Hunter Tylo was born Deborah Jo Hunter on July 3,1962 in Fort Worth, TX. She was the third child born into her family and the second girl. Her siblings include an older sister (Elizabeth), older brother (Jay) and younger brother (Cliff). As a child, Hunter remembers being teased for her appearance, especially her now-famous lips. A lot of her time was spent with her many adored pets ranging from guinea pigs to baby alligators!
As she neared her teen years, Hunter was a self-described tomboy. She shunned makeup, detested boys almost as much as wearing dresses. Her mother sought to change this and enrolled Hunter in charm school, hoping to make her be more feminine. At the school, Hunter learned everything from how to apply make up to how to present herself. The training eventually began paying off when Hunter entered a few local beauty pageants and placed high in them. After a short while, she began booking work locally for commercials and print work.
In the spring of 1980 she graduated from Springtown High School www.springtown.net . Not long after graduating, Hunter also found out she was pregnant with her first child, Christopher and married his father that summer. After her son’s birth, Hunter decided to set her sights on acting to make ends meet. She started doing some local dinner theater in and around Dallas, Texas. During one of her performances-an All My Children (soap opera) casting director spotted Hunter and offered her a chance to come to New York City and do a screen test for the soap. Hunter agreed and by 1984 the newly-divorced Hunter was cast as Robin on the popular soap opera- and also begin to get a substantial amount of commercial work. However, the soap was the biggest change to her life personally, because it's where she met her husband Michael Tylo who was playing Matt on the show.
Hunter and Michael dated, and later became engaged. Producers were not happy to hear about this and Hunter did not return to the show. They were married July 7,1987 in New York. Then in the spring of 1988 Hunter gave birth to the couples first child, Michael II or Mickey. After Mickey’s birth- Hunter was continuing her pre-med studies at New York’s Fordham University. She was hoping to realize her true career aspirations of one day becoming a Veterinarian. Ultimately, the couple decided to move to the west coast to obtain more work. Once there, Hunter got the coveted role of Marina Toscano on Days of Our Lives. The role was short lived and after about 6 months-she wrapped up the role of this soap opera villain. Thinking she was done with the soap genre, Hunter was looked forward to returning to the East Coast to finish her studies, but an unexpected new role came her way instead.
Hunter’s agents were contacted about her testing for the role of Taylor for the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. Hunter felt the role of a doctor was one she simply could not pass up and she tested for the role, impressing the show's creator and head writer, Mr. William Bell Sr.
The role became hers almost on the spot and she cancelled the move back East to accept the chance to play Dr. Taylor Hayes. Playing the role for four years, Hunter wished for the chance to expand-hopefully landing a feature film or two. That opportunity came when she was chosen to play the role of an Indian princess in a mini-series Maharajah's Daughter. The film shot in India and Canada for 17 weeks so Hunter had to leave the The Bold and Beautiful to do the film. Many fans protested the loss of their favorite character and actress to the soap. However when filming was done-Hunter returned that fall to the soap.
(Hunter’s case against Spelling set a precedent in the law involving pregnant women and their employers)
In the beginning of the year, Hunter’s contract was up with Bold and Beautiful, and she was getting many new offers for roles. She was going to sign on with a show called Daytona Beach but- Prime-time serial producer Aaron Spelling, came up with an offer for Hunter to appear on his big hit Melrose Place. Not surprisingly, Hunter chose the role on Melrose and turned down all of the others. She made plans to phase out the role of Taylor on B&B and sold her dream Las Vegas home to begin this show.
In February, Hunter and Michael found out they were going to have another child. When Hunter told her new employers about the great news they were less than thrilled for her. In fact, she was fired. Hunter then hired well-known Attorney Gloria Allred and her firm of Allred, Maroko and Goldberg to represent her in a lawsuit against Spelling for wrongful termination and pregnancy discrimination. In the 1998 trial which lasted for many weeks, Hunter came to court dressed to the nines and announced she was pregnant with her fourth child. At the end of the trial Hunter won and was awarded nearly $5 million making headlines world-wide. After her win, that summer Hunter founded Hunter’s Chosen Child, her charity designed to help mothers facing difficult times raising their children and aiding women who have been discriminated against for being pregnant. Today the charity, initially funded by Hunter, has generously given to pregnancy crisis centers, unwed teen homes and gave out scholarships to daycares. In the year 2000, Hunter also wrote her page-turning autobiography called, Making a Miracle, which met to great reviews and rose to #35 on the New York Times Bestseller's List. The book is a must read for any big fan of Hunters!
By January 1998, Hunter and her husband welcomed Katya Ariel who was born just a few weeks after the end of the Spelling trial. Later, at only 3 months of age Katya was diagnosed with a rare cancer of the eye which is Retinoblastoma. The family pulled together to help the baby pull through her illness, one that resulted in her losing an eye to the disease. By her first birthday after many sessions of chemo and a blood transfusion, the child was given a clean bill of health. Because of what Katya went through, The Tylos joined other families affected by the disease to raise funds for research, as well as help families with the huge medical bills associated with treatment of Retinoblastoma. Michael was nominated and chosen as president of Retinoblastoma International and the goal of the organization is to help children around the globe fight the disease and educate about the importance of early eye exams. Hunter also worked tirelessly to get a bill passed that would make the eye exams part of the well baby checkups for newborns. The bill was passed and is now law in California. This was one of her greatest achievements.
In October 2002, Hunter was let go from her 12-year- role on soap opera, The Bold and the Beautiful. Nevertheless, Hunter found a variety of new projects to keep her busy and fulfill her as an actress. In this year, she did A Place Called Home- A Hallmark Movie with Ann Margaret as well as a Sci-Fi Movie, They Are Among Us. In 2003-she filmed Down and Derby with former All My Children co-star Lauren Holly. Hunter was also featured in a fashion layout for More Magazine, and Buzzine magazine. In addition, Hunter still promotes one of the top selling fitness machines, The Abswing. In 2003, She went on QVC to introduce her new fragrance, Possible for her growing cosmetics line and has been on twice. Currently, Hunter's pursuing her masters degree in business and may one day open her own store in Las Vegas. In her spare time, Hunter loves to go to kick boxing classes, or doing home improvement projects. The sky is the limit for this busy multitalented lady-and she is a star that always manages to shine in whatever she chooses to do in life! © 2004 by Misha
