Printable Biography of Aisha Tyler

Aisha Tyler got her acting start at the J. Eugene McAteer School of the Arts in San Francisco, when, bored with the regular coursework, she started cutting class to sneak into Improv comedy sessions. Eventually, the teachers got tired of wondering who the tall black girl with the bizarre sense of humor was, and asked her to stay.

Despite the spotty attendance, Aisha went on to study Political Science at Dartmouth College. While there, she continued performing sketch and improv, as well as teaching snowboarding courses. In the morsel of spare time remaining, she pursued her love of music - recording an album with a campus acapella group and becoming front woman for a blues band, covering artists as diverse as Stevie Ray Vaughn, Koko Taylor, the Doobie Brothers and Joan Armatrading.

After graduation, Aisha started working as an advertising executive in San Francisco. It took her only months to realize that while corporate life was paying the bills, the suits were starting to chafe. She attacked comedy full time, working clubs and colleges in thirty states before settling in Los Angeles.

The critical acclaim has been effusive, Esquire called Aisha "sweetly wicked," designating her one of its "Women We Love." TV Guide called her one of cable's "In Crowd." Maxim made her one of its vaunted "Hot 100." Vibe crowned her "the next Queen of Comedy." And Tongue gushes, "[she's] that impossible combination of hot-as-the-day-is-long and so cool…the most unlikely crossover since Charlie Pride."

In addition to her hot-streak stint as host of E! Entertainment's Emmy-nominated Talk Soup, during which both viewership and creative quality soared, Aisha has appeared on numerous television shows including multiple appearances on The Tonight Show, The Today Show, Politically Incorrect, and The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn. She's enjoyed equal success as an actor, appearing on, among others, HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm and the films Showtime and The Santa Clause 2. She wrote, produced, and directed the edgy independent short The Whipper, which she also starred in and won an NAACP Image Award for her work in the critically acclaimed play Moose Mating. She has contributed articles to Glamour and Jane magazines, and to the upcoming book This Day in the Life of American Women. Aisha recently stepped down as host of the syndicated dating show The Fifth Wheel to pursue film projects.

Aisha currently makes her home in Los Angeles. She continues to perform her unique brand of razor-sharp, raucous comedy in venues across the country, including the world-famous Improvisation in LA, the Bellagio and Paris resorts in Las Vegas, Caroline's in New York, and colleges nationwide. She is currently at work on new film and television projects.