\_marriage/. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
38. ↑ "Episode 907 - Aisha Tyler / Louie Anderson". http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episode-907-aisha-tyler-louie-anderson.
39. ↑ Estes, Roberta (2 April 2016). "Aisha Tyler – Who Do You Think You Are – Which John Hancock???". https://dna-explained.com/2016/04/02/aisha-tyler-who-do-you-think-you-are-which-john-hancock/. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
40. ↑ Patrick Yacco (August 1, 2013). "Geeking Out with Aisha Tyler". http://www.out.com/entertainment/2013/08/01/geeking-out-gay-advocate-aisha-tyler. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
41. ↑ Eakin, Marah (May 20, 2013). "Watch a new, Aisha Tyler-directed video about Silversun Pickups". Retrieved on April 24, 2014.
42. ↑ "Simmer (scroll down on page)". Silversun Pickups. May 20, 2013. http://silversunpickups.com/videos/. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
43. ↑ Teitelman, Bram (August 29, 2013). "Clutch got Aisha Tyler to direct a video". Metal Insider. http://www.metalinsider.net/video/clutch-got-aisha-tyler-to-direct-a-video. Retrieved April 24, 2014.

## External links

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