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 theater classes at San Francisco's School of the Arts Read more...

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 Read more...

Since 1992, Tyler has been married to an attorney, Jeff Tietjens. Tyler and her husband are avid fans of beer; both are home brewers. She discussed her love and passion for beer on The Sharon Osbourne Show.

In January, 2008, she participated in a video for Barack Obama produced by Will.I.Am called Yes We Can.