Aisha Tyler

Aisha Tyler
Born	Aisha N. Tyler
Occupation(s)	Actress, Writer, Director, Comedienne
Years active	1996–present
Spouse	Jeffrey Tietjens (1992–present)

Aisha N. Tyler (born September 18, 1970) is an American actress, stand-up comedian and writer, perhaps best known for her regular role in the first season of Ghost Whisperer and recurring roles in Friends and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Early life

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 improv classes. She attended McAteer High School in San Francisco. She also attended high school classes at San Francisco School of the Arts. She attended Dartmouth College where she earned a degree 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.

Career

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 featured in Friends, having a recurring role as first 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 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 was not picked up. She has guest-starred on MADtv.

Following her regular role on the CBS series Ghost Whisperer during its first season and in the first episode of season 2, she has appeared in another CBS drama Without A Trace. 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. 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 movie critic on several episodes of At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper, filling in for the absent Roger Ebert while he recuperated 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. 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 Kanye West's single, "Slow Jamz", which also featured Twista and Jamie Foxx.

Tyler appeared in a nude story along with other celebrities in the May 2006 issue of Allure. Allure's 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 called The Aisha Tyler Show.

Personal life

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 DC 101's Elliot in the Morning and The Sharon Osbourne Show.

In January 2008, she participated in a video for Barack Obama produced by will.i.am called "Yes We Can".

By her own admission, Aisha is an avid gamer, with the Halo series being her favorite.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role
2000	Dancing in September	Woman with Weave
2001	Moose Mating	Josie
2002	The Santa Clause 2	Mother Nature
2003	One Flight Stand	Alexis
2004	Never Die Alone	Nancy
2006	The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause	Mother Nature
	.45	Liz
2007	Death Sentence	Detective Wallis
	Balls of Fury	Mahogany
2008	Meet Market	Jane
	Bedtime Stories	Donna Hynde
2009	Black Water Transit	Casey Spandau

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	Nash Bridges	Reporter	Guest role
	Grand Avenue	Girl #1	TV movie
1999	The Pretender	Angela Somerset	Guest role
2001	Curb Your Enthusiasm	Shaq's Girlfriend	Guest role
2002	The Sausage Factory	Jamie	Guest role
2003	Friends	Charlie Wheeler	Recurring role
	CSI: Miami	Janet Medrano	Guest role
2004	Untitled Aisha Tyler Project	Melanie Haywood	Rejected TV pilot
	Nip/Tuck	Manya Mabika	Guest role
2004-2005	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Mia Dickerson	Recurring role, 8 ep.
2005	24	Marianne Taylor	Recurring role
2005-2006	Ghost Whisperer	Andrea Marino	Series regular
2006	For One Night	Desiree Howard	TV movie
2007	Boston Legal	Taryn Campbell	Guest role
	The Boondocks	Luna	Guest role
2008	Million Dollar Password	Herself	Celebrity Player
2009	Aisha Tyler is Lit: Live at the Fillmore	Herself	Stand-up special
	Celebrity Jeopardy!	Herself	Celebrity episode

External links

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